RSEQ RECAPS: Laval, Concordia victorious [stats]

MONTREAL — Louis Brouillette had a career day for McGill but it was insufficient as Concordia cruised to a 33-21 victory in the 29th annual Montreal Shrine Bowl before an announced crowd of 3,001 at Concordia Stadium, Saturday.

The Stingers led 14-0 after the opening quarter, 16-3 at the half and 26-3 after three.

Brouillette, a six-foot, 180-pound receiver, caught seven passes for 101 yards, then was called upon as an emergency third-string kicker. He  punted three times for 90 yards, performed two kickoffs (one of them onside) for 51 yards and went 2-for-2 in field-goal attempts (making distances of 21 and 33 yards). He also returned three punts for 16 yards and even threw a pass for five yards on a botched snap that turned an attempted one-point conversion into two.

The mechanical engineeing senior from Sherbrooke had never kicked in his previous three years at McGill but volunteered when head coach Ron Hilaire addressed the team and asked if anyone could handle the kicking chores when back-up Remi Bertillin — filling in for injured Justin Lavallee — had to leave the game in the opening quarter after taking a hit to his head.

“Brouillette’s kind of like a Swiss army knife for us,” said Hilaire. “He is useful and excels in every situation you put him in. Aside from that, I was disappointed that we came out very flat in the first half. The score was still managable (at 16-3) and we scored 18 points in the second half but it was too late. We have to be able to compete right from the start.”

For the Stingers, rookie running back Jean-Guy Rimpel, a native Montrealer, carried the ball 14 times for 135 yards, scored a touchdown on a one-yard plunge and also caught three passes for 11 yards.

Quarterback Trenton Miller made his first start for Concordia and completed 27 of 38 passes for 275 yards, two TDs and one interception. He also rushd twice for 21 yards, including a TD on a one-yard keeper.

Miller orchestrated an offence that rolled up 25 first downs and 435 yards. McGill countered with 23 first downs and 377 yards of offence.

Rounding out the TD scoring for the Stingers were receivers Yanic Lessard (a 21-yard reception) andJahlani Gilbert-Knorren (a 3-yard toss). Kicker Keegan Treloar added seven points, including a 44-yard field-goal.

At the helm for McGill was sophomore Joel Houle who was back after being sent to hospital the previous week on the second play from scrimmage in a 42-2 loss to the Montreal Carabins.

Houle completed 21 of 36 attempts for 264 yards but was picked off three times. He also riushed six times for 38 yards and a TD. Back-up Nicolas English, a freshman, was given a few series and went 5-for-7 for 38 yards, including the lone Redmen passing touchdown, a 12-yarder to Yannick Langelier-Vanasse late in the fourth quarter.

The Shrine Bowl features three player-of-the-game awards to each team.  Collecting the hardware for McGill was the aforementioned Louis Brouillette on offence, Karl Forgues (8.5 tackles) on defence andDevon Stewart, who was selected as most outstanding down lineman with four tackles, including one QB sack. Recipients for Concordia were Jean-Guy Rimpel (offence), Arto Khatchikian (defence) andSamuel Narkaj (lineman).

The contest may have set a CIS record for the longest game ever to finish in regulation time. The three-hour, 30-minute marathon was marred by a whopping 36 penalties (for 260 yards) and a plethora of injuries. Play was halted 15 times for injured players — nine to the Redmen — two of which resulted in warriors from each side being removed on a stretcher and dispatched to hospital. The good news out of all that was that the two athletes in question — Concordia receiver James Ohayon and McGill receiverKenny Baye — were both released within a few hours.

The Stingers, now 2-1, will host the Montréal Carabins (2-1) next Saturday at 2 p.m. on the TVA Sports network. The Redmen fell to 1-2 and will host Acadia (2-0) next Saturday at 1 p.m.

SHRINE BOWL NOTES: Concordia improved to 12-15 in the annual fundraiser, while McGill evened their record at 11-11 since the game was initiated in 1987. Net proceeds from the contest go towards the Montreal Shriners Hospital for Children. This year, the organizing committee hopes to go over the $1 million plateau in fundraising as the previous 28 Shrine Bowls have generated $916,000. Opened in 1925, this hospital treats physically handicapped children and/or burn victims free of charge. The game’s official motto is: “Strong legs run so that weak legs may walk” and funds are raised through multiple sources, including ticket sales, advertising, honorary coaches program, a raffle, a golf tournament, barbeques and generous donations from the public.

Source: Earl Zuckerman

SHERBROOKE, Que. – Saturday’s 44-2 Laval Rouge et Or victory over the Bishop’s Gaiters in RSEQ University Football appears to a lopsided one in favour the nation’s second ranked team. There was however a silver lining for the Bishop’s Gaiters on Coulter Field. True freshman Mathieu Demers started at quarterback for the purple and showed promise.

After losing their number one ranking despite a victory last week, No. 2-ranked Laval traveled to Sherbrooke for the second consecutive week. This time Coulter Field in Lennoxville was their destination.

Early on the Gaiters were led by their defence and held tight with the Rouge et Or. A Laval single was the only scoring in the opening frame.

Laval took advantage with the wind at their backs in the second quarter, although they did not run away from the home side. After the Rouge et Or scored a touchdown 3:45 into the stanza, the ensuing kickoff was booted through the end zone for a 9-0 lead.

With 10:51 remaining in the second quarter, Bishop’s sensational senior defensive back Ryan Hector (Brampton, Ont.) picked off his third pass of the season and returned it 38 yards to the Laval eight yard line. Unfortunately the Gaiters could only muster a missed field goal on the possession and settled for a single point. Hector’s interception ties him for tops in the RSEQ.

Laval tacked on a punt return touchdown with just less than four minutes left to grab a 16-1 lead at the halftime break.

The second half belonged to Laval, who despite starting their second-string quarterback, looked like a well-oiled machine. The Gaiters only other score came on a punt single midway through the third quarter. The final on the scoreboard was 44-2 in favour of Laval.

For his part Demers (Quebec City) fared well against the intimidating Rouge et Or defense. In his first CIS start he completed 14 of 25 passes for 120 yards. The stats don’t jump off the page but Demers’ poise in the pocket did.

“I was more excited than nervous,” said the business student after the game. “It’s just another football game when you step on the field.”

Coming out on the losing end of a 44-2 score may not have been the debut Demers dreamed of but he certainly did not disappoint against the eight-time Vanier Cup Champion Laval Rouge et Or.

“I thought Mathieu did the little things well,” said Gaiters head coach Kevin Mackey. “He made all the right reads and is a natural leader. We need to be patient; this team will be together for another three years.”

For his part the versatile Hector finished with 4.5 tackles, the interception, two punt returns for 38 yards and a kickoff return for 10.

Jamall Hyman-Hamilton (Toronto) followed up his record-setting performance from a week ago with another solid outing. Last game it was on special teams where the damage was done, this game it was out of the backfield. He ran for 80 yards on 11 carries including a long of 19 and added a four-yard reception to his stat line.

Demers’ favourite target on the day was fifth-year senior Nyjill Wilson (Ottawa) who caught eight passes from the rookie for 81 yards.

As a team Bishop’s ran 49 offensive plays compared to 57 by their foes from the provincial capital. Laval also controlled the ball for 31:15 amassing 476 total yards while Bishop’s had possession for 28:45 and moved the ball 207 yards on offense. The Gaiters committed 10 infractions resulting in 90 yards while Laval was flagged eight times for 75 yards.

Bishop’s (0-3) is next in action on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Halifax against the St. Mary’s Huskies (0-2). The contest is part of the annual AUS-RSEQ crossover.

Stay up-to-date with everything Bishop’s Gaiters including when they travel east at www.gaiters.ca or on social media using @BishopsGaiters.

Source: Bishops Sports Info

 

 

McGill vs. Concordia at Montreal 9/19/2015 at 14:10
McGill 21	Concordia 33

Laval vs. Bishop’s at Lennoxville, Que. 9/19/2015 at 1:08 pm
Laval 44	Bishop’s 2