Gaels and Gryphons battle for the Turner Trophy this Saturday

The Queen's Gaels avenged a regular season loss to the McMaster Marauders in convincing fashion last weekend and will now try and win a third consecutive OUA Championship on Saturday in Kingston.

After losing to the Marauders 18-13 back on Sept. 28 – the Gaels first OUA loss in over two years – Queen's dominated McMaster in the OUA semi-final, rolling to a 61-0 victory last Saturday in Kingston.  Facing Queen's in the OUA Championship is the Guelph Gryphons.

Like Queen's, the Gryphons posted a 7-1 record in regular season play, and advanced to the championship with a 18-0 shutout win against the Brock Badgers.

The two teams previously met in Kingston on Oct. 4, with Queen's coming away with a 33-17 victory; the crucial win eventually led to the Gaels finishing first in the standings, and as a result they will have home-field advantage for Saturday's game.

Guelph boasts the league's no. 1-ranked offence, leading OUA with 413 points scored in the regular season. Joe Newman led Guelph in scoring with 93 points this season, scoring four tries, one penalty goal, and 35 conversions; he made one conversion and two penalty kicks in the game against Brock.

The Gryphons high-flying offence also features the league leader in tries.

Adam Maahs scored 12 tries this season, ranking first in the league. Not far behind him were teammates Brandon McLeod and Eric Howard each scored eight tries, and Jeremy Wright who scored seven.

On Queen's side, Kai Lloyd and David Worsley led the team with nine and six tries respectively. Worsley also led the team in scoring with 78 points, adding two penalty goals and 21 conversions this season, and played a key role in the 61-0 rout of McMaster; Lloyd scored two tries in the match.

With a win on Saturday, the Gaels would capture their 21st Turner Trophy, moving into a tie with Toronto for the most provincial rugby championships since the inaugural title was handed out in 1923-24. 

Guelph is seeking its third ever OUA title, the most recent one coming in the 1998-99 season.

The OUA Championship is this Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at Nixon Field in Kingston and will air live on OUA.tv.

The bronze medal game also takes place on Saturday when the McMaster Marauders head to St. Catharines to take the on the Brock Badgers at 1 p.m.

The teams only other meeting this season was also played at Brock, and the Badgers made good use of the home-field advantage, coming away with a 28-24 win on Oct. 4.

Brock's Connor Fitzsimmons led OUA in scoring with 100 points this season, coming off seven tries, seven penalty goals, and 22 conversions.

For McMaster, James Leveridge led the team on the score sheet with 81 points, ranking third in the league.

Expect an exciting and competitive game from two teams hoping to bounce back from tough losses and end their season on a high note.