The Gryphons got a good look at both the things that work well and the things they need to work on during Sunday’s controlled scrimmage with the McMaster Marauders.
“We’re really happy,” Gryphon interim coach Kevin MacNeill said. “We got the opportunity to play a lot of guys and the opportunity to see what things need to get cleaned up. It gives us a good chance to get some good film on that.”
For the scrimmage, the teams took turns running the plays they wanted to work on. Most Gryphon rookies saw good playing time while some veterans with bumps and bruises were kept off the field for precautionary measures.
All four quarterbacks — James Roberts, Theo Landers, Zach Buchan and David Luke — took turns calling the signals and running the offence. And there were a couple of standout plays, although most of the Gryphon effort followed its motto of Team First.
“The first big play that (running back) Mack Jones had there was pretty awesome and we had an interception for a touchdown,” MacNeill said. “There were some nice individual performances, but I thought it was a good well-rounded effort.”
In all reality, the scrimmage brought the Gryphons’ training camp to an end. They’ll begin to get ready for their season and home opener against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
Toward that end, the Gryphons know what they need to work on prior to opening their regular season.
“We’ve just got to clean up our mistakes and make sure we’re not making the small errors that stall drives or let drives continue for our opponents,” MacNeill said. “That’s the big thing, just make sure we clean up those little things and get a little more polished.”
The Gryphons and Toronto are to kick off the season Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.

Written by Rob Massey