Last minute Hail Mary play gives Carleton 2014 Panda Game Victory

It was a Panda Game for the history books on Saturday afternoon and one that Gee-Gees nation will not forget any time soon as last minute heroics by the Carleton Ravens gave them a 33-31 victory.

Last minute Hail Mary play gives Carleton 2014 Panda Game Victory

Team Stats

September 20, 2014

OTTAWA, Ont. - It was a Panda Game for the history books on Saturday afternoon and one that Gee-Gees nation will not forget any time soon as last minute heroics by the Carleton Ravens gave them a 33-31 victory.

Down by four points and with four seconds remaining on the clock, Carleton put in quarterback Jesse Mills to throw a Hail Mary from the 55-yard line in hopes of stealing Pedro away from uOttawa for the first time since 1994.

The ball went up and just when it appeared the Gee-Gees had made the interception and put an end to the game, the ball squeaked out and landed into hands of Nate Behar who finished the game with 276 receiving yards. He ran the ball into the end zone, fans stormed the field and the rest was history.

"There is not much that was going through my mind to be honest. The ball just kind of landed in my hand, I covered it with the other hand and the rest is history. When the guys rushed towards me after the touchdown it was amazing because we are so tightly knit and so close as a group. When I looked up there were fans and players all around me and it was a beautiful moment. I don't think I have ever felt so good in my entire life,'' Behar said in a post-game interview. 

The magic of pandemonium was obvious throughout Saturday afternoon as the entire game was a seesaw battle.  In front of 12,500 fans at TD Place, neither team could gain enough momentum to pull ahead.

Nick Gorgichuk started under centre for the Ravens. The Ottawa native fared well in his first start in his home town, throwing two touchdown passes for 318 yards in the game. He also scored a rushing major The Gee-Gees appeared to gain momentum before the half, taking an 18-14 lead thanks to running touchdown from Mack Tommy. It had been a shaky first half for both teams but uOttawa began to settle down heading into halftime.

Behar also provided the first turning point of the second half, hauling in a reception on the 10 yard line and driving for end zone to cap off Carleton's 75-yard drive to go ahead 21-18 midway through the third.

The Gee-Gees responded with an impressive scoring drive of their own, but were held to a field goal after marching from their own twenty yard line.  A pair of field goals from Carleton's Michael Domagala started the fourth quarter and put Carleton ahead 27-21.
 
Ottawa appeared poised for a fourth quarter comeback reminiscent of the victory over Queen's when Derek Wendel scored on a four-yard scamper with 3:47 remaining.  Following the touchdown, Ian Stewart made a big catch to bring Ottawa out of the shadow of their own goal line. Ottawa then put the ball in the hands of rookie running back Bryce Viera who amassed 39 yards to help bring Ottawa to 12 yard line. Again Ottawa was forced to settle for a field goal, setting the stage for the last-second win.
 
"I think we got on a really big high near the end of the game because things were looking good for us and when things go wrong like they did today in the last minute it's even harder on you,'' said Wendel.

As a team the Gee-Gees recorded 481 offensive yards on the day while Carleton had 500 of their own. uOttawa held  the edge on the ground however with 307 rushing yards opposed to 139 by the Ravens. In the end fans will remember the ball falling into the hands of Nate Behar, changing the outcome of a game that was virtually in the books. 

The win moves Carleton to 2-1 on the season while Ottawa falls to 2-2.

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees