Costly turnovers proved decisive for the Carleton Ravens football team Saturday afternoon at TAAG Park as they collapsed in the second quarter and ultimately fell 55-28 to the Guelph Gryphons, dropping to 2-3 in OUA football standings.
After falling behind 21-7 in the opening quarter, the Ravens mounted an impressive comeback sparked by a fumble recovery from linebacker Anthony Lukan, pulling even at 21-21 with 3:38 left in the second.
But before the Ravens could reach halftime, Guelph answered with back-to-back touchdowns to regain control and never looked back, holding Carleton to one touchdown for the remainder of the game.
The Ravens’ offense had its moments but was plagued by four interceptions thrown by quarterback Tristan Lefebvre, all of which were caught by Guelph defensive back Gianni Green, including the first that was returned for a touchdown.
Lefebvre’s four picks raises questions about the Ravens’ starting quarterback position going forward, as he has been competing with Elijah Barnes for the role since the start of the season.
“He’s an older guy, he’s been through this before, so there won’t be much I’ll have to say to him,” said Ravens Head Coach Corey Grant after the game. “I know he’ll be upset, he was disappointed. We’ll just have to watch the film, we’ll make our corrections and see if it was what we were doing or what they were doing.”
Despite picking up the loss, Lefebvre still recorded 220 passing yards.
Ravens receiver Dante Spadaccini added two rushing touchdowns and also contributed 56 receiving yards, crediting Lefebvre after the game for finding him when he was open.
“We still got a shot at playoffs so we just gotta keep our heads up,” Spadacinni added. “We just gotta get in the film room, gotta correct the little things that we didn’t do right. We just gotta look to next week to be honest, and just keep moving forward, keep our heads up and just stay focused stay motivated, and that’s all we gotta do.”
Defensive concerns continue to loom for the Ravens after giving up more than 50 points, just two weeks after allowing 63 points against Western.
When asked if there were any positives to take away from the loss, Grant simply said, “No. (Guelph) won,” but added that the team might find some positives when reviewing the game film.
The next game will be a big one for the Ravens as they take on the UOttawa GeeGees in the annual Panda Game at TD Place.
“Honestly, you don’t really think much of it,” Spadacinni said of Panda. “We just stay focused on what we gotta do. Just lock in, get to meetings … and see what we can do from there.”
Limited tickets are still available for the Panda Game, which will likely bring in around 23,000 fans. Kickoff goes Sunday, Oct. 5 at noon.
Featured image by Denielle Gaudet/the Charlatan
