It will be a clash of unbeaten teams when the Carleton Ravens make their first ever appearance at Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday, looking to upset the Marauders, who have moved up to 4^th-spot in the latest CIS national football rankings.

The Ravens come to Hamilton after enjoying their bye week in the OUA schedule, so they should be well-rested and well-schooled in the game plan, having had an extra week to prepare.  After going winless in 2013, Carleton got 2014 off to a good start after an impressive 33-14 road win versus the Waterloo Warriors in week-one.  

Marauder Coach Stefan Ptaszek expects a battle from the youthful Ravens. ""They are an extremely athletic group coming off a bye and with a week one victory behind them," said Ptaszek. "Carleton will be very prepared to play and is extremely dangerous."

Carleton Coach Steve Sumarah has the program moving in the right direction, and he can call on an experienced quarterback in Jesse Mills, who has some talented options among the backs and receivers. With a roster of mostly first and second-year players, the challenge for Carleton remains matching the physical maturity of its OUA opponents.

The Marauders were able to spread out the playing time and the touches in last week's victory at Waterloo, and both starting quarterback Marshall Ferguson and his back-up Asher Hastings were able to put points on the scoreboard for McMaster.  Six different Marauders found the endzone and the team got 24 points from the foot of Tyler Crapigna.

The McMaster receiving corps has gotten off to a fast start in 2014 and for the second week in a row, Marauder Max Cameron has made the honour roll for the OUA Plays of the Week with a circus catch in the game at Waterloo.  If you missed it, you can view it at the LINK

On the defensive side, the Marauders played with purpose and maintained their effort when it would have been easy to coast.  Limiting Waterloo to just 143 yards of total offense bodes well for the continued growth of the defense.

Along with the gridiron action which kicks off at 1 p.m., there will be a ton of activity surrounding Saturday's game:
 

• The McMaster local business program will unveil the Marauder Marketplace, which will be set up at the south end of the stadium adjacent to the box office, featuring local merchants bringing their wares on campus for McMaster fans to enjoy.
• The Kids Fun Zone will also debut on Saturday, at the north end of the stadium with a variety of activities and inflatables available for children to enjoy.
• McMaster Athletics will welcome 400 university employees and their families to the stadium as the McMaster Employee Spirit Society (M.E.S.S.) makes its annual visit to Ron Joyce Stadium to cheer the Marauders on to victory.
• Following the game all fans of the Marauders can come down to Les Prince Field for a special autograph session with the team members.  Event staff will be distributing a commemorative autograph card after the game to collect signatures or fans can pick-up their 2014 Marauder gameday program and get it autographed by all their favourite players.

Tickets for Saturday's contest with Carleton can be purchased by telephone by calling 905-525-9140, Ext. 20353, online at marauders.ca, or at the stadium box office which opens at 11 a.m. on the day of the game...