OTTAWA, Ont. - The Waterloo Warriors picked up their first win of the season on the road this Saturday. Both teams made momentum-swinging plays, but the Warriors surrendered the lead only once en-route to a convincing 31-26 victory at TAAG Park over the Carleton Ravens.
The Warriors were the better team on both sides of the ball to start the game. Two short Carleton drives were split by a solid 10-play effort by the Warriors offence that ended in a 30-yard Evan Astolfo (Burlington, ONT/Corpus Christi) field goal, his first of the season.
On their next trip out, Waterloo marched all the way down to the field. On first and goal from the three-yard line, Nick Orr (Caledon/Mayfield Secondary School) fumbled the snap, but a quick recovery and excellent blocking from the offensive line allowed him to push through for the game's first touchdown.
The Warriors stopped the Ravens twice on the goal line at the tail end of the first quarter to take a 10-0 lead into the second, but the Ravens broke through on the first play of the period to cut the lead to three.
The Warriors responded immediately. Orr found Isaac White (St. Thomas/London South Collegiate Institute), Riley Webster (Waterloo, ONT/Resurrection Catholic Secondary School), and Evan Basalyga (Thunder Bay, ONT/Westgate CVI) once each for big gains before Ethan Miller (Brampton, ONT/St. Roch C.S.S) ran it in for his first career touchdown.
Thus began the quarterback duel this game was billed as. Carleton's Elijah Barnes threw a strike to Dante Spadaccini, who broke a Mason Henry (Milton, ONT/St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School) tackle and took it all the way to the house for a 56-yard major.
They'd get another chance to score on their next trip out, but this time Barnes couldn't find his receivers, just missing an Isaac Porter (Fredericton, NBR/Leo Hayes High School)-covered Spadaccini and a wide-open Frederick Hachey on back-to-back plays. The Ravens would settle for a field goal.
They'd take the lead with another field goal, leaving the Warriors just 49 seconds to respond before halftime. That was all the time they needed.
Orr found Basalyga with a beautiful throw for a 30-yard gain to get Waterloo into scoring position. He then floated a ball to the corner of the endzone which Riley Webster (Waterloo, ONT/Resurrection Catholic Secondary School) snagged on an incredible diving catch. 24-20 Warriors at the break.
Both teams needed a quarter to replenish their offensive juices, as it was all defence in a scoreless third period.
Orr added another touchdown on a QB sneak from the goal line, this one fumble-free to count as his second rushing major in as many games. He'd finish with 352 yards in the air on 29-51 passing to go with 62 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
Carleton responded with an 11-play, 79-yard drive that saw Barnes find four different targets before finishing it off himself. He made a nice run to get the ball to the one-yard line, and then dove over the trench to just barely break the plane and cut the lead to five. The Ravens opted for a two-point conversion attempt, but Israel Mompatibi (Ottawa, ONT/Colonel By Secondary School) stopped Keyshawn Reid in his tracks.
Carleton's defence did well to give their offence another few chances, but Waterloo's defence was better at denying them. It was Mason Henry (Milton, ONT/St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School) who sealed the deal with an interception with 90 seconds on the clock.
This was the Warriors' first win over the Ravens since 2019. They improve to 1-1 to begin the 2026 season, while the Ravens fall to 0-2 after their second consecutive one-score loss.
The black and gold had an identical record last season, and went 1-5 the rest of the way. It's encouraging to note, however, that arguably Waterloo's two biggest weaknesses in 2025 have looked like strengths through two games this year.
The offensive line has been stellar, which is even more impressive considering the three interior linemen are first- or second-year players: left guard Cooper Svick, a true freshman, centre Noah Divalentin, and right guard Marven Han (Shanxi, China/Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School). Veteran tackles Thomas Levings (Abbotsford/Abbotsford Senior Secondary School) and Noah Gidaro have done an excellent job protecting the flanks, as well. Orr was sacked once in week one and kept clean against Carleton.
And while red zone offence was perhaps the 2025 Warriors' Achilles heel, they've quadrupled their touchdown total through two games compared to last season, with eight majors already in 2026.
Waterloo are back on the road next week, as they'll head back east along the 401 to face the defending Yates Cup champion Queen's Gaels on Saturday, September 12. Kickoff is set for 5:00 PM.
The Warriors are back at home in week four for a Homecoming date with the Windsor Lancers at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 19. Tickets are available now at gowarriorsgo.ca/tickets.
