The Carleton Ravens’ goal on Thursday night was simple: win at TD Place and clinch home field advantage in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarterfinals.
Instead, the Ravens started slow and lost 24-19 to the uOttawa Gee-Gees, ensuring Carleton will play the quarterfinals on the road next weekend.
As a result of the loss, the Ravens have ended the season with a 2-4 record. The Gee-Gees improved to 3-3 with the win.
“The biggest thing for us was to be able to host a playoff game. Now we’re going to be travelling,” Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah said. “It is what it is at this point. Playoff games are playoff games and you are just happy that you get to the dance.”
The Ravens started the game slowly on both sides of the ball and the Gee-Gees took advantage of it. Propelled by their strong run game led by J-P Cimankinda, uOttawa jumped to a huge 17-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Despite the slow start, Sumarah said the Ravens didn’t give up or panic.
“We were just literally asleep at the wheel,” Sumarah said. “Once we started to get a couple of plays put together, we started to get some momentum, but it’s tough. When you are down 17-0, it’s a big hole to climb out of.”
The Ravens stormed back in the second quarter with a rushing touchdown from Reid Vankoughnett and a field goal. Fifth-year running back Nathan Carter’s strong run game opened up passing opportunities for the Ravens and they were able to put some long drives together.
Carleton’s defence also warmed up, shutting out the Gee-Gees for over two full quarters of play and holding them to only seven points after the first quarter.
Despite trailing by seven points at halftime, the Ravens had momentum. They outscored the Gee-Gees 10-0 in the second quarter, all while playing near-perfect defence.
In the third quarter, the Ravens switched to backup quarterback Tristan Rinaldis, which provided a spark for the Ravens offence that was starting to click. Sumarah said was the move was intended to keep the Gee-Gees’ defence guessing.
“We had a couple plays that we had designed for him and he took full advantage of it. He showed his athleticism and made some great plays for us,” Sumarah said.
Rinaldis’ executed an excellent quarterback draw which resulted in a fourth-quarter touchdown, cutting the Gee-Gees’ lead to 24-19. For Carleton, it was too little, too late.
The Ravens outscored the Gee-Gees 19-7 after the first quarter, with uOttawa’s only points coming from a quarterback sneak early in the fourth quarter. The Ravens were the better team in the second half on both sides of the ball, but their comeback ultimately fell short in a close but tough loss.
Sumarah said his message to the team going into the playoffs next week is the same that it has been all year.
“Football is a 60-minute game. If we don’t play a full 60 minutes, we are going to run into these situations all year long,” Sumarah said. “When you don’t start a game well, you are always on that uphill battle and that’s what it was for us all game.”
The Ravens played a clean game, preventing any turnovers or many penalties, but starting slowly hurt them. Sumarah said the team will work hard in practice to ensure their offense clicks right from the get-go next weekend in the quarterfinals.
While the playoff picture is still up in the air—Carleton could be facing uOttawa or the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, depending on if the Varsity Blues win this weekend—Sumarah said who they face doesn’t matter.
“The reality is, we have to play 60 minutes of football. It doesn’t matter who we are playing,” Sumarah said. “To be blunt, we haven’t done that all year, so it is going to take a colossal effort from the entire team to do that.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
