THE NARRATIVE
“Yates Cup rematch” is all that needs to be said. Aside from Carleton, McMaster is the only OUA team that no member of the current Guelph roster has beaten, so the Gryphons are certainly motivated to exact revenge for their Yates Cup loss and finally take down their Highway 6 rivals. Meanwhile, McMaster is concentrating on righting their ship. With a loss they dip below .500; with a win they take a big step toward controlling their own playoff destiny and ensure they’ll be playing at least one playoff game within the friendly confines of Ron Joyce stadium.
In front of a raucous crowd in what has become arguably the best homecoming spectacle in Canada, the Gryphons have a chance to provide a knockout blow to the wobbling former champs. On the road in a building in which they’ve had great success, the proud Marauders have a chance to defend their crown and strengthen their stranglehold on recruiting in the region.
Programming alert: Be sure to watch as McMaster hosts Guelph on Sportsnet 360 Saturday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT | TV schedule
THE OFFENCES
These offences are more similar than they are different in the utilization of their assets. The difference is in the assets themselves.
While both receiver groups are well balanced, the Mac men excel as zone beaters. Due to the tutelage of offensive coordinator Jon Behie, McMasters’s receivers all have great spatial awareness and carry the acumen of quarterbacks in the way they recognize blitzes and adjust routes accordingly. Leading them is a QB in Marshall Ferguson who deciphers pre-snap information with great efficiency, allowing him to get rid of the ball in a heartbeat.
On the opposite sideline, the G squad has a handful of the best route runners in the league. (It would be a photo finish if the Guelph and Queen’s receiving corps decided to run a four-man—or for this exercise, five-man—100-metre relay.) As a group they are just too big and too fast for most defensive backs to cover one on one. That said, they haven’t seen much man coverage and when they have they haven’t been able to take full advantage because of periodic breakdowns along the line of scrimmage.
The McMaster front five has done better than expected considering the bulk of the unit are first-year starters and returning stalwart Matt Sewell has been sidelined with a knee ailment. Guelph’s line came into this year billed as one of the best in the OUA, but has struggled as the majority of the hogs up front are playing new positions.
THE DEFENCES
The McMaster secondary was supposed to be one of the team’s greatest strengths, but injuries have turned it into a slight weakness. The Guelph secondary, on the other hand, was supposed to be a liability because of players lost to graduation, but a strong recruiting class has made it a strength.
Both units force turnovers by leveraging the ability to gamble because of the pressure created by the force unit up front. McMaster gets their pressure off the edge with blitzing linebackers and halfbacks. Guelph creates pressure right up the middle by collapsing the depth of the pocket and making it difficult for opposing quarterbacks to plant and throw.
The players that set the tone for both teams are their middle linebackers, McMaster’s Aram Eisho and Guelph’s John Rush. What I love about both is that when they get blocked they don’t stay blocked. Even when they are cut they pop up and make a play on the football. If you like throwback linebacker play, keep your eyes fixated in the middle of the field—plenty of CFL evaluators will be. It’s no coincidence they are led by coordinators who were great linebackers themselves in Kevin Eiben (McMaster) and Kevin MacNeill (Guelph).
THE KEY MATCHUP
WR A’dre Fraser vs. K/P Tyler Crapigna
Guelph receiver A’dre Fraser is the most dangerous returner in the OUA who doesn’t go to Queen’s. Where he does go is to the wide side of the field. With quickness that could make you miss in a phone booth, he has great trust that both his speed and his blockers will give him enough time to get to the edge, and he has a flair for the big play. In a game between evenly matched squads that will likely ebb and flow, the potential power of a big return in front of the homecoming crowd could swing the totem pole in Guelph’s favour.
The most important Marauder player in defending Fraser isn’t any of the 11 cover men, but the kicker himself, Tyler Crapigna. For the last couple years Crapigna has been among one of the best place kickers in the country, but his punting has been closer to standard than stellar. In fairness he actively takes yards off his punting average by directionally kicking, which will need to be employed on Saturday. The closer Crapigna can pin Fraser to the sideline, the better angle his cover guys will be able to get. Also, for a guy who routinely splits the uprights at a clip upwards of 80 percent, Crapigna can’t afford a slip up—not just because it will take points off the board against a stingy defence but because it may allow Fraser to put points on the board going the other way in the form of a missed field goal return.
McMaster head coach Stef Ptsazek is one of the few head coaches who personally takes an active role in the preparation of his special-teams units. That attention to detail is something I’ll be watching for on Saturday.