The McMaster Marauders football team has begun the Ontario university season with a 24-18 loss against the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa.
Jacob Patten scored on a 53-yard punt return to pace McMaster to a 7-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Kicker Benjamin MacDonald added a couple of field goals to give the Marauders a 13-8 edge at halftime.
Patten led the Marauders with four catches for 72 yards and Daniel Bosset powered McMaster’s ground game with 33 yards on nine carries.
But the hometown Ravens stormed back in the second half, outscoring Mac 16-5 in the final two quarters to secure the victory.
Carleton quarterback Tanner DeJong fired a seven-yard touchdown to Kaseem Ferdinand in the second quarter while Tristan Rinaldis and Joshua Ferguson scored on one-yard and seven-yard TD runs, respectively.
Ferguson compiled a game-leading 116 rushing yards on 23 carries while Ferdinand led all receivers with 11 catches for 92 yards.
McMaster QB Andreas Dueck completed 20-of-31 pass attempts for a game-high 246 yards, but he also threw an interception and was sacked six times.
DeJong went 20-of-28 for 216 yards and one major and eluded the McMaster pass rush all game.
The Marauders return home for their next game on Sept. 3 when they host the York University Lions.