For the second time in as many weeks, the Waterloo Warriors gave one of the OUA's top teams everything they could handle. But, just like a week ago, the Warriors came up just short in search of their first win of the season.  

After a hot start, the black and gold were outscored in the second half, falling 42-25 to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.  

The Warriors got a solid performance from backup quarterback Nolan Kaban (Calgary/), who made his first start in 13 months. Taking snaps for the injured Nick Orr (Caledon/), the veteran Kaban completed 24 of 36 passes for 249 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Evan Basalyga (Thunder Bay/) and Logan Heroux (Burlington/) each nabbed a touchdown pass, while ruining back Anthony Miller (Brampton/) also found the endzone for Waterloo. 

For the Gryphons, a pair of receivers proved to be the difference - Willem Arseneau nabbed a pair of touchdown receptions, and Vyshonne Janusas added a 109-yard kickoff return touchdown, along with 6 catches for 102 receiving yards.  

Just like a week ago against the top-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks, the Warriors came out and controlled ball possession for much of the first quarter. After a Benjamin Lane field goal opened the scoring for Guelph, the Warriors cashed in on a 14-play drive with a 6-yard hookup from Kaban to Basalyga to make it 6-3 Waterloo.  

After the Gryphons conceded a safety, the Warriors found the endzone again early in the 2nd quarter with a 1-yard run from Miller, making it 15-3 for the visitors. Later in the quarter, the Gryphons forced a safety of their own, and Jordan Buick caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tristan Aboud to narrow the Waterloo lead to 15-12. Another forced safety made it a one-point game, but a Cole Crossett (Metcalfe/) 46-yarder at the halftime buzzer extended Waterloo's lead to 18-15 through 30 minutes.  

The Gryphons came out in the second half with an increased aerial attack, and Arseneau caught a pair of touchdown passes - one each from Aboud and Marshall McCray - giving Guelph a 28-18 lead. 

With the score 35-18 early in the fourth, Heroux hauled in a touchdown reception to give the Warriors hope again. But Janusas took the ensuing kickoff back to the house, sniffing out the visitors' comeback bid.  

The Warriors once again got an outstanding effort from their defensive front seven, anchored by middle linebacker Michael Omoseni (Burlington/). A week after he registered two interceptions, Omoseni forced a pair of fumbles against the Gryphons, adding a pass breakup and a team-high 7.5 tackles.  

Waterloo will now look to break into the win column when they hit the road to take on the 1-4 York Lions next Saturday, October 5 at 1pm.