The seventh time’s the charm.
After six long years, the Carleton Ravens slayed their Panda demons on Sunday, defeating the uOttawa GeeGees 20-14 on a hot sunny day at TD Place in the 56th Panda Game.
Thousands of Ravens fans rushed the field celebrating their team’s Panda victory — something that hasn’t happened for Carleton since 2017.
“The streak has continued since before me, and even when I was a fan going and cheering for Carleton,” Ravens kicker Brandon Forcier said after the game.
“Finally us getting it done, it feels like it’s a dream come true.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, with neither team getting within 30 yards of the endzone, the GeeGees were the first to break the deadlock.
Just minutes into the second quarter, Ravens starting quarterback Tristan Lefebvre threw what looked like a blind pass under pressure, which was picked off by GeeGees defensive back Nicolas Dion.
On the next play, GeeGees quarterback Josh Janssen connected with Robin Collioud upfield, where he danced past a few defenders before completing the 43-yard play into the Ravens’ endzone.
The GeeGees added a rouge point on the next drive to open an 8-0 lead.
Lefebvre was coming off of a 55-28 loss to Guelph on Sept. 27 where he threw four picks in a rough performance.
He was chosen over Elijah Barnes, who started last year’s Panda for the Ravens. There, he went 19-for-28 for 329 yards, throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.
On the next drive, the Ravens turned to Barnes to lead their offense.
Barnes finished this year’s Panda Game with 189 yards, throwing 13 for 19.
“Adrenaline still hasn’t worn off,” said Barnes post-game. “The after effects, seeing all the fans rush the field, the right way this time, it was definitely amazing to see.”
Almost immediately after entering the game, Barnes helped Carleton make up some ground, throwing a precise 13-yard ball into the hands of veteran player Tristan Ready in the GeeGees endzone with a couple of minutes left in the second.
Ready leads Carleton in touchdowns this season with four.
But the Ravens could not force the equalizer, after a failed two- point conversion kept them behind by two.
One minute later, an unexpected punt block by Ravens Ethan Boxall flipped the script for the Ravens. The linebacker capitalized on the turnover, carrying the ball for the Ravens’ second touchdown in a row.
“Ready getting that touchdown, getting that energy up,” said Barnes of the turning point of the game. “Guys are ecstatic on the sidelines.”
Carleton redeemed themselves on the two-point conversion to lead 14-8 heading into the half.
Barnes continued to let the ball fly in the second half, kicking off the third frame with a 40-yard pass to Hachey to put the Ravens into striking range. Ravens kicker Brandon Forcier completed the drive with his 56th career field goal.
The GeeGees tried to strike back with a field goal of their own towards the end of the third quarter, but again, the Ravens pulled out another big block to keep the GeeGees down 17-8 heading into the final quarter.
Forcier added another field goal to extend the Ravens lead to 12 with six minutes remaining in the game.
uOttawa pushed late, including a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game and an attempted Hail Mary into the endzone as the clock ran out. But a blocked pass capped off Carleton’s strong defensive performance.
For Ravens head coach Corey Grant, it’s on to the next, saying he’s focused on Carleton’s upcoming game against an undefeated Laurier squad on Oct. 10.
“I’m just worried about the rest of the season,” Grant said. “It’s one win, gets us into the playoff picture, moves us up in the standings — and then we got to go and still finish off.”
Carleton pulled to 3-3 on the year, jumping ahead of the GeeGees in the standings into 5th place in the OUA football standing.
“I think, as a full team, we played better, right?” Grant said. “That’s what happens when we play good complementary football: gave ourselves a chance.”
“I feel like this could be a turnaround point for our program,” Hachey said.
This story was originally published in the Charlatan, and has been republished with the permission of the publication.
