Nova Raptors 34, Spark Kestrels 34
Week 4 · Regular season · round 22 · Friday 23 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 34 |
| NVA Nova Raptors | 7 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 34 |
Game recap
It finished all square in round 22 of Week 4: Nova Raptors 34, Spark Kestrels 34. The Raptors tied it with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Tariq Achebe with 0:24 left in the fourth quarter.
The Kestrels opened the scoring with a 51-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic with 3:12 left in the first quarter. The Kestrels led 20-13 at halftime. The fourth quarter brought a 51-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross for the Raptors (3:23 left, 26-20); a 14-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei for the Kestrels (2:49 left, 27-26); a 7-yard touchdown run by Yannick Delacroix for the Kestrels (0:48 left, 34-26); a 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Tariq Achebe for the Raptors (0:24 left, 34-34).
The biggest swing of the game came with 0:24 left in the fourth quarter: a 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Tariq Achebe. It moved the Raptors' chance of winning from 15% to 64%.
Top performer: Axel Stroud (QB, Raptors), with 32 of 45 passing for 391 yards, 3 TD; 2 carries for 8 yards; 1 catch for -8 yards. Elsewhere, Omari Fenn (Raptors) had 6 carries for 71 yards; 2 catches for 14 yards; Bram Thorne (Raptors) had 10 catches for 129 yards and 1 TD; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 24 of 37 passing for 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 1 carry for -1 yard; 1 catch for -5 yards; Malachi Reed (Kestrels) had 20 carries for 172 yards and 1 TD; 1 catch for 22 yards.
Before kickoff, the Raptors' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, target Ivo Norcross; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Ivo Norcross finished with 5 catches for 57 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Bastien Radcliffe; on defense: bracket Zion Whitaker (Bastien Radcliffe finished with 1 carry for 3 yards; 5 catches for 50 yards).
The Raptors move to 5-16-1 and the Kestrels to 7-13-2 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down once, and it worked.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-NVA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:12 | Kestrels | A 51-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 3-0 |
| Q1 2:39 | Raptors | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne (extra point) | 3-7 |
| Q1 1:28 | Kestrels | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Lazlo Zamora (extra point) | 10-7 |
| Q2 3:13 | Raptors | A 48-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 10-10 |
| Q2 0:57 | Kestrels | An 11-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed (extra point) | 17-10 |
| Q2 0:28 | Kestrels | A 33-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 20-10 |
| Q2 0:04 | Raptors | A 43-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 20-13 |
| Q3 3:25 | Raptors | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Zion Whitaker (extra point) | 20-20 |
| Q3 0:54 | Raptors | A 32-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 20-23 |
| Q4 3:23 | Raptors | A 51-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 20-26 |
| Q4 2:49 | Kestrels | A 14-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei (extra point) | 27-26 |
| Q4 0:48 | Kestrels | A 7-yard touchdown run by Yannick Delacroix (extra point) | 34-26 |
| Q4 0:24 | Raptors | A 10-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Tariq Achebe (2-pt conversion) | 34-34 |
Team stats
| SPK | NVA | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 460 | 473 |
| Passing yards | 214 | 391 |
| Rushing yards | 246 | 82 |
| Completions | 24 of 37 | 32 of 45 |
| Offensive plays | 74 | 57 |
| Third downs | 7 of 13 | 3 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | — |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 9:08 | 6:52 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 24/37 | 214 | 2 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 20 | 172 | 1 | 23 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 13 | 72 | 1 | 17 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 1 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulric Hargrove | 7 | 76 | 0 | 9 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 5 | 50 | 0 | 8 |
| Jaylen Osei | 5 | 46 | 1 | 11 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 5 | 25 | 1 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Castellan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Pellegrini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ulric Ashford | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Brennan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Soren Eriksen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Gideon Norcross | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Jovanovic | 2/2 | 51 | 4/4 |
Nova Raptors box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Stroud | 32/45 | 391 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omari Fenn | 6 | 71 | 0 | 17 |
| Axel Stroud | 2 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Tariq Achebe | 1 | 4 | 0 | 26 |
| Nils Coventry | 2 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bram Thorne | 10 | 129 | 1 | 13 |
| Zion Whitaker | 8 | 125 | 1 | 14 |
| Tariq Achebe | 6 | 74 | 1 | 7 |
| Ivo Norcross | 5 | 57 | 0 | 7 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Delacroix | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pavel Quarles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Montague | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kasimir Oyelaran | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matteo Draven | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Brennan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Norcross | 4/4 | 51 | 2/2 |
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 34, Spark Kestrels 34 on Snapline. More about the teams: Nova Raptors · Spark Kestrels.