Gaiters end season with loss on and off the field

Source: Bishop’s Sports Info

“Bishop’s University’s Gaiters football program is committed to promoting the development of responsible student athletes. One of our fundamental values is respect for fair competition,” said Brian Breckles, Director of Athletics and Recreation.  “We are committed to integrity and transparency and we take pride in our positive relationship with the RSEQ and CIS. We have fully cooperated with these organizations. Once we discovered that an administrative error had occurred, we immediately disclosed the information to these organizations.  We are confident that this error was made in good faith, nonetheless we regret our mistake. Our team and our coaches understand the sanctions which will be applied by the RESQ and CIS as a result of this unfortunate situation. We will conduct a thorough review of our procedures to ensure that an error like this does not recur.”

The result of the ineligible player meant that Bishop’s forfeited the win they had previously been awarded against the Concordia Stingers in the first game of the year.

On the field the Gaiters (2-8) played hard early knowing that they needed a victory and Sherbrooke to beat the McGill Redmen to qualify for the playoffs.  The Vert et Or (6-3) beat the Redmen (2-7) 30-17.
Montreal scored first on the unusually warm October day in Lennoxville.  The points came via a safety conceded by the Gaiters.  Montreal tacked on a field goal and grabbed a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Gaiters bounced back and grabbed their first lead of the day when Jordan Heather (Oromocto, New Brunswick) hooked up with his brother Nathan on a 13 yard touchdown pass at the 5:40 mark of the second quarter.  The Carabins regained the lead when Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze (Repentigny, Quebec) scored on a one yard quarterback sneak. After a second safety was conceded, Nadeau-Piuze scampered 16 yards for his second rushing major of the day. The score gave Montreal a 21-7 lead at halftime.

Montreal’s Rotrand Sene (Montreal) scored at the 9:38 mark of the third quarter extending the visitors advantage to 28-7.  They tacked on their fourth touchdown of the day in the final minute of the quarter and carried a 35-7 lead into the final frame.

The Gaiters conceded a safety at the start of the fourth quarter giving Montreal a 37-7 advantage.  There was no more scoring in the game and the Carabins won eliminating Bishop’s from the playoffs.  Montreal finishes second in the RSEQ with an 8-1 record and will host the Sherbrooke Vert et Or next Saturday.
GAME NOTES: Montreal outgained the Gaiters 360-162 yards…Jordan Heather went 14-27 with a touchdown…Nathan Heather led the Gaiters in receiving with four catches for 94 yards and a major…Jon Watts (Gainesville, Florida) led the Gaiters defence with 10.5 tackles including two for losses…Elie Ngoyi (Sherbrooke, Quebec) added 6.5 tackles including 3.5 sacks…The Gaiters recognized six graduating players prior to the game. They were: Ngoyi, Ben MacPherson (Nappanee, Ontario), Tyler Harding (Pickering, Ontario), Yan Jacques (Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec), Harrison Maloney (Thurso, Quebec) and David Haddrall (Kingston, Ontario).

Photo: Dom Bernier