TORONTO, ON - In classic Panda Game fashion, a clutch moment was the deciding factor of the famous matchup. Down 16-15 with one second left, the Ottawa Gee-Gees lined up for a 55-yard field goal, Ottawa's kicker Campbell Fair was ready to launch the most important field goal of his U SPORTS career.
However, he would have to wait as Carleton Ravens fans prematurely rushed the field and had to be escorted off the field.
In a cruel twist of karma, Campbell Fair drilled the long field goal and walked off a hero. The kick was good and Ottawa took their sixth straight Panda Game 18-16 in front of a massive crowd of over 23,000 people.
Ottawa fans got the last laugh and stormed the field at TD Place, earning bragging rights for another year over their cross-town rivals.
Late in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Ravens would finally break their over half-decade drought. The defense made up for a turnover on downs in the red zone, picking up a massive safety to put them within six points.
They needed to respond after the safety, and there was. Josh Janssen and the Gee-Gees offense marched down the field and looked poised to strike back. On the Carleton 12-yard line, Janssen was picked off by Xavier Malone.
The Carleton offense then trotted onto the field with a touchdown in mind. Seven plays and 88 yards later, they found pay dirt. Tristan Lefebvre led the crew down to the one-yard line. Tristan Rinaldis came on the field to lead the short yardage unit and they punched it in. Touchdown Ravens.
(Richard Coffey)
Their following drive the goal was to run out the clock, but they left too much time.
Ottawa had a chance. With only 36 seconds left, they did just enough to get Fair into field goal range and the rest was history.
Carleton had the advantage in just about every statistic category except the most important one, the score. The Ravens had more yards (390), more first downs (22), and dominated time of possession. They had the ball for 13 more minutes but failed to convert all that into more points. The Ravens went two full quarters between scores. It took 11 drives after their first touchdown until the offense saw points.
Canadian football royalty was in attendance for the legendary game. Former B.C. Lions receiver and CFL hall-of-famer Geroy Simon was on site watching his son. Ravens' receiver Jaden Simon led the Ravens in receptions (6) and receiving yards (45).
For Ottawa, the passing game was spearheaded by a pair of receivers. Nicholas Gendron racked up 121 yards receiving, which was the most by anyone. Maxim Malenfant had six catches which tied the game-high
Janssen had a very topsy-turvy game in just his second start. He threw two interceptions, but he also threw a pair of touchdowns. He completed 18 of his 28 passes for 251 yards.
There was never a shortage of drama in this years edition of the Panda Game. Four total lead changes, with two of them coming in the final five minutes. A last second field goal. It was perfect. Another classic game that many will remember for a long time.
It is time for the rest of U SPORTS to embrace these rivalries after seeing the magic the Panda Game brings time and time again.
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