RECAP: Fair’s 55-yard field goal walks off 54th Panda Game

For the second time in his career, Campbell Fair's the hero of the Panda Game.

The fifth-year kicker from Carrying Place, Ont., nailed a 55-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to walk-off the 54^th Panda Game by a score of 18-16. It's the Gee-Gees fifth straight victory in the annual big game, which saw 24,00 fans pack into TD Place. 

"After the kick, celebrating with the whole university was crazy, people were coming up to me and taking pictures, people I don't even know," said Fair. "I've never had an experience like that and I don't know if I ever will again. I have my mental process I follow for every kick, and obviously there was a little more pressure this time, but I tried to focus on the kick and not the moment." 

Fair also played hero in 2021, hitting a 45-yarder with under a minute to go to give Ottawa a 19-17 win over the Ravens.

As Fair was lining up the pivotal field goal, Carleton attempted to ice the veteran kicker, who spent time with the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders during their training camps. Fans from the Ravens fans then stormed the field, leading to some premature celebrations, and settling the breeze enough for Fair to pound the ball 55 yards.

"Campbell did that last year, he had a 55-yarder to walk it off against Laurier at their homecoming," said Gee-Gees head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. "He's done it before. He let the wind die a bit before asking for the ball. Being with the Stampeders and Roughriders over the summer I think really gave him confidence." 

Quarterback Josh Janssen completed two key passes to Noah Avery and Nicholas Gendron to setup the game-winning kick. Carleton had taken a 16-15 lead with under six minutes to go. 

Defences reigned supreme in the first half, with the Ravens scoring on their first possession after taking over off a fumbled opening kickoff. Ottawa responded before the first half was out however, as rookie quarterback Josh Janssen found Maxim Malenfant for the former's first career touchdown pass.

A Fair convert and rouge gave the Gee-Gees an 8-7 lead at the halftime break.

Ottawa would rattle off 15 unanswered points following the Ravens opening score, with the streak being capped off by Scott Fulton, an Ottawa product, receiving a Janssen pass and diving for the pylon.

The Ottawa defence chipped in with a huge play at the end of the third quarter. With Carleton on the goal line, the Gee-Gees defence refused to let them in, with Marc Djonay Rondeau and Samuel Désir making key stops.

"I always believe we have an opportunity right to the last play," said Bellefeuille. "We still had enough time to get ourselves into field goal position and we practiced that situation over the last two weeks. I felt confident we could execute."

Janssen finished the day with 251 passing yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions. His counterpart from Carleton, Tristan Lefebvre, had 170 yards and a touchdown pass. 

Amlicar Polk rushed for 83 yards, while Nicholas Gendron led the game in receiving yards for the second straight year, although he was 90 shy of his milestone 211 yard outing last year. 

Alex Gayle (81 yards) and Jaden Simon (45 yards) led Carleton in rushing and receiving, respectively. 

Max Charbonneau paced Ottawa with 9.5 total tackles, while Braeden Cruji and Anas Faid combined for Ottawa's lone sack. 

The Gee-Gees improve to 37-17 in the Panda Game and are on the longest winning streak for either school since Ottawa won six straight from 1988 through 1993. 

Ottawa (3-2) has Laurier and McMaster on their schedule at home over the next two weeks. Tickets are on sale at the Gee-Gees Ticketmaster account.