Nova Raptors 30, Cortex Foxes 27
Week 5 · Regular season · round 17 · Thursday 29 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVA Nova Raptors | 0 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
| CTX Cortex Foxes | 3 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
Game recap
The Nova Raptors beat the Cortex Foxes 30-27 in round 17 of Week 5, and they needed every second to do it. The decisive score was a 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross with 0:33 left in the fourth quarter. It was an upset: before kickoff the engine gave the Raptors only a 34% chance of winning.
The Foxes opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal by Wendell Montague with 2:08 left in the first quarter. At the break the Raptors were up 14-13. Then came the fourth quarter: a 46-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross for the Raptors (3:27 left, 20-13); a 43-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross for the Raptors (1:59 left, 23-13); a 20-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Zane Montague for the Foxes (1:25 left, 23-20); a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Tariq Coventry for the Foxes (0:58 left, 27-23); a 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross for the Raptors (0:33 left, 30-27).
The key moment arrived with 0:33 left in the fourth quarter: a 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross. It moved the Raptors' chance of winning from 43% to 94%.
Top performer: Bram Thorne (WR, Raptors), with 8 catches for 110 yards and 1 TD. Elsewhere, Ezra Vale (Foxes) had 23 of 37 passing for 222 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 4 carries for 15 yards; Fabian Esposito (Foxes) had 7 carries for 63 yards; 2 catches for 14 yards; Rafe Ellison (Foxes) had 7 catches for 78 yards; Axel Stroud (Raptors) had 24 of 35 passing for 249 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 1 catch for -4 yards.
Before kickoff, the Foxes' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Zane Montague; on defense: bracket Zion Whitaker (Zane Montague finished with 3 catches for 41 yards and 2 TD). Meanwhile, the Raptors' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Tariq Achebe; on defense: bracket Rafe Ellison (Tariq Achebe finished with 1 carry for 8 yards; 4 catches for 38 yards).
The Foxes move to 7-9-1 and the Raptors to 9-8 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | NVA-CTX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:08 | Foxes | A 30-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 0-3 |
| Q2 3:25 | Raptors | An 8-yard touchdown run by Omari Fenn (extra point) | 7-3 |
| Q2 2:23 | Foxes | A 40-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 7-6 |
| Q2 1:42 | Foxes | A 14-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Zane Montague (extra point) | 7-13 |
| Q2 0:21 | Raptors | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne (extra point) | 14-13 |
| Q3 1:38 | Raptors | A 38-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 17-13 |
| Q4 3:27 | Raptors | A 46-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 20-13 |
| Q4 1:59 | Raptors | A 43-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 23-13 |
| Q4 1:25 | Foxes | A 20-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Zane Montague (extra point) | 23-20 |
| Q4 0:58 | Foxes | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Tariq Coventry (extra point) | 23-27 |
| Q4 0:33 | Raptors | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross (extra point) | 30-27 |
Team stats
| NVA | CTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 382 | 349 |
| Passing yards | 249 | 222 |
| Rushing yards | 133 | 127 |
| Completions | 24 of 35 | 23 of 37 |
| Offensive plays | 64 | 59 |
| Third downs | 4 of 10 | 1 of 8 |
| Fourth downs | — | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 8:54 | 7:06 |
Nova Raptors box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Stroud | 24/35 | 249 | 2 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omari Fenn | 16 | 74 | 1 | 10 |
| Nils Coventry | 8 | 46 | 0 | 21 |
| Tariq Achebe | 1 | 8 | 0 | 19 |
| Dorian Hargrove | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bram Thorne | 8 | 110 | 1 | 8 |
| Zion Whitaker | 6 | 69 | 0 | 12 |
| Tariq Achebe | 4 | 38 | 0 | 4 |
| Nils Coventry | 3 | 25 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Delacroix | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Brennan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Brennan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bastien Montague | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zane Eriksen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Adrien Varga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Norcross | 3/4 | 46 | 3/3 |
Cortex Foxes box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra Vale | 23/37 | 222 | 3 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Esposito | 7 | 63 | 0 | 17 |
| Fabian Hargrove | 5 | 35 | 0 | 10 |
| Ezra Vale | 4 | 15 | 0 | 10 |
| Tariq Coventry | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafe Ellison | 7 | 78 | 0 | 9 |
| Cassius Ashford | 8 | 70 | 0 | 12 |
| Zane Montague | 3 | 41 | 2 | 4 |
| Tariq Coventry | 3 | 19 | 1 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Hargrove | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pavel Radcliffe | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Brennan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Valen Ingram | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Pellegrini | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell Montague | 2/2 | 40 | 3/3 |
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 30, Cortex Foxes 27 on Snapline. More about the teams: Cortex Foxes · Nova Raptors.