Weekend of Rivalries Across Quebec

Photo Courtesy Sport Etudiant.

Montreal, Quebec – With just four weeks left in the 2010 regular season, the Quebec University Football League (QUFL) provides its fans with many reasons to give thanks this holiday weekend in the form of a trio of long-standing rivalries.

Whether it be the renewal of hostilities between Quebec City and Montreal as the Rouge et Or travel to CEPSUM to take on the Carabins, the fight for bragging rights between Montreals two English speaking universities when Concordia hosts McGill, or the first instalment of the battle of the Eastern Townships as the fifth ranked Bishops Gaiters travel around Mount Bellevue to face the Sherbrooke Vert & Or, fans will be served up a feast of gridiron goodness over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Metropolis vs. The Capital

A pair of top ten teams collide Saturday afternoon at CEPSUM Stadium in one of the most anticipated contests of the season as the no. 1 ranked Laval Rouge et Or (5-0) face the no. 7 Montreal Carabins (4-1). The game will be broadcast live on Radio-Canada and www.radio-canada.ca beginning with a thirty-minute pre-game show at 12:30 pm ET.

Laval enters the game winners of five straight including last Sundays convincing 46-10 victory over the Concordia Stingers while Montreal will look to get back into the winners circle on Saturday after falling 39-21 to the Bishops Gaiters last week in Lennoxville, Que. The Montrealers fell four places in the CIS top-10 poll after the loss, but could easily regain its lost ground with a win over Laval, a team that they defeated 28-7 the last time the two squads met on the turf at CEPSUM in October 2009. However, the Rouge et Or exacted their revenge a month later, downing les Bleus 31-7 to capture the Dunsmore Cup 31-7.

Laval has won nine of the 12 regular season meetings between the teams dating back to 2002, and are a perfect 5-0 in post-season match-ups over that span. However, two of Montreals three wins have come on home turf and the Carabins are the only team in the circuit to have defeated the Rouge et Or in the last six years.

Fan should be on the watch for second year Montreal running back Rotrand Sene who leads the CIS in average rushing yards per game with 163.4.

The Battle of the Eastern Townships

Friday night, the Sherbrooke Vert & Or welcome their cross-town rivals, the fifth ranked Bishops University Gaiters to the U de S Stadium for a 7 pm ET kickoff. The Gaiters sport a 4-1 record after their 39-21 win over the Montreal Carabins and bring a four game winning streak into the game. Meanwhile, the Sherbrooke side is 2-3 and comes into the contest fresh from an impressive 34-8 win over McGill.

Since the revival of its football program in 2003, Sherbrooke has won seven of eleven encounters between the two schools including five of six on their home field. Laval is the only team in the QUFL to have defeated the Vert & Or at home over the past two seasons, but the Gaiters look to change that on Friday, putting their perfect 2-0 road mark to the test against their arch rivals.

Sherbrooke will most likely turn to their outstanding receiver Simon Charbonneau-Campeau who racked up 223 yards on nine catches including a touchdown in last weeks win over McGill. The former Geants du Cegep de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is first among receivers in Canada averaging 126.4 yards per game. For their part, the Gaiters will rely on the foot of kicker Josh Maveety who is second in scoring in the CIS with 68 points through five weeks of action.

Bragging rights in Montreal

The second edition of the battle of Montreals English universities takes place Saturday at 1 pm when the McGill Redmen travel down Sherbrooke Street to face the Concordia Stingers. Concordia won the first meeting of the campaign 34-29 in week 3, storming back from an 18-10 half-time deficit. The Stingers are 2-3 and sit in fifth place in the QUFL, while the Redmen, playing without their starting quarterback Jonathan Collin, are still looking for their first win of the season. McGill has not beaten the Stingers since the 2002 Dunsmore Cup when they downed the Bees 10-6 at Percival Molson Stadium. McGills last regular season victory over the Stingers also dates back to 2002 when they downed ConU 28-8. Since 1975, the two schools have split their 64 meetings down the middle with each squad picking up 34 wins. The Redmen are 19-12 at Percival Molson Stadium, while the Stingers are 22-15 on home turf.

Players to watch for include fifth-year McGill receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte who is the CIS record holder for career receptions with 238. On the Stingers side of the ball, Alex Lemire and Max Caron will provide plenty of opposition for Sinotte and the Redmen as the duo are ranked second and third in the QUFL with 22 and 19 total tackles respectively.

Sport Etudiant
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
October 6, 2010