Oct 1st, 2022: "Gendron stars as Gee-Gees roll to Panda Game victory over Ravens"

Finding coverage of regular season university football can be tricky at the best of times. That doesn't normally apply to the well-hyped Panda Game, but unfortunately the coverage of post-game behaviour by students ended up dominating my search results.

The article below is originally from the Ottawa Sun but found through MSN dot com. It was written by Ken Warren and the full version can be read through this link.

In the entire 2021 season, Nicholas Gendron registered a grand total of 173 receiving yards for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Fast forward to Saturday’s Panda Game, when the Gatineau native had the game of his life in front of the packed, spirited house of 23,078 students at TD Place, where the Gee-Gees ran all over the Carleton Ravens in what ended up as a 37-7 victory.

Photography by Emir Atli 

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Gendron finished the afternoon with eight catches for 211 yards, the fourth best receiving day in Gee-Gees history.

Thousands of students were lined up, still on their way into the stadium, when Gendron slipped behind the Ravens defence and hauled in an 81-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Maracle late in the first quarter.

The spectacular play erased an early 7-0 deficit, turning any and all momentum in the Gee-Gees’ favour.

“You know, when the ball is in the air, it’s kind of silent,” Gendron said. “But, when the ball is in your hands and the crowd erupts, it’s just so special. And being in the end zone and seeing my teammates being so happy, it was a great moment. The offensive line did such a great job on that play and the whole game protecting for Ben.”

Photography by Guillaume Sénéchal 

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A support player a year ago — he caught one pass for 10 yards in the 2021 Panda Game — Gendron has become a key part of the offence for the Gee-Gees, who have won four straight games and are 5-1 overall in Ontario University Athletics conference play.

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Gendron had plenty of company in posting big numbers on Saturday. Maracle was on his game throughout, completing 20 of 23 passes for 354 yards, adding a second touchdown toss to Willie-Pierre Dimbonji.

Workhorse running back J.P. Cimankinda punished the Ravens defence on the ground, rushing for 166 yards on 31 carries, including two touchdowns. Kicker Campbell Fair made three of five field-goal attempts.

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The Ravens struck first when quarterback Tanner DeJong connected with Kaseem Ferdinand for a 26-yard touchdown with 6:10 remaining in the opening quarter, but that was it for Carleton scoring.

The Gee-Gees led 10-7 at half-time, as TD Place air was full of potent smells and the traditional colourful back and forth chants between Ravens faithful in the north-side stands and Gee-Gees backers in the southern seats.

But, as the Gee-Gees continued to shut down the Ravens offence and delivered a series of extended drives in the third and fourth quarters, there was little doubt about who would finish on top.

“Just too many mistakes,” first-year Ravens head coach Corey Grant said. “They did a really good job, they had a really good game plan coming in. They executed better than us, and, you know, things just got out of hand at the end there.”

Photography by Greg Mason