No.3 Carabins outlast No.10 Gaiters

MONTREAL – The tenth-ranked Bishop’s Gaiters fell 44-18 to the third ranked Montreal Carabins on Friday night in RSEQ University Football action in Montreal.  Just seven points separated the teams with 9:30 to play before the Carabins pulled away late in the fourth quarter.

BOXSCORE

Montreal took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead.  The Gaiters responded with an impressive drive of their own but only managed a single point on after a missed field goal. Reigning CIS Offensive Player of the Week Jordan Heather (Oromocto, N.B.) led the Gaiters on another solid drive before the first quarter came to an end.  He capped it off by with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Yaata Nyantakyi (Toronto).  The score put the purple and silver up 8-7 after the first quarter.

Montreal exploded in the second frame, specifically kicker Felix Menard (Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que.).  He made field goals of 29, 23 and 14 yards as the Gaiters defense kept bending but did not break.  The Gaiters conceded a safety on what appeared to be the last play of the half but after some confusion on the field, two seconds were added to the clock. Bishop’s kicked off and the half came to a close with the Carabins on top 25-8.

To start the third quarter the Gaiters were determined to get back in the game and after a long drive aided by a pair of Montreal penalties, the Gaiters found themselves with first and goal on the Carabins two yard line. Shane McDonald (Uxbridge, Ont.) came into the game at quarterback. He rolled out and found Geoff Coventry (Orleans, Ont.) for a major to cut the Carabins lead to 25-15.   It was the only score of the frame.

The Gaiters maintained momentum into the fourth quarter and a Mathieu Paquette (Sherbrooke, Que.) 33-yard field goal 1:11 into the frame had them within one score.  Menard answered with a 13-yard field goal of his own to re-store the 10 point advantage with 9:29 remaining.  The points were what the Carabins needed to regain the momentum.  Heather’s first pass of the next drive was tipped and intercepted. The Carabins took five plays and 2:45 to score a touchdown and extend their lead to 35-18. Bishop’s was forced to punt on the next possession and Montreal took over and on their second play threw a pass over the top for their second consecutive touchdown and a 42-18 lead with 2:29 remaining.  The Gaiters were pinned deep on the ensuing kickoff and were forced to concede another safety with 1:15 left.  Montreal ran out the clock to a 44-18 victory.

“The guys played hard but we made too many mistakes,” said Gaiters head coach Kevin Mackey. “They are a physical football team and we couldn’t quite match it.  We will have to get back to the drawing board.  I thought Jordan (Heather) played well and so did the O-line. We had a couple breakdowns in the secondary but we’ll make corrections and fix it and be ready next week.”

Coming off a short week the Gaiters now earn an extra day of rest as they will face the Sherbrooke Vert et Or on Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m.  The game will be the annual Mayor’s Cup and will take place at Stade de L’Universite.  Follow the Gaiters throughout the year at www.gaiters.ca.

Game Notes: Heather went 19-32 for 290 yards.  He had one touchdown pass and one interception…Coventry continued an excellent start to the year. He grabbed 5 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown…The Gaiters ran the ball just 6 times for 21 yards compared to the Carabins rushing 39 times for 286 yards…Montreal outgained the Gaiters 511 net yards to 262 net yards…Montreal was penalized 15 times for 115 yards, while Bishop’s drew 8 flags for 77 yards…Montreal had over 10 minutes more possession time and ran 20 more offensive plays than the Gaiters…The Carabins scored points on all 5 of their red-zone possessions while Bishop’s was 1-3…

Source:  Marty Rourke, Bishop’s Gaiters Sports Information