OTTAWA (Sept. 28, 2024) - The 55th Panda Game will be worth more than Pedro next Sunday after Carleton beat York 24-10 Saturday evening.
The Ravens (2-4) win sets them up for an epic clash with the Gee-Gees (2-4) next Sunday at TD Place that will likely secure the winner the final playoff spot. Carleton's win came after they trailed 7-4 before tying the game late in the first half. The York lead, their first against Carleton since 2013, came off a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Rex Walker. Walker's touchdown came after Matt Linn connected with Avontea McKoy on three straight plays for 36 yards.
Carleton had held an early 4-0 lead after a Brandon Forcier (L'Ange Gardien, Que.) rouge and a 40-yard field goal. Trailing by three with 1:28 to go in the half, Elijah Barnes (Ancaster, Ont.) would lead the Ravens from their own 31 with five straight completions, four to Tristan Ready (Arnprior, Ont.). The Ravens would fail to convert on second down, but Forcier made a 27-yard attempt look like a chip shot to tie the game at the half.
The Ravens looked far improved in the second half. After forcing the Lions to go two-and-out to start the half, Barnes found Frederik Hachey (Laval, Que.) on 2nd and 19. After making the catch at the York 50, Hachey broke a pair of tackles before cutting across to the right and breaking for the corner of the end zone.
The Ravens then forced the Lions into another two-and-out before turning the ball over to rookie running back Joey Marcotte. The highly recruited running back from Quebec City wasted little time making his mark on the Ravens' offence breaking out for 7 yards on his first carry and 16 in his first OUA drive to set up another field goal by Forcier.
Linn would drive the Lions down the field on their next possession, but kicker Tucker Almert would miss the 42-yard attempt. Almert would redeem himself on the next York possession sticking a 24-yard field goal attempt to cut the lead to one score.
Carleton would all but put the game out of reach on their next possession. In just four plays and 1:52 of elapsed time, Barnes and the Ravens followed up a 42-yard Tristan Ready reception with a beautiful diving finish by Kaseem Ferdinand (Kanata, Ont.), who ran 15 yards after the catch before playing hopscotch with two defenders hanging onto his legs to plunge his way into the end zone.
