OUA RECAPS: Carleton clinches 1st playoff berth since ’96, Record setting night lifts Laurier past Gee-Gees

(OTTAWA, ON) — As far as statement wins go, you would be hard-pressed to find a victory more dominant in the modern era of Carleton football than the smackdown that took place at MNP Park on Friday night. The Ravens (5-2) dominated both sides of the ball on Friday en route to a 52-0 win over the retooling York Lions (1-6), securing the program’s first modern-era playoff spot in the process.

“I can’t lie, it’s pretty exciting,” said Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah post-game. “The guys have worked hard and earned this — we still have a lot more football in front of us.”

Carleton dominated from the opening kick-off against the rebuilding Lions. QB Jesse Mills (Halifax, NS) hit receiver Wilson Birch (Niagara Falls, ON) for a pair of majors inside the first six minutes, and the rout was officially on.

On the defensive side of the ball, Carleton’s D-Line dominated, regularly hurrying York freshman quarterback Eric Kimmerly into poor passes. As a bonus, the Ravens managed to neutralize York feature back Jesse Amankwaa for most of the night.

A conceded safety and two more Mills passing TDs — both to Kyle Van Wynsberghe (Delhi, ON) — pushed the lead to 30-0 before Adam Graves (Belleville, ON) powered in for a late-second quarter TD on his first touch of the season.

Kicker Mike Domagala (St. Catharines, ON) added a field goal late in the second quarter, and Carleton led 40-0 at halftime. The Ravens limited York to less than 70 yards of total offence in the first half.

With many starters substituted, Carleton only managed a safety and a Domagala chip-shot in the third quarter, pushing the score to 45-0.

DB Nate Hamlin (Ottawa, ON) then rounded out the scoring on the night in fashion with a ridiculous 129-yard missed-FG return touchdown, tying a CIS record in the process. Hamlin also paced Carleton with 6.5 tackles on the night — a role typically filled by injured LB Leon Cenerini (La Salle, MB).

“In our first year, we went through a lot, and we’ve grown so much as a team,” said Ravens RB Jahvari Bennett (Mississauga, ON), who ran for 134 yards before being lifted from the game at halftime. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

The Ravens now enter a bye week knowing that a win in their season finale at home against Guelph (Sat., Oct. 24, MNP Park) could earn them a coveted home playoff game.

“We want to go 6-2, so we’ll be right back at out (at practice) on Tuesday and right back to work,” said Ravens DB Justin Howell (Bradford, ON). “The bye week is our time — a couple days off — it’s our advantage to get up on Guelph.”

Source: Carleton Ravens Sports Information

 

 

Record-setting night lifts Laurier past Ottawa

WATERLOO, Ont.  – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s football team put together their most complete performance of the season on Friday night as they defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 65-30 at University Stadium.

In a battle between two teams fighting for the sixth and final playoff spot, Laurier made a statement as they posted a season-best 41 first-half points, and would finish the night with the most points the team has scored under head coach Michael Faulds. The win improves the Hawks to 3-3, and gives them sole possession of sixth place in the OUA, while the Gee-Gees fall to 2-4.

“I’m so proud of our guys,” said Faulds after the game. “We were really down after the Windsor game a couple weeks ago. Captains, everyone said they were going to dig deeper. We proved that we dug deeper last week against Waterloo, but this week against a team that’s fighting for the playoffs like Ottawa with a quarterback like Wendel, I couldn’t be happier for our guys.”

“It was a great feeling, there’s not too many words to describe it,” added quarterback Eric Morelli on the Hawks offensive explosion. “It doesn’t surprise me too much because I know the players, the receivers and everyone out of the backfield. All of these plays were plays we’ve executed before, but it was nice to put it all together drive after drive and score some points.”

For Morelli, a native of Burlington, Ont., he picked the perfect night to have the best game of his career, and one of the best single-game performances by a Laurier quarterback in school history. In just his third career start, Morelli completed 20-of-24 pass attempts for 298 yards. However, the big number for the Hawks starting pivot was touchdown passes as he finished the game with six to tie the La urier school record for most touchdown passes in a single game. He equals the mark set twice by former Vanier Cup winning quarterback Bill Kubas who accomplished the feat twice in his career, once in 1992 and again in 1994.

“I think nerves got to him the last couple of weeks, but I have to remind myself that this is only his third career start,” stated Fauls on his starting quarterback. “He’s new to this and if that’s his performance in his third-ever start, he can definitely do bigger and better things.”

Thanks to Morelli’s big night, the receivers had a big night for Laurier, including Anthony Pizzuti of Hamilton. The fourth year slotback finished the night with five catches for 38 yards and three touchdowns, equaling Laurier’s single-game record for most touchdown receptions in a game. He joins Andre Talbot, Joel Wright and Bryon Hickey as the only Laurier players to accomplish the feat.

“It feels great,” said Pizzuti of matching the school mark. “I was working hard all week trying to show what I could do. Eric was putting the ball in the perfect spots, I’m just going to go up there and make the play, but he’s giving me a shot to make the play.”

Not to be outdone by his teammates, Dillon Campbell of Whitby, Ont., earned himself another school record on Friday night. The fifth year running back carried the ball 37 times for 246 yards and a touchdown, with his 37 carries breaking the previous single-game high of 36 by a Laurier player, a record held by his current coach Ryan Lynch. Lynch set the mark in a game against Waterloo back in 2007.

Campbell’s 246 rushing yards on the night is also the fourth most in school history and he now holds three of the top five single game rushing performances for the Golden Hawks. His second-consecutive 200-plus yard rushing game also puts him just four yards behind Carleton’s Jahvar i Bennett for top spot on the CIS rushing leaders list.

Other Golden Hawks that contributed to Laurier’s highest point total since 2011 include rookie receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, who had seven catches for a career-high 141 yards while also registering his first career touchdown, and Greg Nyhof of Georgetown, Ont., who had three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

While the offence gets to claim all the accolades on this night, perhaps just as impressive a performance for Laurier was that of their defence. Going up against the top passing quarterback in the conference heading into the game, the Hawks limited Ottawa quarterback Derek Wendel of Belleville, Ont., to just 61 first half passing yards as they built up a 31-point halftime lead. The purple and gold also forced him to throw just his fifth interception of the season while limiting him to just a single touchdown pass.

Wendel, who came into the game averaging over 400 yards passing per game, would wind up finishing the night 25-for-42 for 290 yards.

Leading the defensive effort was Nakas Onyeka of Brampton, Ont., who added eight more tackles to his season total and now has 39 this season, a new career-high. Fellow linebacker, rookie Matt Williams of Ajax, Ont., chipped in with seven tackles while Scott Hutter of London, Ont., recorded his first career interception.

With back-to-back wins under their belts, the Golden Hawks will look to make it three-in-a-row next Saturday, October 17, when they host the No. 6 McMaster Marauders in their final home game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at University Stadium.

NOTES: Laurier has now won three consecutive games against the Gee-Gees dating back to the 2011 season…the Hawks and Gee-Gees were meeting for the first time since 2012…fourth year defensive back Tanner Philp of Burlington, Ont., had three pass breakups in the contest and now ranks third overall in the OUA with five…the Hawks posted 637 yards of offence in the game while the Gee-Gees had 461 yards…attendance at University Stadium was 1,004

Source: Jamie Howieson, Wilfird Laurier Golden Hawks Sports Information

Gee-Gees done in by Campbell and Hawks

All-Canadian running back Dillon Campbell paved the way for the Laurier Golden Hawks and the Gee-Gees were left reeling in a 65-30 loss on Friday night in Waterloo, Ont. The result pulls Ottawa below the Hawks in the OUA standings with a 2-4 record, while Laurier moves up to 3-3.

Laurier’s offence jumped all over the Gee-Gees in the first half, grabbing a 41-10 lead with extremely efficient play. Ottawa could not find a way to stop up Dillon Campbell, who ran for 246 yards on 37 carries on the night. Campbell truly took over in the second quarter, carrying the ball 16 times for 115 yards in the second alone. With the defence preoccupied with stopping Campbell, Laurier quarterback Eric Morelli posted a first half completion percentage of 12-14.

Laurier methodically moved down the field on the back of Campbell, dominating time of possession. The Hawks switched gears when looking to score, with the first two majors coming on receptions. Six of Laurier’s touchdowns would eventually come through the air.

Ottawa’s normally potent offence looked poised to respond when an interception by Scott Hutter on the Laurier 15-yard line mid-way through the first quarter swung momentum back to the home side.

“We went into the game feeling confident that we could make plays,” said Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi. “We expected a shootout, and we didn’t have an answer. Our offence did not come out and execute. I knew that we had to be almost perfect offensively and we weren’t even close.”

First-year Kalem Beaver provided the Ottawa highlight of the game, getting to the sideline at midfield on a 102-yard touchdown return to make it 38-10 in the second quarter.

Tyler McLaren added two touchdowns and finished with 55 yards receiving on four catches. Ian Stewart was the leading receiver with 94 yards. Bryce Vieira punched in one rushing touchdown and finished the night with 52 yards on the ground.

The Gee-Gees attempted four onside kicks which were collected by Laurier. Ottawa also tried for a 2-point conversion twice without success before connecting on the final drive of the game.

“I don’t think we came with the right intensity,” concluded Barresi. “In a game like this, you need to show up and I was upset with our demeanor.”

The season continues next week with a road trip to Western. The Mustangs (6-0) lead the OUA standings while Ottawa now sits in a tie for seventh place.

 

York Lions vs. Carleton Ravens at OTTAWA 10/9/2015 at 1900HRS
York 0	Carleton 52

Ottawa vs. Wilfrid Laurier at Waterloo, Ont. 10/9/2015 at 7:07pm
Ottawa 30	Laurier 65