Nova Raptors 31, Spark Kestrels 21
Week 3 · Regular season · round 22 · Friday 16 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| NVA Nova Raptors | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
Game recap
The Nova Raptors earned a 31-21 win over the Spark Kestrels in round 22 of Week 3. They led by as many as 21 points.
The Raptors opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne with 2:46 left in the first quarter. The Raptors led 21-7 at halftime. Then came the fourth quarter: a 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Malachi Reed for the Kestrels (2:52 left, 24-21); a 1-yard touchdown run by Omari Fenn for the Raptors (1:58 left, 31-21).
The biggest swing of the game came with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter: an interception by Zane Eriksen off Eli Varga-Stone. It moved the Raptors' chance of winning from 70% to 85%.
Top performer: Omari Fenn (RB, Raptors), with 33 carries for 172 yards and 1 TD; 1 catch for 4 yards and 1 TD. Elsewhere, Axel Stroud (Raptors) had 20 of 32 passing for 191 yards, 3 TD; 2 carries for 4 yards; Bram Thorne (Raptors) had 9 catches for 77 yards and 2 TD; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 18 of 30 passing for 186 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 3 carries for 27 yards; Malachi Reed (Kestrels) had 16 carries for 76 yards; 6 catches for 85 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Raptors' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Zion Whitaker; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Zion Whitaker finished with 3 catches for 37 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Bastien Radcliffe; on defense: bracket Zion Whitaker (Bastien Radcliffe finished with 1 carry for 2 yards; 2 catches for 20 yards).
The Raptors move to 9-12-1 and the Kestrels to 10-10-2 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-NVA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:46 | Raptors | A 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne | 0-7 |
| Q2 2:14 | Raptors | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Omari Fenn | 0-14 |
| Q2 1:45 | Raptors | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne | 0-21 |
| Q2 0:04 | Kestrels | A 4-yard touchdown run by Yannick Delacroix | 7-21 |
| Q3 1:59 | Raptors | A 24-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 7-24 |
| Q3 0:19 | Kestrels | A 7-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Ulric Hargrove | 14-24 |
| Q4 2:52 | Kestrels | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Malachi Reed | 21-24 |
| Q4 1:58 | Raptors | A 1-yard touchdown run by Omari Fenn | 21-31 |
Team stats
| SPK | NVA | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 359 | 405 |
| Passing yards | 186 | 191 |
| Rushing yards | 173 | 214 |
| Completions | 18 of 30 | 20 of 32 |
| Offensive plays | 63 | 76 |
| Third downs | 3 of 10 | 7 of 13 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Sacks allowed | 4 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 5:14 | 6:46 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 18/30 | 186 | 2 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 16 | 76 | 0 | 36 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 3 | 46 | 0 | 26 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 3 | 27 | 0 | 11 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 6 | 22 | 1 | 7 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 6 | 85 | 1 | 7 |
| Jaylen Osei | 4 | 40 | 0 | 8 |
| Ulric Hargrove | 5 | 24 | 1 | 5 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 2 | 20 | 0 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gideon Norcross | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Pellegrini | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kasimir Castellan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tariq Brennan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soren Eriksen | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hector Jovanovic | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Nova Raptors box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Stroud | 20/32 | 191 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omari Fenn | 33 | 172 | 1 | 15 |
| Nils Coventry | 6 | 37 | 0 | 9 |
| Axel Stroud | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Tariq Achebe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bram Thorne | 9 | 77 | 2 | 10 |
| Tariq Achebe | 5 | 47 | 0 | 7 |
| Zion Whitaker | 3 | 37 | 0 | 5 |
| Ivo Norcross | 2 | 26 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Eriksen | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Adrien Brennan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Kasimir Oyelaran | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Brennan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Montague | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anders Delacroix | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Norcross | 1/1 | 24 | 0/0 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Nova Raptors 31, Spark Kestrels 21 on Snapline. More about the teams: Nova Raptors · Spark Kestrels.