Sept. 20th, 2014. TD Place Stadium.
“Jesse Mills drops back into the pocket, looks downfield, heaves the ball deep…tipped and caught! Nate Behar will prance into the end zone and the Carleton Ravens have won the 2014 Panda Game on a last second Hail Mary!”
It was a play shown across the country. Ravens quarterback Jesse Mills – on his only snap of the game – finding Nate Behar on a deflected Hail Mary pass to claim Carleton’s first Panda Game victory since 1994.
The play and the subsequent victory truly announced Carleton’s return to CIS football; the Ravens improved to 2-1 on the young season, and had beaten what was largely the same Gee-Gees team that had crushed them 35-10 in 2013.
“As a program, we showed that we were ready to go in that game,” said Ravens wide receiver and first-team OUA all-star Nate Behar. “To win such a hard-fought game against a crosstown opponent, something we hadn’t really done, hopefully put us on the map with donors and fans.”
Oct. 25th, 2014. Keith Harris Stadium.
In a dissatisfying end to their 2014 campaign, Carleton falls 37-15 to the Queen’s Gaels. The Ravens would have secured their first modern-era playoff berth with a victory, but gave up 290 yards on the ground and trailed 22-3 by halftime.
Carleton finished the season 4-4, losing a tiebreaker with the WLU Golden Hawks for the final playoff spot.
“At the time, it was a deflating end to the season,” reflects Behar. “But in the long run, it’ll help our maturity and we’ll be better for it.”
2015
“The highlights from the (Queen’s) game have been on our TVs on constant repeat since it happened,” admits Carleton’s star wideout, whose 171 receiving yards and touchdown reception were not enough to lift the Ravens past Queen’s and into the playoffs. “There’s definite hunger now.”
Carleton will have an opportunity to taste the sweetest of revenge straight from the opening kick-off in the fall of 2015, as a trip to Queen’s awaits the Ravens in Week 1. Carleton received a relatively favourable OUA schedule, with three of the team’s four home games coming against theoretically weaker opposition. With that being said, the Ravens also face a daunting Weeks 4 through 6. Week 4 sees Carleton host Toronto in the Ravens’ homecoming game, Week 5 will see the Ravens travel to Western to face the perennial contender Mustangs in their homecoming, and week 6 will tee up the Panda Game.
“Our homecoming, then Western’s homecoming, and then Panda,” smiles Behar, “they’re going to be highly emotional games, and it’ll be easy to get fatigued at that point. It’ll be easy to get hyped up, but we’ll also have to be able to rein ourselves in and not get too hyped up!”
The Schedule
Italics indicate Carleton WR Nate Behar.
Week 1: Carleton @ Queen’s, 08/30, 1 p.m.
The Ravens will have to bring their A-game to Kingston on opening day, as the Gaels will be amped up at Richardson Stadium. Queen’s will be looking to return to the OUA playoffs after an uncharacteristic absence from the postseason in 2014. Carleton will have to shut down Gaels RB Jesse Andrews, who ran for 245 yards in the season-ending Queen’s victory.
“It’s always good when you get to start off with the team that knocked you out of the playoffs the year before. Since the schedule came out, we’ve been able to circle the game on the calendar, and every day in the gym, we’re asking ourselves, ‘How am I going to help beat Queen’s today?’ It’s good to get them, and if we can get off to a good start against a team that’s very well-coached, it sets us up for some good momentum for the rest of the season.”
Week 2: Carleton v. Waterloo, 09/06, 1 p.m.
If there are gimmes on CU’s OUA schedule, this one is it. While the Warriors’ coaching staff was overhauled, it’s hard to imagine that Waterloo will improve much from their 1-7 record last season. Carleton ran out of Waterloo 33-14 winners last season, and it’s hard to envision the Ravens being upset by the Warriors in their home opener on Labour Day weekend.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a gimme game. Last year we expected to go in and get our first W, but at the same time it wasn’t a huge blowout. We had something like 300 yards in penalties, and that’s what happens when you’re not focused. Their coaching staff has only gotten better with coach (Chris) Bertoia – I have the utmost respect for him, he coached me in OVFL – and he’s going to have them executing. They might not at this point have the most talent in the OUA, but if he has them executing like I know he will, we’re going to have some competition for sure.”
Week 3: Carleton @ Windsor, 09/12, 1 p.m.
Last year’s Carleton homecoming was a rainy slugfest between the Ravens and Lancers, and while Windsor has lost significant pieces, Carleton will have to be at their best to win down south.
“They’re going to be tough to gauge this year because they lost some big players. Stefon Miller, who was at RedBlacks camp last summer, and of course Austin Kennedy their quarterback is gone. OUA all-time leader I believe in touchdowns, so they’re going to have a bit of a different face. But it’s Windsor; they work hard, they like to hit, they like to bang and try and knock you out. Having to take a ten-hour bus down there makes it that much easier for them to knock you down, and it brings factors into play that you don’t have to deal with when playing at home or a closer stadium.”
Week 4: Carleton v. Toronto, 09/19, 1 p.m.
Last year’s tilt with the Varsity Blues saw Carleton win despite giving up a whopping 548 passing yards. Jahvari Bennett’s best output of the season on the ground coupled with Nick Gorgichuk’s accuracy from the pocket to lead the Ravens to a 53-32 victory. While it’s unclear whether Toronto QB Simon Nassar will return for a fifth season, the Blues have the weapons to play with anybody on any given day.
“Their offence is their offence, they’ve got some studs at receiver. I’m excited to see what our defence does against them this year. That’s a game that we’re going into with high hopes, high expectations. We scored a couple of points, but probably not as many as we should have, and we gave up too many on defence. This year, I’m excited to see what our D can do, flying in there and knocking some guys out.”
Week 5: Carleton @ Western, 09/26, 1 p.m.
With Western QB Will Finch’s future uncertain, it will be interesting to see how the Mustangs come out in 2015. Greg Marshall’s program is one of the most historic in Canada, and is coming off of an OUA semi-final blowout loss against the Guelph Gryphons. They’ll be fired up, and Carleton will have to be at their best to compete in Western’s homecoming game.
“Personally, I can’t wait to go home and play in the homecoming game that I watched for so long! It’s Western, you can never count them out – coach Marshall has them firing on all cylinders every year, whether it’s the guy from last year or a guy who’s been hitting the gym like a maniac trying to get there. They’re going to be ready to run their power offence, they’re going to do all of the Western things you know; playing Cover 3, blitzing your head off when you get close. Then, when they have the 20K+ fans that are all tipsy Western kids on a sunny Saturday, it doesn’t get any easier. That’s the big test for us, if we beat Western at Western homecoming, the whole country will take note.”
Week 6: Carleton @ Ottawa, 10/03, 1 p.m.
Words cannot give the Panda Game its due. Two crosstown rivals having a go at each other – the hits are bigger, the passes longer, the emotions higher, the crowd larger – and, as U. of O. made the postseason at Carleton’s expense, the Ravens will once again be hugely motivated.
“It’s going to be tough, with those three games with high emotion in a row. The overall excitement that comes with Panda, and the way it finished this past year, and all the hoopla, it’s only going to get bigger. Panda will be good, we expect to win that game the same way they expect to win that game – it’s going to be good, they’ve got a lot of guys back.”
Week 7: Carleton v. York, 10/09, 7 p.m.
Carleton’s only nightcap of the season, the Ravens will have to stay sharp against a York team which failed to win a game in 2014. The Lions gave up 382 points last season, the worst mark in Canada by some distance, and Carleton should be able to exploit York’s porous defence and put up some big points.
“After Panda, we have to make sure we don’t look too far ahead. Let’s say we’ve got a decent record, look like we’re playoff bound, we have to make sure guys don’t look ahead to the bye week and say, ‘Alright let’s just get through this game and then I’ve got a week to ice my knee, or my hamstring.’ The biggest thing is making sure guys stay focused, we’ve got to turn to York, push our way through it, and hey – we have some added incentive to play a strong game because they got some recruits we wanted here.”
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Carleton v. Guelph, 10/24, 1 p.m.
The Ravens’ final regular season game comes at home, on two weeks’ rest, against a Guelph team that put up the fourth-most points in Canada after Laval, Western, and Calgary last season. Though Carleton would obviously like to secure a playoff spot before its final game, it could come down to this showdown against the Gryphons.
“We’re coming off a bye on that game, which is big. I wouldn’t want Week 9 to be the deciding game in our playoff future. Ideally, that’s a game for home field advantage. But Guelph’s a team that’s good; they’re talented, they recruit the world and get five-star recruits every year. We’ve played Guelph twice so we know them well; year one we played ’em tight, but last year we kind of fell on our faces a bit.”
Recruiting
Head coach Steve Sumarah has been busy this offseason, signing three CFC Top-100 recruits along with a plethora of supporting talent.
“What scares off a lot of recruits,” explains Behar, who chose Carleton nearly three years ago ahead of many other OUA schools, “is the idea that if you’re a rookie you’ll sit, and if you’re a veteran you’ll play. Here; the coaching staff puts the best players on the field.”
Frederik Robitaille headlines the Ravens’ group of incoming freshman thus far. The 6’3, 259-pound Robitaille hails from Terrebonne, QC, and could feature on a D-Line that finished 23rd in Canada in sacks last season. “Fred’s a good old Quebec boy, he’s quiet but he’s definitely got a mean streak to him when you see him play,” says Behar.
The two other Top-100 recruits brought in by Sumarah are LB Jack Cassar (Mississauga, ON) and ATH Jonathan Muamba (Edmonton, AB).
Being a veteran by the program’s standards, Behar – who will be a junior in the fall – hosted the Muamba brothers when they visited Carleton. That’s right, there’s two of them. Jonathan’s brother Frederic is also listed as an ATH, and both will be gracing the field at Keith Harris Stadium in the fall.
“They are both terrific athletes with a lot of potential and we can’t wait to watch them work and develop over the coming years,” Ravens defensive coordinator Ryan Bechamnis told Canadian Football Chat late last year.
Highly-touted kicker Greg Hutchins (Bedford, NS) will join the Ravens program with every chance of stealing the starting job from Mike Domagala, who went 13-for-17 in 2014 (misses from 23, 35, 36, 47).
Local wideout Phil Iloki will join the Ravens after a stellar senior season with St. Joseph’s. The 6’3 Iloki also played club football with the Myers Riders program. “He’s got a good frame on him for how young he is,” says Behar. “He’s got a good vertical jump, and in pads he looks like a Dez Bryant type. As long as he comes in here willing to bang with some of the bigger kids, he should make a pretty seamless transition.”
While the recruiting battle is far from over, here is a full list of Carleton’s commitments to-date:
- Bill Aziz, DL (St. Thomas, ON)
- Phil Iloki, WR (Ottawa, ON)
- Jack Cassar, LB (Mississauga, ON)
- Guillaume Caron, DB/LB (Montreal, QC)
- Mackenzie Johnson, DB (Kelowna, BC)
- Jonathan Muamba, ATH (Edmonton, AB)
- Frederic Muamba, ATH (Edmonton, AB)
- Andrew McCourt, OL (Cornwall, ON)
- Frederik Robitaille, DL (Terrebonne, QC)
- Frederic Lamoureaux, WR (Lennoxville, QC)
- Greg Hutchins, K (Bedford, NS)
- Treshaun Webster, DB (Pickering, ON)
- Jesse Lawson, OL (Surrey, BC)
- Mauchuor Akau, DE (Winnipeg, MB)
Outlook
“With our offence, I’d like to see us in the top-3 in the conference,” says Behar, who hauled in eight pass TDs in his sophomore season last year. “Whoever’s open will get it thrown to them, whether it’s Jesse (Mills) or Nick (Gorgichuk), the ball’s going to go where it needs to go.”
From a wins and losses perspective, Behar says the program’s goal is simple.
“We’ve got to be in the playoffs, there’s no if’s and’s or but’s about it.”
To do so, the Ravens will have to continue to build on what was a credible sophomore season for the Carleton program. Going from 0-8 to 4-4 in the span of one year would leave some incredibly optimistic fans hoping for an 8-0 season in year three, but with the schedule they’ve been given a 6-2 record looks the likeliest if the team plays to its potential.
I’ve personally got: @ QUE (W), v. WAT (W), @ WIN (W), v. TOR (W), @ WES (L), @ OTT (W), v YOR (W), v GUE (L). Six wins in the third year of the program would be mighty respectable.
If the maturing Ravens can be even slightly more consistent than last year, they should be able to squeeze five wins out of their schedule, which should be enough to take them to the promised land for the first time in the Carleton program’s modern history.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
