The Carleton Ravens football team travelled to the University of Guelph on Oct. 10 to face off against the Gryphons.
The Ravens fought hard, especially late inh the game, but the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s sixth-ranked Gryphons were too much in the end, defeating them 44-24.
Carleton got off to a slow start early in the first quarter when quarterback Nick Gorgichuk threw an interception that was returned 30 yards just shy of the end zone.The defense managed to temporarily hold the powerhouse opponent, forcing them to settle for a field goal.
“We prepped all week for them. We knew what they were going to do and it seemed like in the first half we were beating ourselves instead of letting them beat us,” Ravens receiver Kyle Van Wynsberghe said.
The Gryphons continued to push in the first quarter as running back Johnny Augustine punched the ball into the end zone just after the field goal, giving the Gryphons a 10-0 lead.
The Ravens responded with their own major score when Gorgichuk found Ravens receiver Nate Behar for a 35-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 14-10.
The score remained close between the two teams through much of the second half until the Gryphons responded with two quick touchdowns, making the score at half 28-10.
“They’re a veteran team with some good players, and we knew we’d have to bring our A-game to keep it close or beat them,” Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah said.
The second half started out again in favour of the Gryphons with kicker Daniel Ferraro kicking three field goals, extending the lead to 37-10.
“We knew going into half it was still a game. It was a few-possession ball game—in Canadian football you can easily come back from that,” Van Wynsberghe said.
During half-time, Sumarah said the coaches gave the players a talk on momentum to hopefully get some going their way.
“We talked a lot about momentum, and talked about what momentum is, and you have to fight hard to get it, and you have to fight even harder to keep it,” he said.
In order to shake up the rhythm, the Ravens pulled Nick Gorgichuk in favour of second-string quarterback Jesse Mills, who wasted no time marching down through Gryphon territory and finding Van Wynsberghe in the end zone to cut the deficit to 20.
On his second offensive drive, Mills found Van Wynsberghe again for his second touchdown of the day, but ultimately it was too little too late, as time expired and the Carleton comeback bid fell short.
Now with a record of 3-3, the Ravens have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, standing just behind the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Ontario University Athletics standings.
The Ravens face another test against the 5-1 University of Windsor Lancers next Saturday.
“Windsor will be tough. They are a higher tier team and very physical. We’ll have to do what we do every week which is watch game film. Our coaches do such a great job of prepping us,” Van Wynsberghe said.
Sumarah said the main thing his team lacks is consistency.
“When we’re good, we’re good and when we’re bad, we’re bad,” he said.
Gorgichuk finished the game with 18 completions, one touchdown, and one interception while Mills came in to throw for six completions and two touchdowns on three drives.
Sumarah said it is likely both quarterbacks will get playing time Oct. 18 against the Lancers for the Ravens’ homecoming game.
