The Gryphons’ Lair Issue 48 - Jan 2021

What Happened in December?

Gryphon Football Celebrated the Holidays from a Distance

Christmas looked and felt a little different this year, but the Gryphons didn’t forget to celebrate the spirit of the holidays! Season’s greetings from our family, to yours.

Click here for a holiday greeting from the Gryphon Football team. ​ ​

Chris Camboia and Billy Vastis Reflect on Football Culture

The lowest point in Bill Vastis’s Gryphon Football career is still a vivid memory 26 years later. Guelph was in the midst of a miserable 1994 campaign and the low point came when the team lost to a struggling York program. Vastis, a star defensive end, took it particularly hard. He was adamant that he would quit football and leave the Gryphons.

A chance meeting with a former coach and a decorated professional player altered his planned course. Vastis has told the story many times – he spoke with Dennis McPhee, the current Guelph defensive coordinator then on the staff of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as well as Terry Greer, a wide receiver who made his mark in both the CFL and NFL. Greer won a with the San Francisco 49ers and happened to be wearing his ring that night. He told the young Vastis that the devastating loss would be one of two things – a nail in the coffin of his football career or the event that motivated him to go on to greater things.

To read more of this article written by David DiCenzo, click here. ​ ​

Guelph Mines Diamond in the Rough

Lakeshore Catholic football player Aidan Atkins is the prototypical diamond in the rough.

“He is 6-foot-3, 194 pounds, a 90-plus student, a real good athlete and people just don’t know who he is,” said Lakeshore senior football head coach John Casasanta, who also doubles as the University of Guelph’s Niagara recruiting officer. “This year was the first season where he would showcase his skillset by trying out for the (Niagara) Spears and trying out for Team Ontario. He has been kind of buried here at Lakeshore because we haven’t had a successful program in a number of years.”

To read more of this article published by BPSN, click here. ​ ​

Casanata Knows if You’re a Naughty or Nice Football Player

For the past 15 years, John Casasanta has been the recruiting Santa for the University of Guelph’s Ontario University Athletics’ football program. Each fall, Guelph’s coaching staff looks to see what the school’s Niagara recruiter has brought for them to unwrap when training camp starts.

“My first year, I landed two All-Canadians (James Savoie and Jedd Gardner) and an OUA (Ontario University Athletics) all-star (Sebastian Howard) right off the bat,” the 47-year-old Welland native said. “From there, he (then head coach Kyle Walters) told me to just keep going and now I am up to 85 or 86 players from Niagara that have signed a letter of intent and played for the University of Guelph in some capacity.”

Casasanta’s lost of recruits speak for themselves. In addition to the start-studded first recruiting class, he has also helped Guelph sign: CFL players John Rush, Jeff Finley, Alex Charette and Johnny Augustine; All Canadian Ryan Niewesteeg; OUA all-stars Jordan Duncan, Kyle Fraser, Donnie Egerter and Greg Corfield; Michael Millar, who became a team defensive MVP; and, Taylor Palmer and Rob Farquarson, Guelph Wildman Award winner for the senior or graduating player who exemplified to the highest degree the traits of sportsmanship, leadership, gentlemanly conduct, and who has maintained good scholarship.

Click here to read more of this article by BPSN. ​ ​

Tiger Cats Sign Three on Defence, Including Linebacker Newton

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Tuesday that the football club has signed three free agents on defence, including national linebacker Curtis Newton, and international defensive backs Frankie Williams and Joel Ross.

Newton, 23, split the 2017 season with the Tiger-Cats and , appearing in eight games and registering two special teams tackles. The 6-2, 220-pound linebacker played in 16 games for the Argonauts in his rookie season in 2016, posting five special teams tackles. A native of London, Ontario, Newton was originally selected by Toronto out of the University of Guelph in the fifth round, 40th overall, in the 2016 CFL Draft. He played in 29 games over four seasons (2012-15) with the Gryphons, registering 139 defensive tackles, 16 tackles for loss, seven quarterback sacks, four interceptions, six pass breakups and three fumble recoveries.

To read more of this article, written by Ticats staff, click here. ​ ​

Next Gryphon

In the month of December, we added a long list of commits to our #NextGryphons family. Stay tuned to our social media accounts for their official signings.

Aidan Atkins, a 6’3, 180 lb Receiver from Lakeshore Catholic Highschool in Crystal ​ Beach, Ontario. Click here to watch his highlight tape. ​ ​

Cameron Park, a 6’2, 160 lb Receiver from Oshawa, Ontario. ​

Anakin Guthrie, a 5’7, 145 lb Defensive Back from the Guelph CVI in Guelph, Ontario. ​ Click here to watch his highlight tape. ​ ​

Seamus Milligan, a Defensive Lineman from Lennoxville, Quebec. Click here to watch ​ ​ ​ his highlight tape.

Alex Gordon, a 6’5, 275 lb Lineman from Eastview in Barrie, Ontario. ​

Celebrations

University of Guelph Offensive Lineman Ben Petrie Well Worth a Look for Redblacks

The Redblacks signed offensive lineman Benjamin Petrie and it’s an underrated move which could pay off with little risk for Ottawa.

Petrie is a Waterloo, ON native who played his football at the University of Guelph in the Ontario University Athletics conference. Petrie suited up for the Gryphons from 2016 to 2019.

I’m a big fan of the Petrie signing as an undrafted Canadian free agent. He always managed to catch my eye when I was watching film of Coulter Woodmansey, selected in the first round, fifth overall by the Ticats in the 2020 CFL Draft, or Eric Starczala, chosen in the seventh round, 62nd overall by the Argos.

The six-foot-four, 300-pound Petrie is a guy with the potential to punch above his weight class in the CFL that is well worth a look.

To read this article by 3 Down Nation, click here. ​ ​

Coulter Woodmansey Jr. Argos Feature

Coulter Woodmansey was recently featured on “In the End Zone with the Toronto Jr. Argos”.

To read his interview with Andre Brock, click here. ​ ​

Training Talk

January Update by Coach Kania

With 2020 behind us, we can now focus on the immediate task at hand, which is preparing for spring ball, and the upcoming 2021 season.

As December ended, our athletes finished the third block of a 9-week strength and hypertrophy program. Along with it, we saw some noticeable gains and more importantly, a return to strength which has been lost during the unfortunate inactivity over the spring and summer.

We've been very fortunate to have been welcomed by Mark Giffen and his staff at The Vault Barbell Club on Beverley St. in Guelph, giving our athletes some additional space and time to be able to train. Mark has previous ties with the University of Guelph, has a phenomenal reputation in the Powerlifting community and has been extremely generous since our first conversation. Thanks again, Mark!

In preparation for January, and not knowing what will happen according to Public Health in the city, I am working with the coaching staff and Athletics department in determining exactly how we will be able to continue training in mid-January (assuming all goes well). As such, Plans A, B, C, D etc. are currently in the works with how we will approach each situation.

In a perfect world, we are focusing on a return to movement, conditioning, and teaching proper form mechanics when it comes to all aspects of running. We will also be entering the most rigorous of our training blocks after a few weeks of "knocking off the rust". Essentially, we are going back to the same period as prior to shut down, which brings with it a hope of spring ball, and the 2021 season.

Featured Alumnus

Our Featured Alumnus for this month is former Gryphon, Donald Ziraldo. ​

While at the university of Guelph, Gryphon Football alumnus Donald Ziraldo studied a degree in Horticulture. Upon graduation from the University of Guelph, Donald returned to the 16 Family Farm in St. Catherines, Ontario. He returned to the farm and operated a very successful nursery. From there, Donald went on to co-found Inniskillin Wines with Karl Kaiser in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In fact, Donald’s icewine recently won the gold Sommeliers’ Choice award.

When asked about his time as a Gryphon, Donald said that Gryphon Football taught him “discipline and teamwork”. “My favourite memory from my playing days was winning ​ the game against Laurentian 69 nothing. It was my first game as the Gryphon quarterback”, he recalls.

We are so proud of Donald’s contributions to Gryphon Football and his immense talent in the Canadian wine industry. Thank you for being our featured alumnus, Donald!

Tweet of the Month

The January tweet of the month was published by @CFL. Gryphon alumni Jake Reinhart can be seen doing some innovative squats on his homemade rack. Lockdown won’t stop Jake.

To keep up with us on Twitter, click here. ​ ​

Monthly Pick-Me-Up

Check out these shots of our players edited by the incredible Matt Sharpe.

Arts & Culture

This month's pavilion Arts & Culture feature is the Gryphon carving on the rooftop patio. This large Gryphon was crafted out of 100% wood and was a treasured garage sale find that was contributed by gryphon football alumnus, Dan Crabbe. Check out this standout piece!

Gryphons Gone Pro

This month’s "Gryphon Gone Pro" is the outstanding Gabriel Ferraro. Ferraro played ​ ​ ​ five games for the Riders filling in for Brett Lauther. He made 7-of-9 field goals with a long of 48 yards and 11-of-12 converts. He is currently signed with the Ottawa Red Blacks. We are so proud of Gabriel’s success! ​

Did You Know?

Former Riders Scout, Canadian-raised Thomas Dimitroff Interviews for General Manager Job

The Detroit Lions have interviewed Canadian-raised Thomas Dimitroff for the team’s general manager position. ​

The Lions fired former GM Bob Quinn coming off a 41-25 American Thanksgiving Day loss to the Houston Texans. Detroit was 4-7 at the time and had lost consecutive games for the third time in 2020.

Dimitroff doesn’t want to be out of work for long. He was let go by the following an 0-5 start to this season after spending 13 years as GM. The University of Guelph graduate compiled a 113-93 win-loss record along with a 4-6 post-season record, including the famous loss to Tom Brady and the in Super Bowl LI.

To read more of this article by 3Down Staff, click here. ​ ​

Save the Date

Gala Dinner: May 15, 2021* ​

Golf Tournament: July 23, 2021* ​

*Dependent on COVID-19 restrictions closer to the event

FOGF Memberships

Become a Member

Interested in becoming an FOGF Member? There are three different tiers to our memberships: Red, Gold and Black. To find out more information about our memberships and what is involved in each level, please click here. For questions about ​ ​ ​ the membership, please contact Bill Brown at [email protected]. ​ ​

Share Your News If you have any news or updates, we would be more than happy to share them in our upcoming newsletter. Please reach out to [email protected] for any celebrations, ​ ​ announcements of bereavements that you would like us to share.