Panda 50: Gee-Gees 38, Ravens 27

We're going to Frankenstein this thing.

Similar to what I did on draft day, I'm picking stuff from here there and everywhere to cover the 50th edition of the Panda Game. And if I come across more, I'll edit the post and add it.

I must say though that Darren Desaulniers' recap for the Citizen, the first article below, was nearly untouched. I sometimes find myself removing some parts that seem less relevant but in my opinion here did a nice job here and it's best left alone.

The photo below is by Jasmine Foong and was included in the Charlatan's recap of the game.

Gee-Gees top Ravens to reclaim Pedro, Panda Game bragging rights

After spending the past four years at Carleton, Pedro the Panda will again return to the University of Ottawa to spend the next year, at least, as a Gee-Gee.

The Gee-Gees dominated the Ravens 38-27 in the 50th Panda Game at a sold-out TD Place stadium on Saturday, producing uOttawa’s their first win in the rivalry game since 2013.

The score was a little flattering to the Ravens, who managed a pair of late touchdowns after the Gee-Gees had scored 31 consecutive points to take a 38-14 advantage.

“We had some communication problems and it stalled some of our (early) drives and we had a lot of two and outs,” Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi said.

“Give them credit, too — I’m talking about Carleton — for the way their defence and the way they played. But, at the same time, I don’t think we were doing things properly from an operations point of view. Having said that, they were gnawing at us and clawing at us.”

The game started remarkably well for the Ravens, who had a 7-0 lead 32 seconds into the first quarter thanks to a little trickery.

Quarterback Michael Arruda took the first snap and tossed a lateral to Quinton Soares, who then threw a downfield pass that Dominic Walker turned into a 78-yard catch-and-run TD.

Not much went well for the Ravens after that, though,

Arruda, who had entered the game fifth in the Ontario University Athletics football league in passing yards per game, didn’t complete a pass to a teammate in the first quarter. Actually, his first pass of the day was tipped and intercepted by a Gee-Gees defender.

That led to a three-yard touchdown pass from Sawyer Buettner to Carter Matheson, so the contest was tied 7-7 just over six minutes in.

Arruda ended up throwing four interceptions by game’s end. He had just two in the previous five games.

“I threw four interceptions that could have gone the other way easily, but they game-planned well and did a hell of a job,” Arruda said, giving the Gee-Gees credit for their defence.

“They did a hell of a job and we weren’t expecting it. I caught myself looking down at the D-line a little too much and it was hard to adjust. We made way too many mistakes and hurt ourselves way too many times, but (uOttawa) played great.”

Arruda did throw a six-yard touchdown pass to Soares for a 14-7 Ravens lead six minutes into the second quarter, but everything fell apart from there.

The Gee-Gees put up 10 more points before half-time, with Kalem Beaver hauling in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Buettner and Campbell Fair kicking a 32-yard field goal.

“We needed that,” Beaver said of the offensive explosion.

“The offence needed to step up. The defence has been bringing it every game and it was finally time that we both came together.”

Buettner threw third-quarter TD passes of 37 and 17 yards to Beaver and Dylan St. Pierre. Matheson made his second TD catch of the day, for 25 yards, in the fourth quarter.

For those counting at home, that made five touchdown passes for Buettner, who had just four previously this season. The native of Moose Jaw, Sask., apparently...wasn’t fazed by the larger than usual venue seating 24,000-plus.

“Back home we always played our games at (Regina’s) Mosaic Stadium, so we always played in big stadiums, but never with a crowd that full. I thought it was a good learning experience and I thought our team handled it well. We lean on some veterans that have been there before. I know I did, so it was awesome,” Buettner said.

“I go out and do my thing. We’ve got a great offensive system, great coaches and a great group of teammates, so it’s easy on me. I just have to put the ball up and let them make plays.”

With the game out of reach, Nathan Carter ran for touchdowns of seven and three yards to get the Ravens a bit closer in the fourth quarter, but hope of a miracle comeback ended when Arruda was intercepted by Gee-Gees defensive back Jamie Harry.

“It felt like we weren’t dialed in,” Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah said. “We knew what was coming (from the Gee-Gees defence) and we weren’t prepared mentally to deal with what was coming. If it wasn’t them, it was our own mistakes and penalties.

“Even though on the scoreboard we weren’t behind early, you felt the momentum of the game had turned really early and we were in that scratching mode all game long. We never felt like we were in control of the game.”

The Gee-Gees lead the all-time Panda Game series 33-17.

Gee-Gees bring home Pedro in 50th Panda Game
(portions of an uncredited article on geegees.ca. Photo by Greg Mason)

....Second-year running back Dawson Odei continued to be a force on the Garnet and Grey offence. Odei is second (by merely a half yard) in the OUA in yards per game after racking up 142 yards on 25 carries in the win.

“It’s been a long time coming and it feels great. It feels great,” said (Kalem) Beaver. “Our defence is bringing it every game, and our offence needed to step up. It was finally time for us to come together.”

Defensively, U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian Jamie Harry proved to be one of the most dominant players in the nation. With two interceptions in the game, Harry’s five takeaways this season leads the nation through week six. Fellow defensive backs Luke Griese and Rashad Spooner also had instrumental moments taking the ball away from Carleton QB Mike Arruda.

“It’s a good win for our players – they were resilient because we knew we were going to have a tough battle,” said Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi, after earning Pedro for the second time in his tenure. “There were a lot of things that were improved on our side today, and they conducted themselves with poise.”

Photo by Parker Townes for The Fulcrum

Odds and ends from the stats sheet
-- 2018 Redblacks draft choice Kene Onyeka (4th-round) had two sacks in the game and now leads the OUA with five.
-- Carleton had a staggering 17 penalties for 165 yards.
-- Carleton had a slight edge in time of possession, 30:26 to 29:34. They also ultimately outgained Ottawa 475 yards to 370.
--Eight Gee-Gees receivers caught passes from QB Sawyer Buettner. 

Dominic Walker an OUA Player Of The Week

I was away all week so am only now finding out about Ravens receiver Dominic Walker's selection among the three OUA players of the week.

It may be his first season with Carleton Ravens, but rookie receiver Dominic Walker made his presence felt in a big way in the team’s Week 3 win over Waterloo. 

Walker got on the board early after hauling in the short pass from QB Michael Arruda to extend the Ravens’ first quarter lead to 8-0. From there, Walker showcased his big play ability and reeled in the longest play of his early career. Walker took the deep toss from Arruda and did the rest of the damage with his legs, with the pass and run going for 95 yards to the house. 

Both touchdowns proved critical in the team’s eventual three-point win over the high-octane Warriors, and Walker’s overall line of five catches for 130 yards has helped the first-year Communication Studies major to earn offensive honours for Week 3.

The Ravens followed up that win with a double-overtime victory against Queen's at home on September 15th. Sounds like the kind of game that can open the door for more players to be honoured! Carleton is now 3-1 at mid-season with a heartbreaking blown lead against the defending champion Western Mustang as the only blemish.

Harry Van Hofwegen Added to Carleton Ravens Hall Of Fame

The news of Van Hofwegen's selection to the Ravens Hall Of Fame was actually announced in May but the actual ceremony took place on September 13th.

Despite only playing two seasons at Carleton, Van Hofwegen was a multi-talented force on the Ravens defensive line, as well as a gifted punter and kicker. Van Hofwegen took the conference by storm as a rookie, taking home OQIFC All-Star and CIAU First-Team All-Canadian honours in 1993.

Despite missing most of the 1994 season, Van Hofwegen returned for a memorable 1995 campaign that saw him capture the J.P. Metras Trophy as the country’s Outstanding Down Lineman in addition to being selected as a CIAU First-Team All-Canadian. Van Hofwegen was chosen as Carleton University’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1995-96, and he was selected to represent Canada in the 1996 NCAA East-West Shrine Game in California. That same spring, Van Hofwegen was taken 11th overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 1996 CFL Draft.

Van Hofwegen spent the 1996 preseason with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, which was a great professional development opportunity prior to beginning his tenure in the CFL.  Over the course of his three-year pro career, Van Hofwegen competed for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1996, 1997), BC Lions (1997) and Edmonton Eskimos (1998).

I'm going to use this news as motivation to work on the Carleton Ravens page above as much of the information I'd collected years ago has yet to be restored.

One Raven Player Of The Week...And One Raven Who Should Be.

Yesterday wasn't a great day for the city's university football clubs. The University of Ottawa couldn't keep up with Laurier, losing to the tune of 39-21 while Carleton squandered a lead at home to lose to the defending champion Western Mustangs in overtime 26-23.

“We had these guys in the bag,” said Ravens quarterback Mike Arruda, who threw touchdown passes to fullback Mitch Raper and slotback (Phil) Iloki in a wild second quarter, when the Ravens outscored the Mustangs 17-3. “We knew we has these guys after the first half. This should never have come down to overtime." 

“First week (of the schedule) and we’re up 17-3 and I think we took our foot off the pedal. This loss is going to teach us a lot. Maybe the good thing is we sent a scare to the rest of the league. We can feel good about that.”

Sounds a lot like what the RedBlacks went through after blowing a 24-point lead against Toronto earlier this year. If you need learn such a lesson, at least learn it early.

Taking the champs to the wire in such fashion naturally involves a number of outstanding performances and on Ravens player was recognized for his performance; Michael Domagala is the Ontario University Athletics Special Teams player Of The Week.

The Ravens kicker connected on three field goals in the game, while adding a pair of extra points to bring his total output to 11 points for the game. 

His first field goal came in the first quarter, connecting on a 20-yarder to open the game’s scoring. From there, Domagala took it to another level. His second make – a 42-yarder - came in the second quarter to give the Ravens the 6-3 lead, but he saved his best for last. After a Mustangs comeback in the second half gave Western the lead, Domagala stepped up for a game-tying 50-yard make with just one second left on the clock to send the game to overtime.

Acknowledging that relying on stats to tell the whole story can be misleading, another player caught my eye while reviewing the box score.

Let's preface this by pointing that the recipient of the defensive player of the week gathered the following numbers: "Five solo tackles, along with one assisted, to total 5.5 for the game, (later) forcing a fumble. (He) also notched one pass breakup."

Busy day. But I submit it to you Ravens linebacker Josh Walsh.

Photography by Valerie Wutty

Walsh was not the leading tackler on the team. That distinction belongs to fellow linebacker Jack Cassar with nine (and three assists).

But Walsh had eight, also with three assists. He is credited with a sack for an 8-yard loss, two of his tackles were for a total of 11 yards lost, he broke up a pass and intercepted another which he returned for 21 yards.

Maybe stats don't tell the whole story but the part of the story that those tell is pretty convincing.  This is Walsh's third year and, against quality competition, he may have just announced that it's his break out year.

Jo-Anne Polak's Media Guide Page

Inspired by Jo-Anne Polak's selection as a CFL Diversity Is Strength campaign "trailblazers", I thought I would share her bio from the 1989 Rough Riders media guide. It will be easier to read if you open it in another tab. Pardon the inevitable curving at the spine.

The league was quite new to me at the time of the hire. I don't recall being particularly surprised that a woman would get the job or whether a woman in the position created a great deal of controversy.

The only thing I can say is that she is one of the few front office employees from that period (mid 80's to the ugly end in 1996) that is still has the respect of fans from back then.

I only became a fan during "Super Season '88" which concluded with a 2-16 regular season record.

Polak, though, attempted and succeeded in making the fan experience fun regardless of the putrid on-field product. The 1991 media guide (her final year with the team) explains: "Jo-Anne and her staff have instituted an awareness campaign based on player identification, community orientation and unorthodox promotion".

If speaking to someone who's never heard of her, you could begin your description by pointing out that she would be a great fit with the current ownership. Player identification, community orientation and unorthodox promotion have all played large parts in the Redblacks success. Polak applied the same strategy to the Rough Riders 30 years ago.

NFC Quarter Finals: Ottawa Sooners 21 at Sudbury Spartans 14

This game was actually played on July 28th but having been away much of that time, I am only finding out about it now.

The recap below is an abbreviated article from the Sudbury Star and was written by one Ben Leeson. I believe he took the accompanying picture as well. I am copying it from the league's website but am unable to find a direct link to it.

Hunter Holub could have found reasons to hang his head Saturday night. 

His Sudbury Spartans had just dropped a heartbreaker 21-14 decision to the Ottawa Sooners in their Northern Football Conference quarter-final, in a game the Nickel City squad may have won, if not for a dropped TD, a pair of missed field goals and a late fumble. 

...

Hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2015, the Spartans had a slow start against the Sooners, who were missing a couple of strong starters, but remained a quality club on both sides of the ball. 

They showed that when quarterback Danny Mullins led a long first-quarter drive and finished with a short keeper for a TD. The ensuing convert made it 7-0. 

Ottawa’s offence sputtered deep in its own end near the midway mark of the second frame, however, allowing Sudbury to take over at the visitors’ 34-yard line. A 14-yard catch and run by Josh Cuomo put the locals inside the 20, where they came within a hair of scoring a major of their own when Holub found James Howatt open in the end zone, but Howatt couldn’t quite hold onto the pass. 

Spartans kicker Massimo Cimino then attempted a field goal, but booted it just wide.
Sudbury’s defence stymied Ottawa on another drive down the field, sacking Mullins to end the half. 

Holub had just missed Poirier with a long pass when the first-year quarterback aired it out for No. 20 again, this time connecting for a 87-yard score and bringing the crowd to its feet. Cimino’s PAT tied the score, 7-7, with 7:50 left in the third quarter. 

The Spartans missed on another field goal attempt later in the third. 

Ottawa restored its lead (with) Daniel McGrowder’s eight-yard reception in the fourth quarter, then scored again on an option pitch to Mike Leno. 

The Spartans embarked on a strong drive late in the contest that culminated in Holub’s wild scramble for a 21-yard TD, narrowing the score to 21-14, but could come no closer.

The Sooners will travel to Toronto on August 11th to challenge the powerful GTA All-Stars in the league semi-final. Tough gig; The All-Stars beat the Sooners at home earlier this year 39-16.

Killer Instinct, Or Lack Thereof

From the August 2nd game recap:

After a tumultuous first half, (quarterback McLeod) Bethel-Thompson led the Argos back from a 38-14 deficit with the go-ahead touchdown with one second left (in a) 42-41 win over Ottawa to set a wild pace for Week 8 of the CFL season.

The Argos swarm wide receiver Armanti Edwards after he caught the game-winning touchdown pass with one second left Thursday night.  (RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR)

How brutal was that? Losing any one game in that fashion would be painful. As I listened to post-game interviews and read recaps, it occurred to me that it's particularly painful because blowing leads has been a trend with this franchise since inception and shows no sign of going away.

Head Coach Rick Campbell has never been able to make his teams play 60 minutes consistently. All they've been able to do is repeat the same platitudes about "needing to close games out" and "learning from this" post-game. 

The saving grace has been that these blown leads have not all turned wins into losses but they have been frequent enough throughout the team's short history that it's clearly just a part of who they are. 

Rick Campbell is said to be as even-keel as anyone. He preaches that no loss is a complete disaster, no win makes you unbeatable. He keeps his players well-grounded but I now believe the other side of that coin is that he's unable to generate a sense of urgency in his teams when it's needed.

Let's go back to the team's very first game back in 2014. Up 21-7 at the end of the first quarter, they would ultimately lose 36-28 in Winnipeg. The next week, they would lead Edmonton 7-2 at the half and lose 27-11.

All right, that was an expansion team. The following year, the team won 12 games and hosted the Eastern final. That led to the incredible 2nd-and-25 moment, the excitement of which causes us to forget that the team created the need for that miracle in the first place. Ottawa led 25-17 after three quarters only to see the game tied when Henry Burris and Greg Ellingson connected for 93 yards.

But they got to the Grey Cup! Unfortunately they lost it 26-20 to the Edmonton Eskimos when they gave up a TD with just over three minutes left. They had led 20-18 after scoring the game's first 13 points.

Hugh Charles #28 of the Ottawa Redblacks is hit by Cauchy Muamba #8 of the Edmonton Eskimos during first half Grey Cup 103 action at Investors Group Field on November 29, 2015 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

TREVOR HAGAN / GETTY IMAGES

In 2016, winning at home inexplicably became a challenge. Among many home losses, one was a game that went into overtime against Hamilton which Ottawa had led 27-12 at halftime.

The Redblacks did win the Eastern Final in 2016, again needing a late touchdown to seal it. They had led 25-3 but their lead was reduced to 28-23 when Kienan Lafrance ran a touchdown in late to close things out.

Ottawa Redblacks' Kienan Lafrance (27) gets tackled by Edmonton Eskimos' Kenny Ladler (37) during second half CFL Eastern Final action, in Ottawa on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

That, of course, led to an exciting overtime Grey Cup victory against Calgary. It went into overtime even though at one point Ottawa was ahead 27-7 early in the second half.

The 2017 season kicked of with a rematch against Calgary which also went into overtime and resulted in a tie. Ottawa led that game 28-14 with about seven and a half minutes left in the 4th quarter.

Two weeks later, Ottawa hosted Toronto, led 12-1 at halftime but lost 26-25. When they hosted Saskatchewan later in the year, Ottawa led 17-0 with a little over four minutes left in the third quarter but ultimately lost 18-17.

And here we are in 2018, still "learning" and giving post-game speeches about needing to play 60 minutes.

Five years in, those speeches are starting to lack credibility. Display sustained competence for a few weeks in a row and perhaps these blown leads will start to look like the exception rather than the trend.

Richmond Connection

This post was inspired by a Redblacks signing made official yesterday.

Most of that is pretty standard fare for a guy signed to the practice roster but it was the mention of Richmond university which caught my eye.

Years ago, while writing out the Ottawa Rough Riders draft history, I noticed that quite a few players acquired through territorial exemption came from Richmond University in Virginia. It seemed unusual for so many local guys to end at that one school but I figured that attempts to research the specifics of the reason would be pointless. The most logical explanation was simply that a member of the Rough Riders organization knew someone at the school.

The details fell into my lap one day. The team began releasing a newspaper during the season in 1978 and I acquired the second issue from that year, dated September. In it, Doug McGee walks us through it all (click image for larger version).

Wayne Tosh, John Palazeti, Rick Sowieta, Doug McGee, Ian Beckstead, Glenn Cook are all mentioned above but running back Mark Philp, and defensive lineman Mark Seale came later. Jim McCaffrey was drafted from Richmond but I don't believe he ever played for Ottawa.

In all, seven players were acquired through the draft from Richmond, the most of any American school (Tosh and Sowieta were not). Nice way to supplement a roster!

May 31st Depth Chart

I am posting this here to review at various times during the year. It is easy to lose track of just how many moves a team makes during the course of a season and how the final roster (meaning the one for the last game in October or November) is nothing like the starting roster. I will keep the week one chart as well and compare the two at the end of the year.

Here we go, typo and all.

Click the image above to see the full-sized version.

Of course we need to take into account those that the team is being "cautious" with.

Sorry about the wonky positions, the file lost a little integrity when I blew it up.

A few notes and reminders, again for future review.

• WR Dominique Rhymes gets the start after contributing in 11 games last year (15 receptions, 219 yards). He has been talked up in interviews, particularly by QB Trevor Harris so let's check in November and see how that worked out.
• DT Daryl Waud has a history of injuries over the last two years so while I understand the reasoning behind being cautious, seeing him on the "not dressed" list is a little worrisome. We'll see.
• DE Connor Williams doesn't make either list. It's sounding more and more like injuries will force him into retirement, or at best a comeback attempt next season, which is too bad. He only played in one game last year.
• DT George Uko was said to be among the starters at the start of camp but is now listed with the 2nd team behind Harold Brantley. 
• The plan to start two Canadian receivers appears to be proceeding along with Austen Hartley and Julian Feoli-Gudino both showing as first-team.
• Honoured as the country's best university player, Ed Ilnicki is behind the far-less celebrated Wayne Moore, who was quietly signed in July of last year.

What does all of this mean? Not a damn thing, they're just some points to review a few months from now to see how they played out. Enjoy the game!

Orleans Bengals Midget Squad To Be Named The Orleans Raftsmen

Today, the storied Orléans Bengals Midget Team is pleased to announce that as part of joining the Quebec Midget Football League for the 2018 season, the team will be named the Orléans Raftsmen. 

 

The Raftsmen bilingual heritage of Orléans and Ottawa is rich in tradition and our Midget football club will echo the spirits of the land, the rivers and the people of the Ottawa Valley. 

“This will be an exciting and rewarding opportunity for our players to play in one of the best football leagues in the country,” said George Zigoumis, president of the Orléans Bengals. “Our football club is committed to developing these student athletes by enhancing higher education possibilities for them.” 

For athletes 16 and 17 years of age looking to play for an Ontario-Quebec inter-provincial championship and gain exposure to CEGEPs and universities, message the Head Coach-Ron Raymond at ronraymond@rogers.com

Raftsmen was one of the names being floated around for the new CFL franchise though I don't recall (or care, at this point) if it was an option teased by the team or one suggested by fans.

This is just personal opinion, but I detest when teams name/brand themselves after existing franchises. I think the Orleans organization went in the right direction here and while it's doubtful I'll get to attend too many of their games, I'd love to load up on merchandise bearing that logo.