As homecoming celebrations were being played out campus-wide, the McMaster Marauders earned their first win of the 2025 season in front of a sold-out crowd by defeating the Guelph Gryphons 25-15.
The atmosphere was tight throughout the game, and the score differential never exceeded ten points. The Marauders played two great halves of football and kept their foot on the gas the whole time, putting in their best performance as a team so far this season.
The Gryphons took an early lead in the first quarter by forcing a conceded safety by Mac kicker, Michael Horvat, in the end zone, before driving down the field during their next possession and punching in a goal-line rushing touchdown on first and short courtesy of Marshall McCray (one rush, five yards, one touchdown).
Trey Thompson's field goal extended Guelph's early lead to 9-0, and the Marauders got the ball back ready to go to work.
Quarterback Luke Thalman (19-of-25, 280 yards, one touchdown) had his best performance yet this year in this game.
Right after Guelph's touchdown, he helped put together an incredible offensive drive that took more than five minutes off the clock by hitting receivers in stride and keeping the ball on his own runs. Before you knew it, they were knocking on the door on a third and short.
In comes backup, Lucas Barresi, who went under center, took the snap, and plunged over the top of the scrum for a touchdown, before Michael Horvat (2-3 FGM, 2-2 XPM, eight points) kicked an extra point to make it 9-7 with just under ten minutes to play in the second quarter.
The crowd went wild as everyone who packed Ron Joyce Stadium on that afternoon each was hit with the same thought: "this could be the one".
The team's traded possessions for a few minutes before Guelph received a punt and was downed well into their own territory.
The Gryphons, backed up deep, would concede a safety in the end zone with the Marauders breathing down their necks to even the game at 9-9 with 3:38 left in the first half.
The Mac offence received the ball back in what would be their last possession of the first half. Methodically, Thalman would help lead a drive that took the remainder of the time off the clock to set up a field goal attempt from Michael Horvat, which he nailed to take a 12-9 lead at halftime.
To describe the energy at the stadium at that point, with Mac leading at halftime, it would likely be best to say that it felt like an equal mixture of nervousness and excitement as fans became giddier with the thought of a win entering their minds at a more rapid pace with each down played.
The third quarter resembled a dogfight with both defences forcing punt after punt for the majority of the frame.
After the ball traded hands a few times, the Marauder offence broke off a big play to stretch the field on first down with just under 4:40 to play in the third quarter.
In the shotgun, Thalman took the snap, and with the pocket slightly collapsing, he launched a deep ball down the left sideline to Aidan Nemeth, who hauled it in for a 62-yard reception.
This moment would only be the start for him.
The offence would not be able to punch it in, even after a roughing the passer penalty called on the Gryphons. Horvat came on for a chip-shot field goal attempt but bounced it off the left upright for a rouge, making the game 13-9 for Mac.
Guelph's next drive would be stifled by the Marauder defence, in particular, defensive linemen, Greg Palmer and Ryan Broome, combining forces with each other to sack Aboud and bring up a second and long that would end in a punt back to the Marauders, who took the ball going into the fourth quarter.
Aboud would be sacked seven times in the game as he felt relatively consistent pressure from the Marauders' front seven.
With the fourth quarter in play, everyone present at the game got the picture-perfect moment they were looking for.
On second and eight, Thalman took the snap, dropped back, and launched a beautiful ball over the heads of every Gryphon defender in sight to a wide-open Nemeth, who cruised in for his first touchdown reception of the year.
Nemeth had a game to remember with 145 yards receiving and a touchdown off just four catches. Statistically, he is only 83 receiving yards away from matching his total from last year, and he has played six fewer games so far.
No points would come until Horvat boomed a 47-yard field goal with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. As the victory became more of a sure thing to the Marauders and everyone there, the energy was heavily sapped away from the Gryphons.
Guelph's next drive would be stymied quickly, as Mac got set with the ball once again, but they, too, would see no luck. Horvat's next punt would go through the endzone for another rouge to extend the lead to 24-9 with just over four minutes to play.
To end off Mac's next offensive drive, he would involuntarily score another rouge, as his field goal attempt sailed wide before the returner was tackled in the end zone.
Guelph would only be able to manage a last-minute touchdown pass from Aboud to Willem Arseneau before a failed two-point conversion would seal the score as a 25-15 Marauder win.
As the offence came back out one last time for a kneel, you could almost feel some type of proverbial weight lift off the shoulders of this program.
They may not win any more games this year, but if that is truly the case, they have this game to look back on and build off where everybody came together and executed their roles in the pursuit of a common goal: to win.
McMaster's next game will be on Saturday in London, where they will take on the undefeated Western Mustangs coming off a bye week, at 1:00 pm EST.
The Gryphons, meanwhile, head up to Ottawa on the same day to take on the 2-2 Carleton Ravens, who are coming off a win against York. That game will be at 4:00 pm EST.