“It means everything. It’s so much. Celebrating after the game with everyone – people are coming up, taking pictures, people I don’t know – but I feel like I know them.”
Two teams with identical records facing off in a game that has massive playoff implications. Homecoming for two massive Canadian universities. 25 degrees, sunny, and a sold-out crowd. Martin Scorcese couldn’t script it any better than what the setting was for the 54th annual Panda Game.
Although the Gees were coming off of a tough 50-17 loss to Western, there existed reason for optimism at the U of O. U SPORTS rookie quarterback Josh Janssen was 19-for-23 in that game, and looked very comfortable both inside and outside of the pocket.
The Carleton Ravens won the coin toss at the beginning of the game and elected to kickoff to the Gee-Gees, saving their return for the second half. As fireworks erupted, Charles Asselin took the deep kick all the way to the 40-yard line, but fumbled the ball, setting the Ravens up with excellent field position.
After a 16-yard pass from quarterback Tristan Lefebvre, the Ravens set up on the 20-yard line. The passes just kept coming for Lefebvre, as he then threw a pass for a gain of nine yards. On second-and-one the quarterback threw a high, arching spiral that took the Ravens into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game, barely a minute in.
Josh Janssen finally took the field after a short return by Asselin. but was unable to make up any ground as the Gees went two-and-out. Campbell Fair sent a great punt all the way to the 40-yard line, and the Ravens proceeded to collect a penalty for a block to the back. And the Ravens just couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, picking up a holding penalty on their next run.
Staring at a 1st and 20, the Ravens picked up some much-needed ground, but were unable to make it all the way to the first down marker and punted to the Gees. The Ravens took yet another penalty, which Amlicar Polk seemingly took offence to. Polk dashed for 37-yards, deep into Carleton territory, which brought forth deafening cheers from the U of O stands. Polk came into the game second in U SPORTS with a 145.3 yards per game average.
After throwing for a loss of one yard, Janssen was promptly sacked by the Ravens, setting Campbell Fair up for a tough 43-yard field goal attempt. Fair missed the long field goal try, giving the ball back to the Ravens at their 20-yard line.
The Ravens, much like their student population, seemingly aren’t great learners. They took another penalty, leaving them with yet another first-and-long, which they again couldn’t get out of, with credit due to a great tackle from Eric Cumberbatch.
After a short return, Janssen found Malenfant for an 8-yard gain, leaving the Gees just short of a first down near the 55-yard line. But Polk couldn’t break through for a gain, and Campbell Fair was back to punt. The Ravens took the ball at their own 30-yard line.
The Gees stopped the Ravens again on second down and would again receive a punt from deep in Carleton territory. Asselin dropped the punt, but luckily recovered the ball before the Ravens could snatch the fumble. Janssen then found Malenfant near the sidelines for a gain of six yards, but Polk was again stopped short of a first down, forcing the U of O to punt.
After back-to-back runs, Carleton finally snuck through the Gee’s defence and found a first down, which ended the first quarter. On second-and-seven, Charlie Tittley pressured Lefebrve and took him to the ground, though he got the pass off just in time to avoid a sack.
The Gees started their first drive of the second quarter on their 23-yard line. Polk took the ball, and danced to his left, around a couple of Ravens defenders, and through a few more, for a gain of nine. Janssen gave it back to Polk, who bullied his way to a first down.
Janssen took the ball from the 34-yard line and slid for a short gain, evading tackles. Facing a second-and-long, Polk wasn’t quite able to make it to the marker, and the Gees were punting from their 30. And it was a good one. In his first appearance of the year, Gabriel Leroux took out the returner, and the ball squirted out in the process, but it was followed by two penalty flags, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty against the Gees.
Lefebvre started to look deep, sending a deep pass on second-and-one that was batted down by the Gees. Now at the midfield line, the Ravens decided to go for it. The Ravens tried a sneaky play, as they faked a sneak but again looked deep. The ball was again batted down by the Gees, giving them the ball, still placed at the midfield line.
It looked like a huge gain for the Gees as Janssen spotted Kerwin Guiste downfield, but as Guiste came down with the ball it was forced out of his hands. Nevertheless, Janssen didn’t give up. He found Gendron up the middle for a 30-yard gain, and the Gees fans erupted again.
However, Janssen’s luck ended there, as his next deep pass found the hands of Ravens back Malik Yusuf. The Gees turned the ball over again, this time at the Raven’s 10-yard line. Lefebvre looked deep yet again, and Gees star defensive back Patrick Cumberbatch, twin of Eric, again batted it away. The Ravens looked for a short pass next, and Max Charbonneau was having none of it, laying out the Ravens receiver. Charbonneau came into the game leading U SPORTS with 8.5 tackles per game.
Carleton punted from their own endzone, and this time Asselin took it past the 55-yard line, juking and spinning his way to a good gain. Janssen gave the ball to his star running back, and Polk didn’t disappoint, powering his way to a nine-yard gain. On second-and-one, Janssen snuck his way to a first down for the Gees, ending up at the Raven’s 42-yard line.
After a false start, though the Gees were looking up at a second-and-long. Janssen seemingly had a wide-open receiver in Avery, but his pass sailed over the receiver’s head, and the punting unit was back on the field, this time hoping to pin the Ravens in their own territory. The punt sailed into the endzone, and two Gee-Gees tackled the returner, picking up a rouge good for the Gee’s first point of the day.
The Ravens would start their next drive with the ball placed at the 35-yard line. Lefebvre, not learning his lesson, sent a deep ball down the right side of the field that was nearly snatched up by the Gees. After a 2 and out, the Ravens punted.
Asselin dropped his third punt of the day but recovered it nicely for a few yards. The Gees went two-and-out on this drive though and would punt from their 40-yard line. And again, it was a good one from Campbell Fair. His punt took the Ravens out of bounds around their 18-yard line. The Gees were winning the territory battle but didn’t have much to show for it yet.
But the Gees defence shone yet again, this time on a second down sack by Braeden Cruji and Anas Faid. After another good return by Asselin, Janssen took the ball himself on play-action for six yards. Again, almost within Fair’s kicking range, the Gees took a timeout to regroup. This was likely the most important play of the half for the garnet-and-white-clad boys.
Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille wisely called Polk’s number, and the power back took the ball for a good gain and first down. Janssen then found Malenfant for a gain of seven up the middle, leaving the Gees with a second-and-three. After a fake, Janssen found an open man by the sideline for another Gee-Gees first down.
After a failed passing attempt on first down, Janssen didn’t make the same mistake on the second down. He found an open receiver up the middle on a 22-yard pass, good for a Gee-Gees touchdown. The rouge came into play here, as the touchdown gave the Gees a one-point lead.
The Ravens proceeded to run out the short amount of time left on the game clock, confirming the U of O 8-7 lead at the end of the first half. The Gees had seven first downs to the Ravens four, with neither converting a third down. Polk went into the half with 68 yards on ten attempts, which led the game at that point. Josh Janssen’s completions showed 7-for-13 with 81 yards to his name, and a touchdown and interception each.
Zachary Copeland started off the second half by kicking the ball into the Ravens endzone. After a gain of just one yard, Lefebvre took the ball up the middle himself for a first down. A short pass and a good rush allowed the Ravens another first down, with the ball on their own 53. On second-and-eight, Lefebvre got too confident, trying to take the ball himself once again. This time Lefebvre was stopped well short of a first down, and the Ravens would have to punt.
Janssen found his favourite target, Maxim Malenfant, once again, on a pass that would be good for five yards. On his next drop back, his pass again found Carleton’s hands, but they weren’t sicky enough to reel in the interception.
After a 7-yard rush, the Ravens stuck with the ground game. Thanks to Kevin Anderson however, they would have to wait for their first down. But they wouldn’t have to wait too long, as they snuck the ball past the marker on the very next play. Ravens running back Josh Ferguson was excelling in the short run game.
After a 15-yard pass and first down, Lefebvre went back to the air. This time, the ball sailed well past the intended target Hunter Brown. Far from field goal territory, the second down pass was completed, but receiver Jaden Simon ended up no where close to a first down.
Polk took the ball for a short gain, setting up a second-and-seven. This time, Janssen found Robin Collioud for a 12-yard pass, good for a Gees first down. And then, Janssen decided to look downfield. He found a streaking, wide open, Gendron for a 60-yard pass. Gendron took extra yards after the catch, making it all the way to Carleton’s 13-yard line.
Keeping with the passing theme, Janssen then found Scott Fulton to his left, and Fulton dived past the endzone marker for a Gee-Gees touchdown. Fair nailed the extra point, sending a bullet through the uprights, and it was 15-7 Gee-Gees.
I’m still wondering what Zachary Copeland’s leg day routine could possibly entail, because he sent the kickoff a staggering 74-yards, and it ended up deep into the Ravens endzone. The extra field position ended up important for the Gee-Gees, because the Ravens would then proceed to pick up four first downs on their next drive.
The first downs sent the Ravens to the Gee-Gee’s 19-yard line. Running back Alex Gayle took the ball and ran almost all those yards, before he was stopped by a crucial Eric Cumberbatch tackle, leaving them with one yard to go and three downs to get there. But six different Gee-Gees tackled Gayle on his rush attempt, losing them two yards.
Knowing that, Lefebvre decided to take a shot at a pass, which was knocked down by Marc Rondeau. On third down, the Ravens decided to take another shot at the run game. But Samuel Desir had other plans as he stopped Gayle just short of the endzone.
The Ravens failed to score on a 1st and goal with just three yards to go thanks to a ridiculous defensive effort from the Gees. The third quarter was over, the teams switched sides, and the Gees had the ball on their own 1-yard line after the turnover on downs.
But after taking over in their own end zone, the Gees were in trouble. Attempting a run, Polk was tackled for a Carleton safety, giving two points and the ball to the Ravens. After another couple of solid defensive efforts from the Gees, the Ravens went two-and-out.
The Gees had a 2-and-out of their own and it looked to everyone in attendance as if they would again punt from their 35-yard line. But trickster Campbell Fair fooled the defence and took off with the ball, sprinting down the right side of the field for a first down.
The fake would prove crucial for the garnet and grey. After a short gain by Polk, Janssen spotted a wide-open Noah Avery up the middle for 23 yards. Polk gained four yards, and Janssen completed a pass to Collioud for five, and the Gees were facing a third-and-one deep in the Raven’s nest. Matt Mahler was tapped to sneak the ball for a first down, and he succeeded, gaining the yard and then some.
After another short gain by Polk, the Gees were facing second-and-nine. Janssen’s pass attempt found the intended receiver’s left hand but bounced away to the Raven’s Xavier Malone. It would go down as Janssen’s second interception of the day. With just over seven minutes left, the intensity was heating up in TD Place as Carleton looked to overcome the six-point deficit.
After back-to-back medium passes, the Ravens went back to the ground. Josh Ferguson took the ball past multiple Gee-Gees and began sprinting down the sideline. Braeden Cruji caught up, but the damage was done. Ferguson added a 26-yard rush to his tally, his longest of the day.
Then, Lefebvre showed off his improvising abilities. He pump-faked, spun, and found a wide-open receiver for the first down, at the U of O’s 1-yard line. The Gees couldn’t stop this one, and backup quarterback Tristan Rinaldis dashed in for a Raven’s touchdown, their first since just minutes into the game. After nailing the extra point, the Ravens had a one-point lead.
After a solid return by Asselin, the Gees would start their next drive on their own 24. Janssen threw a low pass to Collioud, which was good for 6 yards. He spotted Collioud again on his next drop back, and Collioud backtracked before burning the defenders on him and picking up a first down.
Janssen showed off his accuracy again on the next play, as he found Gendron for a 21-yard gain down the left side. Then it was Polk’s turn for a gain, as he took the ball six yards to the Carleton 54. But Janssen had nowhere to go on his next drop back, choosing instead to run into coverage and be sacked.
Although Fair’s punt was good, the Gees took another penalty on a punt, leaving the Ravens to start their drive at their 31. After a pair of runs from Gayle, the Ravens had another first down, this time on their 43.
But the Raven’s running success would end there, as Riley Hildebrant tacked Gayle for a four-yard loss. Lefebvre then decided to pass, and again lost yards. The Ravens would punt with 50 seconds on the clock.
Starting with the ball on their own 43, Janssen spotted an open receiver, but the pass landed just outside his reach for an incompletion. After a 9-yard pass to Noah Avery brought them almost to the midfield line, Janssen completed another pass to Nicholas Gendron, this time for ten yards.
The clock read just four seconds, and Campbell Fair was tapped by Bellefeuille to lead the kicking unit onto the field. Fair began preparing for the kick but was iced by a Carleton timeout. The Ravens faithful, showing a lack of basic football understanding, began storming the field. Chaos ensued as security attempted to remove the fans from the field to Campbell Fair kick the ball.
When Fair finally stepped up to the ball, he was looking at a 55-yard try, which would tie the longest of his career, set last year against Laurier (also a game winner). This would be just four yards short of the longest U SPORTS field goal of all time, behind Niko DiFonte of UBC in 2017.
Fair showed off his mighty leg, which he also used in 2021 to kick the Gees to victory and nailed the kick. The ball seemed to hang in the air forever, and it cleared the bar by just a couple of feet. The Gees had walked it off. Then, the fans from the opposite side of the stadium stormed the field. Bellefeuille said postgame that he was sending Fair out “no matter what.”
When asked about what the crowd means to him postgame, Fair was almost at a loss for words. “It means everything. It’s so much. Celebrating after the game with everyone – people are coming up, taking pictures, people I don’t know – but I feel like I know them.”
When asked about his plans for next year (considering he took training camp with the Canadian Football League’s Stampeders and was also signed by the RoughRiders this summer), Fair was hopeful.
“CFL has been my goal my whole university career. I’m just going to keep going until I get my shot.” And when The Fulcrum inquired about Fair’s drink of choice tonight, a clear winner emerged. “It’s going to have be a beer. I’m not sure what [beer] yet, we’ll find something.”
Janssen finished the contest 18-for-28, good for 251 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Starting the year as the third-string quarterback and moving up the depth chart due to injuries, Janssen was thankful for the opportunity to play in the Panda Game. “The coaches do a great job of keeping everyone ready, third string to start the year but you never know when the opportunity is going to come, so I’m very grateful, and glad we got the win”.
Speaking about Janssen, Bellefeuille said “I was impressed with his performance. You take back the two turnovers, that would be great, but outside of that he pushed the ball downfield and was composed. And he’s only going to get better from playing in these games”.
Nicholas Gendron, he of 191 yards last Panda Game, racked up 121 on just four receptions. Polk led the game with 83 rushing yards, on just 15 attempts. And Max Charbonneau continued to dominate, putting up 9.5 tackles on the day.
