The Carleton Ravens football team spoiled the University of Toronto’s (U of T) home opener at Varsity Stadium on Sept. 10 when they defeated the Varsity Blues by a score of 65-7.
“Overall we played well, had a few mistakes early on offence but we were able to overcome them,” said Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah.
The game started relatively slow with both teams forced to punt early and often.
During U of T’s second drive pinned in their own end, quarterback Marcus Hobbs’ throw was intercepted by Carleton first-year defensive back Jay Dearborn. Carleton wasn’t able to capitalize on the turnover, as a fumble on second and seven would force the Ravens to punt again.
After an unsuccessful U of T possession, the Ravens would hand the ball to running back Jayde Rowe, who ran for 28 yards on three plays before Ravens quarterback Jesse Mills fumbled the ball at the one-yard line and U of T recovered.
U of T struggled and were forced to punt. Ravens defensive back Tunde Adeleke returned the ball 77 yards for the game’s first score, and kicker Michael Domagala would add the extra point to make the score 7-0.
U of T got the ball and ran the no-huddle offence with some success before the first quarter came to a close.
After some back and forth play in the second quarter, Mills connected with wide receiver Nate Behar for a 19-yard touchdown. Domagala added his second extra point of the day to put the Ravens up 14-0.
“Defensively our team played outstanding, and put us in good field positions all game,” Mills said. “Offensively we executed well but still made some mistakes we need to fix and get better for next game.”
After being pinned in their own end by a deep kick and a penalty, the Varsity Blues would take a safety giving Carleton a 16-0 lead and the ball.
On the following drive, Rowe rushed 25 yards through U of T’s defence to find the end zone. Domagala tacked on the kick to make it 23-0 with about a minute remaining in the first half.
After getting the ball, Hobbs looked downfield, but was picked off by Dearborn again. Mills then found Behar for his second touchdown of the afternoon.
The Ravens would collect more points on a safety and field goal to give themselves a 35-0 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Mills drove the ball downfield for Carleton and completed a six-yard toss to Rowe for another score, and Domagala added the kick to put Carleton up by 42.
Mills connected with Behar for a third time in the game, giving the Ravens a 49-0 lead after a successful kick.
Behar’s eight receptions in the game helped him set a new record for career receptions as a Raven with 142, surpassing former Raven John Dawley.
The Ravens added two touchdowns and a safety in the fourth quarter to wrap up the game with 65 points, while the Varsity Blues added a touchdown to prevent the shutout.
“A real confidence game for our defence to be able to not give up any points especially after our last two games,” Sumarah said. “We were really able to force them to go to their plan B all game and that is rewarding.”
The Ravens will return to MNP Park on Sept. 17 to play the Laurier Golden Hawks in the homecoming game.
