Brandon Spence and
Wilson Heslop combined for a game-saving play with less than a minute left as Queen's Football held on for a 42-41 win over the Guelph Gryphons.
With Queen's up one point but Guelph driving and in field goal range, Spence (Kinesiology) forced a fumble and Heslop (Kinesiology) collected the ball to secure the big win for Queen's, capping a memorable Homecoming 100 Game Saturday at Richardson Stadium.
The two teams went back and forth all game, trading big plays and touchdowns for all four quarters, with Queen's earning the close win to improve their record to 6-1 and remain in first place in the OUA standings.
In a quarterback duel,
Alex Vreeken (Kinesiology) returned after missing last week to throw for 348 yards and three touchdowns.
Ben Falkowsky (Arts & Science) had a breakout game receiving for Queen's, finishing with five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, including a number of highlight reel plays.
Cedric Smith and
Logan Walton also had strong games receiving for Queen's, with Smith (Arts & Science) finishing with four receptions for 81 yards and Walton (Economics) finishing with four receptions for 62 yards.
Jayden Gurzi-MacDonald and
Jayce Baldwin each had strong games on the ground, with Gurzi-MacDonald (Economics) rushing for 78 yards on 12 carries and adding a receiving touchdown, and Baldwin (Health Studies) rushing for 62 yards on nine carries.
It was a big game for Queen's on special teams as well, with
Eli Bennett (Engineering) recording a touchdown after grabbing the ball on a blocked punt by
Jeremy Hiscox (Economics). Bennett also had a big, one-handed sack on defence.
On defence,
Jacob Baldwin (XXX) led the Gaels with 6.5 tackles (six solo, one assisted), including one tackle for a loss, while Spence had 5.5 (five solo, one assisted).
With the victory, Queen's heads into the final week of the regular season with a 6-1 record and first in the OUA standings. Queen's will play the McMaster Marauders Saturday at 1 PM.
