Warriors fall just short of Ravens on windy Black and Gold Day

WATERLOO, Ont. - With 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Black and Gold day tilt on Warrior Field, the Carleton Ravens took possession after a turnover on downs, hoping to chew away the clock and hang on to their 19-14 lead.  

The Warriors responded with a near-perfect defensive possession, forcing a quick two-and-out and getting the ball back in the hands of freshman quarterback Emmett Ward with 58 seconds to play. Waterloo drove all the way down to Carleton's nine-yard line, but an interception dashed any hopes of a late game-winning score. 

Razor-thin margins have been the story the past two games for the Warriors. Unfortunately, they couldn't follow up last week's record-breaking overtime thriller with back-to-back wins, as the score still read 19-14 for the Ravens when the final buzzer sounded. 

"We have a great group of kids, and they've got a lot of character and they've got a lot of fight. I believe they showed that in the last few weeks," said Warriors Head Coach Chris Bertoia.  

"What we've got to do is we've got to get out the gate fast. We can't keep shooting ourselves in the feet and kind of putting ourselves in positions where we're always having to claw and scratch back, even though we know that we've got those kind of kids that are going to claw and fight and scratch. We need to come out and be better in the first half moving forward." 

The Warriors did strike first in this one, though it was on a missed field goal which Carleton failed to return past the goal line, leading to a Waterloo rouge that stood as the only point in the first quarter. 

The Warriors got a chance in the dying seconds of the frame when Keesean Bowen (Calgary/) returned an interception all the way to Carleton's one-yard line. After an incompletion, an illegal procedure penalty cost Waterloo five yards and a loss of down, forcing them to settle for a field goal to take a 4-0 lead early in the second. 

Both offences struggled early as strong winds made it difficult to move the ball. The Warriors were led by veteran Nolan Kaban (Calgary/) at quarterback, starting in place of Nick Orr (Caledon/), who sustained a lower-body injury in week two against Toronto. The Ravens, meanwhile, gave the nod to second-year Elijah Barnes after starting veteran Tristan Lefevbre in week one.  

The game finally opened up when Barnes found his favourite target Tristan Ready for back-to-back receptions to push into Warriors territory. Keyshawn Reid took it the remaining 34 yards with a touchdown run to cap off an explosive three-play, 73-yard drive. Brandon Forcier added a field goal to give Carleton a 13-4 lead at halftime. 

Waterloo subbed out Kaban for Ward to start the second half, giving Warriors fans their first look at the 17-year old freshman from North Vancouver, B.C. Ward was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, and the 2,552 fans – many first-year students taking part in orientation week – will likely see a lot more of him in the coming seasons. 

"[Kaban] had fabulous second half [against Toronto]," said Bertoia. Just wasn't what we needed in the first half [today]. We needed a little bit of a help here, and we put the young guy in and he went out and performed."  

"Certainly he made a few mistakes and that's to be expected. But he also did some really good things out there and I think everyone could see his potential and the bright future that he has." 

The only points in the third quarter came off the legs of Evan Astolfo (Burlington/) and Forcier, with the Ravens extending their lead by a field goal to 19-7 heading into the final frame. 

Ward and the Warriors responded right away to start the fourth. First, the freshman found the veteran Evan Basalyga (Thunder Bay/) for a 44-yard completion. Carleton forced a third-down on the ensuing series, and Ward showed off his scrambling ability with a 20-yard run to set up first and goal from eight yards out. After an incompletion he found Marcus Hoegl (Burlington/) in the flat, who ran it in for his first touchdown of the season. 

The teams traded short drives before the Warriors made a push on a 14-play, 84-yard drive that was thwarted at the Ravens 10-yard line. That's where Waterloo's defence stepped in to give the home team one more chance at sending the crown home happy. 

Carleton's Ryan Grant had other ideas, as he picked off Ward's pass near the goal line with 28 seconds remaining to ice the game. 

The Warriors fall back below .500 to 1-2 on the season, while the Ravens even their record at 1-1. 

Waterloo will be back on Warrior Field next week, albeit as the road team. The battle of Waterloo, originally set to take place at Laurier's University Stadium, has been moved to Warrior Field due to improvements being made to the former facility. The Golden Hawks remain the home team, and tickets must be purchased at laurierathletics.com/tickets. 

 Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 13.