Carabins crush Gaiters to meet Rouge et Or in Dunsmore Cup Final

The Montreal Carabins earned their ticket to the Dunsmore Cup final after one-sided 51-8 victory over Bishop’s Gaiters at Coulter Field Saturday afternoon.

BOXSCORE

In the first playoff game played in the stadium since 1994, the Carabins dominated by registering 30 unanswered points in the second quarter. After a year’s absence, the Carabins return to provincial finals and will travel to Quebec for next Saturday face the Laval Rouge et Or.  Kickoff is 1:00pm. Laval defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or 32-11 at home this afternoon in the other semi-final.

“We had a good week of preparation and we played well in all facets of the game throughout the match, for the best recipe of success,” said Carabins Head Coach Danny Maciocia. “Our offensive line had a very big day at work and we were able to mix their attack.”

“From the beginning of the season, our plan was to reach the provincial final. We have now made it. We have a big week ahead of us and we must build on this momentum against a formidable opponent.”

In addition to the successful attack, the Montreal defense completely muzzled the Gaiters star quarterback and CIS record holder Jordan Heather. Heather was limited 12 completions in 20 attempts and 92 passing yards and was replaced early in the third quarter.

The Gaiters committed four turnovers in the first half and the Carabins took full advantage. First, after David Ménard (Kinesiology) recovered a fumble from star quarterback Jordan Heather, the Carabins opened the scoring on a Félix Ménard Briere (Arts and Sciences) 31 yard field goal.

At the end of the first quarter, the Montreal defense pushed the Gaiters on third down to retake the ball at the Carabins 40 yard line. After a nice drive, Manuel Crisi-Lauzon (Arts and Science) completed it with a 12 yard run.

Shortly after, his teammate Sean Thomas Erlington (Health and Physical Education) managed a 32-yard run to near the end zone. He finished it off with a one-yard touchdown run.

The Carabins ground attack was devastating in the first half, keeping on the attack and Heather on the bench. The Carabins won 193 rushing yards on only 25 carries. In total, they led 256-90 in yards after 30 minutes of play.

Crisi-Lauzon finished the day with 108 rushing yards on 14 carries.  For his part, Thomas Erlington has amassed 81 rushing yards on nine carries, for an average of nine yards per carry.

“The work of the offensive line made ​​the difference; we just had to run the ball with the openings created,” said Thomas Erlington. “It would have been easy to slow down in the second half with our lead, but we continued our good work. This is a big confidence boost for us before the final.”

Carabins quarterback Pierre-Luc Varhegyi (Administration, HEC Montreal) completed nine of his 14 passes for 85 passing yards. Maxime Fournier-Rioux (Arts and Sciences) was the top receiver. He caught five passes for 53 receiving yards.

Heather launched a second interception in the second quarter. Fode Yansane (Arts and Sciences) had just given the ball to his team. Jordan Rwiyamilira (Philanthropic Management) did the same in the first quarter. The Carabins attack led to another touchdown from Thomas Erlington on an 11-yard run. Varhegyi has added another touchdown on a one-yard sneak a little over a minute later. The home side conceded a safety before the end of the first half as the Carabins retreated to the locker room with a 33-0 lead. During the first moments of the second half, Alexandre Doucet (Safety and Police Studies) caught the third Carabins interception of the game and brought the ball 21 yards near the end zone.

Quarterback Gabriel Cousineau (Administration, HEC Montreal), went into action in the fourth quarter, as he scored a touchdown on a two-yard sneak. The Gaiters also conceded two safeties. The Carabins have never scored as many points or touchdowns in a playoff game. The previous record was set in 2009, when the Carabins defeated the Gaiters 40-15 at CEPSUM in provincial semi-final.

On defense, the Blues have had five sacks. Linebacker Byron Archambault (Safety and Police Studies) finished first in tackles with six. Nicolas Gauthier (Administration, HEC Montreal) has also managed an interception.

The Gaiters responded with a touchdown from Vincent Davignon on a one-yard run. They also recorded a single on a failed field goal attempt of 32 yards. Replacing Heather, Shane McDonald had 161 passing yards by completing 13 of 23 passes. Receiver Alexander Fox had 124 receiving yards on nine catches.

Photo Credit:  Dominique Bernier

With files from Mathieu Dauphinais

SHERBROOKE  – Expectations were high for the Bishop’s Gaiters as they hosted their first home playoff game in 19 years on Coulter Field on Saturday. However, the No. 7 Montreal Carabins spoiled the party and ended the purple and silver’s magnificent season. They beat the No. 6 Gaiters 51-8 in one of the two RSEQ University Football semi-finals.

After a quiet first quarter during which Montreal took a 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Felix Menard-Briere (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que.), the second quarter saw the Carabins take a considerable advantage over the home team. They scored 30 unanswered points. Manuel Crisi-Lauzon (Montreal) scored a major on a 12-yard run in the first minute of the quarter. His teammate Sean Thomas-Erlington (Montreal) tacked on a pair of his own majors of one and 11 yards respectively. Quarterback Pierre-Luc Varhegyi (Montreal) found the end zone on a 1-yard run and the Carabins added a safety and to take a 33-0 halftime lead.

Things did not improve for the Gaiters in the second half. Alexandre Doucet (Montreal) picked off a Jordan Heather (Oromocto, N.B.) pass and returned it all the way to the end zone for the touchdown on the opening drive of the frame. Two other team safeties for the Carabins increased the visitors’ lead to 42-0. The Gaiters managed to get on the board when a 32-yard field goal missed wide and earned them a rouge. Montreal was conceded another safety and led 44-1 after the third stanza.

The last frame of the game saw both teams exchange touchdowns. Vincent Davignon (Granby, Que.) scored on a one-yard run for the Gaiters only to have Gabriel Cousineau (Montreal) answer with a  two-yard plunge of his own. The Carabins will travel to Quebec City next week to face the Laval Rouge & Or with the Dunsmore Cup at stake.

“We have to give Montreal credit for the way they played during this game,” said Gaiters head coach Kevin Mackey as he highlighted the fact that his team turned the ball over too often. “After the game, I told the guys that even with this disappointing result they did great this season. Many critics did not see us hosting a playoff game, not even making the playoffs. It is only the beginning; we are going to be better next year.”

The Gaiters season now comes to a close. They hope to have more attention as the RSEQ individual awards are announced on Tuesday.  Their three all-stars, Heather, Alexander Fox (Montreal) and Geoff Coventry (Orleans, Ont.) are also hoping for national recognition by earning all-Canadian status. That will be unveiled the week of the Vanier Cup.

Game notes: Heather was 12-20 for 92 yards and three interceptions and his replacement Shane McDonald (Uxbridge, Ont.) was 13-23 for 161 yards and an interception…Alexander Fox capped off a remarkable university career with another strong game, he caught 9 balls for 124 yards.