Coming off a huge victory against their crosstown rival Toronto Varsity Blues in the 54th edition of the Red & Blue bowl last weekend, the York University Lions football squad hit the road for a second straight week to face off against the Carleton Ravens. Led by starting quarterback Matt Linn, Dexter Janke's Lions team was seeking to continue their momentum and pick up their second consecutive victory, while the Ravens were also seeking their second win of the season after a 1-4 start.
An early facemask penalty committed by the Lions on the opening kickoff had the Ravens up near the midfield during the opening drive. Carleton worked their way into York territory, when Ravens quarterback Elijah Barnes was sacked and fumbled the football, leading to a Lions recovery. The sack from Peter Primeau was York's first of the season, but the turnover did not lead to a score for the Lions.
York got the ball back at the 46-yard line after forcing a Carleton punt, where a promising drive was thwarted by an interception from the Ravens Audain Altidor. Off the turnover, Carleton pressed into the red zone, but only came away with a rogue, putting them up 1-0 after the first quarter.
The Lions defence continued to hold strong in the second . Off a stop, the Lions worked their way up the field following catches by Avery Ford and Rex Walker, but penalties forced them to give the Ravens the ball back.
Off a long pass to Tristan Ready, the Ravens got up near the Lions 40-yard line and kicked a field goal, putting them up 4-0 midway through the quarter. However, Linn and York responded back with a strong drive into the red zone. The drive ended with a Rex Walker run into the endzone out of the wildcat formation for a Lions touchdown, putting York up 7-4.
On the next York drive, Linn threw his second pick of the game with just under two minutes left in the quarter looking to connect with Avonte McKoy. This led to a deep Ravens drive led by Barnes, and Carleton came out with another field goal from Brandon Forcier, tying the game 7-7 at halftime.
Carleton forced a two-and-out against York's opening drive in the third, and then immediately responded with a massive 69-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to Fredrick Hachy, putting the Ravens up 14-7. Carleton then forced another Lions punt, which was followed by another Forcier field goal, extending the lead to 17-7.
The Lions looked like they had got themselves back into the game following multiple long receptions by Ford that got them into field goal range, but the kick was missed wide right, keeping the Carelton lead at ten as the quarter ended.
In the fourth quarter, Lin drew a pass interference penalty on a deep throw from Linn, which put them deep into Ravens territory. While the York Lions offence came just short of another touchdown, kicker Tucker Almert made it a one-possession game with a field goal to close the gap to 17-10.
On the ensuing drive, however, the Ravens got back into the red zone following a long bomb to Ready, and just one play later, Kaseem Ferdinand found the end zone to enlarge their lead to 24-10 midway through the quarter. York showed life when Barnes threw an interception to Marcellus Pope, and were able to drive back down the field, but Linn threw his third interception of the game in the red zone to put the game out of reach, solidifying the Ravens second win and dropping York to 1-4 on the season.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Janke and the Lions return home hoping to bounce back against the winless Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, October 5th, with kickoff at 1:00pm. Coverage will be available on OUA TV.
