Gaiters dump No. 3 Carabins to pick up fourth straight win

LENNOXVILLE, Que. – A pair of touchdowns by Matt Burke (Timberlea, N.S.) led the No. 8-ranked Bishop’s Gaiters to a 39-21 upset of the No. 3-ranked Montreal Carabins in Quebec University Football League action today at Coulter Field.

The second-year running back opened the scoring on a 2-yard run at 8:04 of the first quarter, and put the game away with another 2-yard run with 29 seconds left, as the Gaiters ran their winning streak to four games, and picked up their second win over a Top Ten team this season. With the win, the Gaiters (4-1) move into a tie with Montreal (4-1) for second place in the QUFL.

The Gaiters led throughout the contest, as Burke’s first touchdown gave Bishop’s a 7-2 lead after the first quarter, and a one-yard run by fifth-year quarterback Jesse Andrews (Pickering, Ont.) and a pair of last-minute field goals by Josh Maveety gave the Gaiters a 20-4 halftime lead. Montreal’s only scoring in the first 30 minutes came on a pair of safety touches.
The Gaiters took a 19-point lead, their largest of the afternoon as Maveety connected on a 19-yarder midway through the third quarter, putting Bishop’s up 23-4. Montreal came back late in the period, as Rotrand Sené scored on a five-yard run to cut the margin to 23-11. A single on the ensuing kickoff by Alexandre Sy, and another safety touch cut the Bishop’s lead to 23-14 by the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the teams traded touchdowns, as Alexander Fox (Montreal West, Que.) scored at 5:52 for Bishop’s, while Vincent Pelletier-Bouchard replied at 10:45 for Montreal. After Montreal recovered an onside kick, the Gaiters defence held Montreal, with fifth-year cornerback Shawn Naylor (Ottawa, Ont.) knocking down Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze’s third-down pass. Taking the ball with 3:10 left, the Gaiters drove 55 yards in seven plays, with Burke accounting for all 55 yards and scoring the clinching touchdown.

A Maveety single on the ensuing kickoff rounded out the scoring, as he finished with 15 points, running his CIS-leading total to 68 points on the year.

Andrews went 18-for-30 for 239 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Burke led the Gaiters’ rushers with 13 carries for 79 yards. David Haddrall (Kingston, Ont.) had five catches for 65 yards, while Fox had three for 64 to lead the Gaiters’ receivers.

For Montreal, Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze went 16-for-38 for 197 yards with two interceptions. Rotrand Sené gained 109 yards on 19 carries, tying his lowest performance of the season. Frank Bruno led Montreal’s receivers with six catches for 91 yards.

Defensively, Jermaine Gabriel (Scarborough, Ont.) led the Gaiters with six tackles, while Justin Conn (New Maryland, N.B.) had four tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and an interception. For Montreal, Julien Hamel led with seven tackles and an interception.

The Gaiters made 24 first downs, to 23 for Montreal, and gained 362 yards to Montreal’s 336. Bishop’s took eight penalties for 92 yards, while Montreal took ten for 95. Montreal made three turnovers (two interceptions, one on downs) while the Gaiters committed four (two interceptions, two fumbles).

The Gaiters return to action on Friday night, October 8, as they visit the Sherbrooke Vert & Or (2-3) at Sherbrooke’s university stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Montreal hosts Laval (5-0) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.