Windsor, ON – In classic Carleton fashion, their OUA quarterfinal came down to the final minutes of the game.
On third and ten with less than 1:30 on the clock, Carleton QB Tristan Lefebvre threw an incomplete pass, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Windsor saved the drive. However, in the very next play, Harrison Daley picked off Lefebvre’s pass headed to the end zone saving the lead.
After unsuccessfully trying to run out the clock, the Lancers had to give the ball back to the Ravens offense. Lefebvre and company tried to chip away at the Windsor defense. They had no timeouts at their disposal, so Carleton completed short passes toward the sideline to conserve the clock. The offense put Brandon Forcier in position to make a 50-yard field goal.
Forcier came up short and Carleton couldn’t pull off the last-second heroics like they have in the last two weeks of the regular season.
Carleton reached into the bag of tricks in the fourth quarter. They executed a pitch pass that ended in a 36-yard gain. The trickery paid off, the Ravens punched in the first touchdown of the game via an Elijah Barnes one-yard run giving Carleton and 11-7 lead.
Windsor responded on the next drive. Backup quarterback Nick Dimovski led a four-play 79-yard drive to regain the lead. Dimovski found Evan Martin open in the end zone for Martin’s first first-ever U SPORTS touchdown. the backup stepped up in a big way coming in for Danny Skelton, who three interceptions. the first-year backup threw a total of 12 passes all year, he finished this game going four for five for 89 yards and throwing the go-ahead touchdown pass.
The first half was a defensive duel, only four points were scored in the opening two quarters all by Windsor. Both teams put in shifts keeping offenses at bay. Between both Carleton and Windsor there were 13 punts in the opening half of this matchup.
Windsor made massive defensive plays all game, their red zone defense was operating at a peak level. They had the fourth quarter interception, but they also made a huge stop in the first half. Jason Rushatsi exploded off the edge to force a turnover on downs to keep Carleton scoreless.
Due to the results of the other quarterfinal matchups Windsor are set for a rematch against Laurier in the OUA semifinals. The Golden Hawks took that game easily by a score of 40-7. Windsor get a shot at redemption to try and push their way to the Yates Cup.
Cover Photo: Connor Sykes/Lancers Athletics