Ravens punch above their weight with fourth-quarter heroics, but Gee-Gees prevail on a late field goal.
The Gee-Gees won their 39th Panda Bowl at the game’s 57th edition this past Sunday.
Tensions were high as No. 6 Ottawa looked to reclaim Pedro the Panda, while the No. 10 Ravens entered the game searching for their first win of the season. The matchup proved to be much more evenly contested than anticipated, culminating in a 35-32 nail-biter.
“That’s usually what happens with Panda, these games go down to the wire,” commented Ottawa head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. “It’s a lot of anxiety for these student athletes, especially in front of 20,000 people.”
Ottawa opened the scoring with a 52-yard field goal from Zachary Copeland, but Carleton quickly answered. Ravens’ quarterback Elijah Barnes connected with Frederich Hachey, who powered through the Ottawa defence to put Carleton in scoring position. Zacharie Georges then finished the drive, plunging into the end zone from the one-yard line to put the Ravens ahead.
“We want to be a team that’s not just one-dimensional. We want to be able to pass the ball downfield and get some yards after the catch,” Barnes explained. “If they’re going to give us a yard, we are going to take 10 more.”
The agony was far from over for Gee-Gees fans. On the ensuing drive, Carleton’s side of the stadium erupted as defensive back Joshua Awoodzie intercepted Ottawa quarterback Josh Janssen’s throw to Roméo Lussier. The pick-six stretched the Ravens’ lead to 14-3 in play-of-the-week-worthy fashion.
Janssen remained unshaken in the second quarter as he marched Ottawa down the field before finding Devaughn Blackwood in the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown.
“Janssen’s the best in the country,” said Blackwood. “I’ll take him over anyone. I’m just so happy to get to play with him this year.”
Blackwood transferred to Ottawa from St. Francis Xavier University this past season for his first and last Panda Game. A Kanata native, Blackwood had already returned home, but remained hungry to bring it back to the house for the Gee-Gees as he found the end zone twice more in the same quarter.
Trailing 25-17, the Ravens’ composure began to falter coming out of halftime. The Gee-Gees blocked a punt by Carleton’s Jonas Pasian at the start of the third quarter. Although Ottawa settled for a rouge, Carleton surrendered great field position with the error. A subsequent facemask penalty against Carleton directly advanced Ottawa to the Ravens’ one-yard line. OUA leading rusher, Souleymane Camara then punched in a touchdown, blowing the score open to 32-17.
“[Camara] breathes the defence and sees the defence so well,” praised Bellefeuille. “He’s a workhorse. He really gave us a burst, gave us a running game, and he gave us big plays in the passing game. He’s just so impressive.”
Refusing to go down without a fight, Carleton mounted a fourth-quarter comeback that erased the 14-point deficit. Barnes connected with Hachey for a touchdown before finding Benjamin Huckabone for another score on the Ravens’ next possession. Matthew Morin then converted the two-point attempt to tie the game at 32 with less than five minutes remaining.
With Pedro on the line, Ottawa answered with a lengthy drive that ended in a 13-yard field goal from Copeland, putting the Gee-Gees ahead 35-32 with just over a minute to play.
“Our thought was if they’re not going to give us anything big over the top, we’ll get ourselves into field goal range and give ourselves the chance to tie it up,” explained Carleton head coach Corey Grant.
Carleton’s hopes of salvaging a tie was fueled by a facemask penalty that gave the Ravens one final opportunity. As Ethan Farahani’s 49-yard field goal attempt fell short in the dying seconds, a sea of grey and garnet poured onto the field to celebrate Pedro’s return.
At 4-3, the Gee-Gees now sit sixth in the OUA standings. With only one week remaining, a loss to Western could leave them vulnerable to a tiebreaker. York, Laurier and Waterloo could all finish 4-4 if they win their remaining games, putting pressure on Ottawa to defeat the No. 2 Mustangs to guarantee its playoff berth. Luckily for the squad and Gee-Gees fans alike, the regular-season finale will take place at home turf this Sunday, Oct. 17. Buy your tickets now!
