Gaiters head to Laval for QUFL semi-final

THE RECORDS: The Gaiters enter the game at 5-4, having dropped their last three straight. Laval finished the regular season 9-0, and have won 12 straight regular-season games.

PLAYOFFS???: This is the Gaiters’ third playoff appearance in the past four seasons, after they ended a six-year drought in 2007. The last Bishop’s playoff win was the 2001 QIFC semifinal, a 1-0 win over Laval. The Gaiters have not advanced to the Dunsmore Cup final since 1994.

LAST TIME OUT: A pair of defensive touchdowns in the third quarter keyed the No. 8 Montreal Carabins to a 37-7 victory over the Bishop’s Gaiters on October 30 Montreal. The Carabins took a 20-7 halftime lead, and put the game away on returns by David Menard and Gregory Alexandre. The teams combined for 284 yards in penalties, including three ejections, with Bishop’s taking 10 for 99, while Montreal was flagged 17 times for 185 yards. For the Gaiters, Jesse Andrews was 0-for-5 before leaving the game in the first quarter. Alex Rivet finished 8-for-15 for 97 yards. Defensively, the Gaiters were led by Jermaine Gabriel, who made six tackles, while Harrison Maloney made five.

THE SERIES: All-time, the Gaiters are 6-18 against Laval. The teams first met officially on September 2, 1996, a 22-11 win for the Gaiters at PEPS. The Gaiters have not beaten Laval since a 1-0 forfeit victory on November 3, 2001, a streak of ten straight wins for the Rouge et Or. In that span, the PEPS stadium has been particularly unkind to the Gaiters, as the Rouge et Or have scored 50 points in six of the past seven games in Quebec City. There have been two playoff meetings between the teams, with each side winning once. Laval won the 2000 OQIFC semifinal 17-14, while the Gaiters won the 2001 QIFC semifinal 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Bruno Prud’homme threw three touchdown passes to lead No. 1-ranked Laval to a 62-0 victory over the Gaiters on October 17. Laval used a 27-point second quarter to take an insurmountable 36-0 halftime lead, as the Gaiters were never able to get their offence untracked. Laval outgained Bishop’s 539-51, and made 36 first downs, to the Gaiters’ nine. The Gaiters committed five turnovers, while Laval made none. For the Gaiters, Jesse Andrews went 11-for-15 for 98 yards with an interception. David Haddrall led the Gaiters’ receivers with four catches for 35 yards. Jermaine Gabriel led the Gaiters’ defence with nine tackles and a knockdown. Mathieu Boulay made 7.5 tackles and a sack.

A PAIR OF STARS: The QUFL announced its 2010 All-Star team on Wednesday, and two Gaiters were named to the squad. Fifth-year cornerback Nick Poloniato earned his second straight all-star nod, while third-year defensive back Harrison Maloney was named an all-star for the first time. This is the fourth straight year that the Gaiters have had multiple league all-stars.
EIGHT WASN’T ENOUGH: Had the QUFL schedule remained at eight games, the Gaiters’ 5-3 record would have been good enough to host a playoff game for the first time since 1994. (Bishop’s would have hosted Montreal, Laval would have hosted Sherbrooke.) However, the season-ending loss sent the Gaiters down to fourth place and another trip to Laval. Today’s game is the tenth game of the season, tying the team mark for longest season ever, which they set in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1994.

THIS NOTE IS ALMOST POINTLESS: The Gaiters received one point in this week’s Football Reporters of Canada-CIS Top Ten, putting them in a tie for 12th spot with Mount Allison. The QUFL continued to have three teams ranked, as Laval and Sherbrooke remained unchanged at #1 and #10, respectively, while Montreal went up from #8 to #7. The Gaiters received votes in nine of the ten polls taken this year.

SIMPLY MAV-ELOUS: Fourth-year kicker Josh Maveety finished the season with a school-record 89 points. He finished tied for third overall in the CIS with Matthew Falvo of Ottawa and William Dion of Sherbrooke. Christopher Milo of Laval won the scoring race with 115 points, while Lirim Hajrullahu of Western Ontario had 95. Maveety’s 89 points are tied for seventh on the league single-season scoring list. Maveety set a school record with 20 field goals, which tied for 10th on the all-time CIS single-season list, and tied for third in the league. Maveety is on the Gaiters’ all-time scoring list with 217 career points. Maveety averaged 60.8 yards on 35 kickoffs this year, allowing the Gaiters to lead the league with a 44.3 yard net kickoff average. He also scored his first career touchdown this season.

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU: Saturday’s game could mark the final game for the seven Gaiters who are in their fifth year of eligibility. The Gaiters’ seven fifth-year seniors are Jesse Andrews, Justin Conn, Tim Cronk, Shane Francis, Olivier Mongeau, Shawn Naylor and Nick Poloniato.

MOUCHOIRS: The Gaiters finished the season as the second-most penalized team in the QUFL, falling behind only to the Montreal Carabins. The Gaiters finished the season with 122 penalties for 1,042 yards. Montreal finished with 128 fouls for 1,098 yards. The Gaiters’ most frequent infraction has been Offside, which they committed 22 times, with Illegal Procedure and Holding coming in at 15 times each. However, the biggest yardage-loser for the Gaiters was No Yards, which cost them 129 yards. Gaiters’ opponents committed 102 fouls for 918 yards, with the leader both in number and yardage being Holding (19 times for 160 yards).

TODAY IN GAITERS HISTORY: On November 6, 1971, the Gaiters dumped the Sherbrooke Vert & Or 49-2 in the inaugural QUAA Championship game. The Gaiters, top ranked and champions of the QUAA Blue Division, had little trouble with the White Division champions from Sherbrooke. Larry Smith led the Gaiters with 14 carries for 233 yards as the Gaiters advanced to their first bowl appearance—the 1971 Western Bowl against the Alberta Golden Bears. Altogether, the Gaiters have played eight games on November 6, and are 3-5. The Gaiters’ first game on November 6 was a 15-1 loss to McGill II in 1935, and they have not played on this date since 1993, a 10-7 loss to Concordia in the Dunsmore Cup final.

UP NEXT: If the Gaiters win, they would travel to the winner of the Montreal-Sherbrooke semifinal for the Dunsmore Cup final—their first appearance in the league final since 1994. A loss would, of course, put an end to the Gaiters’ 2010 season.

THIS WEEK: The fourth-seeded Bishop’s Gaiters (5-4) return to the post-season with a trip to Laval to play the top-ranked Rouge et Or (9-0)

ON THE AIR: The game will be broadcast in French on Quebec 800 AM and CHYZ radio in the Quebec City area. Both stations are available on the web.

UPDATES: Score and quarter updates will be at [url]www.gaiters.ca and [url]www.twitter.com/BishopsGaiters .

TICKETS, PLEASE: Tickets are available at the gate. Adult general admission tickets start at $15.

Gaiter Sports Info