With win, Ravens beat odds to make it into OUA playoffs
Despite heavy odds against them, the Carleton Ravens will be participating in the Ontario University Athletics football playoffs next weekend — something that didn’t look likely following Panda.
The Ravens fell 32-10 two weeks ago to the University of Ottawa Gee- Gees in the Panda Game. That loss dropped the Ravens to 2-4 with two tough games remaining that they had to win.
Last week, a perhaps surprising 35-30 win over the already playoff-bound McMaster Marauders gave them hope, and Friday a 22-10 triumph over the desperate Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo made it a reality while at the same time killing the Hawks’ post-season dreams.
All that remains now is to see who they will face following Saturday’s games.
On a school-day game that started at 11 a.m. Friday, the Ravens built a 15-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter and got a scare late. But the defence, as it has done all year, set up the offence for a touchdown that provided breathing room and the eventual win.
Tevin Bowen sacked Hawks quarterback Connor Carusello at his own nine-yard line on a thirddown attempt. On the next play, Josh Ferguson ran in for the touchdown that gave the Ravens a 22-10 lead following the conversion.
Bowen wasn’t the only defensive player to have an impact Friday for the Ravens. Danny McWhirter picked off Carusello three times and ran one back for a touchdown.
Ravens coach Steve Sumarah marvelled at how well his defence has played all year. “They really have. It’s a credit to them. As a collective group they are so tight and they just have that belief that they’re going to get it done. Today, they were at their best.”
A safety in the first quarter, a 12yard field goal by Vincent Plouffe and McWhirter’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter gave the Ravens a 12-0 lead at the half.
Plouffe added a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter before the Hawks made a game of it in the fourth. Nathan Mesher kicked a 41-yard field goal and Carusello connected with Brentyn Hall on a 71-yard catch-and-run TD.
That was the only big play the Ravens’ defence gave up all game.
“They always say you win playoff games — and to me this was a playoff game — by running the ball, playing good defence and not turning the ball over. All those three things we did well enough to win it,” Sumarah said. “You can always say that you want to score more points, but the reality of where we’re at is this formula is working. The Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl doing this, but I’m not comparing ourselves to the Ravens.”
The Golden Hawks only had 285 yards total offence, but that was 13 more than the Ravens at 272. More than half of those yards came from the legs of Ferguson, who had 144 rushing yards.
So while the Hawks’ season is done, a loss by at least 18 points would have given them an opportunity to get in if the Waterloo Warriors were to lose to the Marauders on Saturday. An 18-point win would have also given the Ravens a chance to finish fifth in the standings, but now they are locked into sixth.
That said, did Sumarah entertain thoughts about running another play or two to reach the 18-point difference, instead of taking a knee to end the game Friday?
“We talked about it, but we thought just, ‘Let’s get out of this game.’ If Waterloo beats Mac it doesn’t come in to play anyway and we hadn’t turned the ball over all game. Maybe if we had the ball on the 10-yard line, then maybe,” he said, adding he thought the Hawks might allow themselves to fall behind by 18 in the dying seconds.
“I was surprised. I can’t lie. If we were in that scenario, 100 per cent we would have let them score.”
So now the Ravens will play another week at least when most outside their circle thought they had no shot.