The Carleton Ravens football team fell to the Western University Mustangs 40-23 and now boast a 1-2 record.
Carleton quarterback Tanner DeJong passed for 354 yards on the night and completed 24 of his 36 pass attempts, but the team suffered on the ground, rushing just 59 yards compared to the Mustangs’ 184.
Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah said his team is still working on finding the right offensive-line alignment to enable more success on the ground.
“We’ve had three interior offensive linemen try to get their feet wet this year,” said Sumarah. “It’s going to take a little bit for these guys up front to get going, and you know, I think we still need more production out of our running backs.”
The Mustangs, who remain undefeated on the season at 4-0, hit the 500-yard offensive mark against the Ravens. They also held up the Ravens defensively, intercepting two passes from DeJong deep in their own territory—including one thrown from Western’s own 18-yard line.
That red zone interception came on Carleton’s first drive of the game and DeJong said the pick hurt his team’s ability to obtain early momentum.
“We got great field position off the start from our defense,” said DeJong. “The pick, first drive, was really a big killer for me.”
“We had a chance, maybe, early to get up on them and we missed it,” added Sumarah. “They’re too good a team, they take advantage of those things and the next thing you know, you’re like what the hell just happened.”
On the ensuing Western possession, quarterback Chris Merchant led the Mustangs down the field for a seven-play, 85-yard drive. It ultimately resulted in a six-yard touchdown pass to halfback Antonio Valvano, and, after the kick, the Ravens fell into a 7-0 hole just 5:07 into the game.
Later in the first quarter, the Ravens surrendered a safety which saw them allow a sack, incur a 15-yard penalty, and rush for negative yardage, all inside their own red zone.
Now down 9-0, the Ravens’ deficit increased to 12-0 when Mustangs kicker Marc Liegghio converted a 36-yard field goal attempt just before the end of the first quarter.
It looked like the Ravens might’ve been able to respond on the subsequent drive, but, in the dying seconds of the first, DeJong threw his second interception of the day, giving Western another chance to strike.
The second quarter began with more of the same from Western. Just 56 seconds in, Merchant ran a play-fake before finding receiver Malik Besseghieur wide-open behind coverage for a 67-yard touchdown pass. It was now 19-0.
This time, however, the Ravens finally responded. On the next drive, DeJong marched his team down the field, completing two consecutive passes to Phil Iloki for 40 total yards before finding Quinton Soares in the end zone.
“After [the second interception], I kind of feel like we settled in. It just happened that we were down 19-0 already,” said DeJong. “I guess, a team like that, you can’t give them extra chances with the ball.”
The Ravens went into the half down 26-9 after allowing a rushing touchdown from Merchant and forcing a Western safety to gain two points of their own.
Merchant threw another touchdown pass on Western’s first drive of the second half, but, once again, the Ravens were there to respond on the ensuing possession.
DeJong found Matthieu Pickens with a nine-yard touchdown pass just minutes later. Carleton’s second passing touchdown of the game made it 33-16—still a three-possession contest in Western’s favour.
By the fourth, both teams traded one-yard touchdown rushes to settle the score at 40-23. DeJong had the final word of the game—he broke the plane for the last touchdown—and he also had some words of encouragement for his team.
“Each game we’ve played, we’ve been able to move the football better. We haven’t been able to do the full 60 minutes yet, but I think we’re on our way,” said DeJong. “We’re going in the right direction, so that’s encouraging, and in the second half we moved the ball.”
Feature image by Robert Young.
