On a perfect day for football, yet another landmark game for the Carleton Ravens pitted them against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the historic Panda Game. Carleton lost the last Panda Game in 1998, and lost this one 35-10.
Once again, the Ravens failed to get off the ground early, and U of O was up 14-0 by the end of the first quarter behind touchdowns from Brendan Gillanders and Simon le Marquand.
After that, it was the Gee-Gees who started to look sloppy in the midst of the second quarter, turning over the ball twice, and missing a field goal that was returned 129 yards for a touchdown by Carleton cornerback Tunde Adeleke, who broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.
“That was one of the most spectacular plays I’ve seen in football,” Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah said.
The play would tie the record for longest return in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history.
“It felt great to do that, but right after that you have to get on to the next play,” Adeleke said.
Thanks to that return, the score at halftime was 21-10, a small margin for the Ravens to overcome.
However, Gee-Gees running back Gillanders ran for 164 yards, earning the title of Panda Player of the Game.
“It’s an honour, this game means a lot to a lot of alumni, so to be the player of the game in such a historic rivalry really means a lot to me,” Gillanders said.
The most bizarre play of the game came in the fourth quarter, when the Gee-Gees, already up by a significant number of points, tried a blind behind-the-back pass into the opposing end zone. It was easily intercepted by Adeleke.
Despite this second spark, the Ravens were not able to score another touchdown the rest of the game.
Pedro the Panda, the prized trophy for the victor of the Panda Game, was presented to the Gee-Gees following their defeat of the Ravens shortly after.
The sold-out crowd, comprised of mostly U of O fans, celebrated their team’s first Panda victory in over a decade.
“Obviously it was a biased crowd for us, but they were well-behaved and I hope that can continue,” Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi said.
The victory brought the Gee-Gees one step closer to a berth in the playoffs. They now stand at 4-3, whereas the Ravens drop to 0-6. In spite of that, Sumarah said he remains positive about his young team’s abilities.
“I thought we did some great things out there, our guys are working hard, and the benefits are being seen on the field,” he said.
Carleton faces another tough match against the undefeated Guelph University Gryphons Oct. 11 at Keith Harris Stadium, in their Friday Night Lights game.
