Laval – Laval Rouge et Or enjoyed a feast Sunday afternoon at University of Laval TELUS Stadium by making short work of the Concordia Stingers. The Rouge et Or defeated the Stingers 65-9 in front of 13,049 spectators.
It was the sixth win in as many outings for Laval, who now leads the RSEQ conference, ahead of Montreal and Bishop’s as each team has two losses. The Rouge et Or has not lost in 21 games against Concordia, the last defeat dating back to 2003.
The overall performance of the Rouge et Or pleased Head Coach Glen Constantin.
“We must understand that this was not the greatest opposition, but today, it was important for us to play well in all three phases of the game, and our three units worked very well,” said Constantin.
The Rouge et Or Head Coach also had good words for his young quarterback Alex Skinner.
“Alex has made good progress last week and did some great things,” commented Constantin. “The entire offensive responded well with Alex.”
The Rouge et Or offense worked early and quickly to win. From the first sequence attack, racing 22 yards quarterback Alex Skinner connected with receiver Guillaume Rioux for a 22 yard catch on a reverse play. That paved the way for the first touchdown of the game as Guillaume Bourassa trotted seven yards into the end zone. Less than three minutes into the game, it was 7-0 for the Rouge et Or. The Rouge et Or doubled its lead seven minutes later when Pascal Lochard slipped through the cracks of five members of the Stingers defensive unit and ran 24 yards into the end zone. Before the end of the first quarter, Concordia conceded a safety, and it was 16-0 for Laval.
Constantin’s players continued their good work on the attack during their first series of the second quarter. Antoine Leduc had a 1 yard quarterback sneak into the end zone to increase the Rouge Et Or’s lead 23-0.
After the Stingers had conceded another safety and Boris Bede has kicked a 20-yard field goal, Guillaume Rioux electrified the crowd with a 94 yard punt return into the end zone, widening the gap to 35-0. After Boris Bede rouge, both teams retreated to the locker room. At halftime, the Rouge et Or enjoyed a 36-0 lead over Stingers.
Laval continued their dominance in the third quarter. Alex Skinner connected with both Guillaume Rioux and Guillaume Bourassa for touchdowns. The defense even contributed points on the board when Shayne Gauthier recovered a fumble and ran 57 yards for a major to increase the Rouge et Or’s lead 58-0 over the Stingers.
Concordia saved face in the fourth quarter as receiver Kris Bastien scored a touchdown pass in addition to Laval conceding a safety. However, the Rouge et Or had not completed their destructive work. A Christophe Normand ran into the end zone for a 53 yard touchdown score to bring the score to 65-9, The score remained until the very end.
In his first home career start, Laval quarterback Alex Skinner finished the game with 15 completions in 22 attempts for 252 passing yards and two touchdowns. Antoine Leduc, who relieved Skinner in the third quarter, had three completions in eight attempts for 20 yards; however, one of his attempts was intercepted.
On the ground, Christophe Normand led the charge with 98 yards on five carries and a touchdown. Guillaume Rioux added four catches for 50 receiving yards and a major. Julian Bailey has accumulated 82 yards on three receptions.
On defense, Vincent Chabot caught two interceptions. Adam Thibault led the way with six tackles, including four solo and recorded half a sack. In addition to his fumble return for a touchdown, Shayne Gauthier also recorded a quarterback sack behind the line of scrimmage. Vincent Desloges also added 1.5 sacks.
The Rouge et Or will now benefit from a weekend off due to Thanksgiving. Laval will play their next game Sunday, October 20th in front of their fans as the Sherbrooke Vert & Or will visit University of Laval TELUS Stadium. Kickoff is 1:30pm.
Photo credits: Yan Doublet
With files from Mathieu Tanguay
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