CIS RECAP [2]: Bragging rights, penalties, and excellent fan turn out

Photo : Yves Longpré/SSAP de l’UdeS

Source: Bishop’s Gaiters Football Athletics

Sherbrooke (38) vs Bishop’s (7) 

Sherbrooke quarterback Alex Jacob-Michaud threw three touchdown passes to lead the Sherbrooke Vert & Or to a 38-7 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters in the opening game of 2016 for both teams. With the win, Sherbrooke claims local bragging rights, and the Mayor’s Cup for the third straight year. The rookie quarterback made his three scoring throws in the second half, as the Vert & Or broke the game open in the second half.

The Gaiters came out strongly, to the delight of most of the 2,207 assembled at Coulter Field, as second-year quarterback Mathieu Demers (Lévis, Que.) moved the attack quickly on their opening drive, picking up three first downs. However, a time-count violation stalled the Gaiters’ momentum, and they were forced to punt.

On the next drive, the Gaiters defence held strong, stopping Sherbrooke twice on the one-yard line, and forcing them into a short field goal attempt that bounced off the post, keeping the game scoreless.

The Gaiters put together a 10-play drive at the end of the opening quarter, but a 42-yard field goal attempt by Kevin Simard sailed wide, keeping the game scoreless.

Sherbrooke opened the scoring at 2:53 of the second quarter, on a three-yard touchdown rush by Gabriel Poland.

Three minutes, later, the Vert & Or doubled their lead on a strange play. Sherbrooke’s Pierre-Antoine D’Astous had a 35-yard field goal attempt sail wide, but in attempting to run the kick out of the end zone, the Gaiters’ Jamall Hamilton-Hyman fumbled the ball. Jonathan Forest of Sherbrooke jumped on the ball, putting the Vert & Or up 14-0, after the second of D’Astous’ five conversions.

Sherbrooke pulled away in the third quarter, as Jacob-Michaud connected with Frédérick Cadieux-Boudrias for their first touchdown of the year, and D’Astous added another field goal.

The Gaiters got on the board 52 seconds into the fourth quarter, as Demers found Michael Nelson(Brampton, Ont.) in the end zone for a 26-yard major, capping a six-play, 88-yard scoring drive.  However, touchdown catches by Anthony Gosselin and Félix Marquis-Chevrier put an end to the Gaiters’ comeback hopes.

The Gaiters young offence showed promise, putting together six drives of six plays or more, but were finally outgained by Sherbrooke 425 yards to 359. The Vert & Or made 25 first downs, to the Gaiters’ 24.

Jacob-Michaud finished with 238 yards passing as he completed 15 of 23 attempts. The Gaiters’ Demers went 21 for 31 for 214 yards.

Nelson led all receivers with six catches for 126 yards, while Dashaun Smellie had five catches for 32 yards. For Sherbrooke, Frederick Caron made six catches for 91 yards, while Antoine Pinkos had three receptions for 60 yards. The Gaiters’ Vincent Davignon led all rushers with 12 carries for 82 yards.

Defensively, Arnaud Dandin (Paris, France) led the Gaiters with 6.5 tackles and two passes knocked down, while Alex Chevrier led Sherbrooke with seven tackles and a forced fumble.

Bishop’s turned the ball over five times, while the Vert & Or did not cough the ball up. Flags flew aplenty in the game, with each team penalized 15 times. Sherbrooke marched back 138 yards, while the Gaiters were dinged for 149.

The Gaiters (0-1) return to action on Friday night at 7 p.m., as they visit the No. 2-ranked Montreal Carabins (1-0), who defeated Laval 24-21 on Saturday night. Sherbrooke (1-0), meanwhile hosts McGill (0-1) on Saturday afternoon.

 

With files from: Rouge et Or | Universite Laval

Montreal (24 ) vs Laval ( 21) 

The Rouge et Or lost their first opening game since 2001 Saturday night, being defeated 24-21 by the Montreal Carabins at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium.

15 years ago, Laval had suffered setbacks from the outset by a score of 20-8 against Concordia PEPS. Saturday, the result could have gone to one side or the other, while these are the premises that had the lead by 12 points with 15 minutes to play.

The Rouge et Or, however, had insufficient time to cover the three point deficit which separated them late in the game. Quarterback Hugo Richard, unable to find unmarked player, went out of bounds while the last seconds ticked down without even the kicker, Dominic Lévesque, getting a chance to tie the game, to the despair of the 13, 908 fans.

Laval’s head coach, however, refused to put all the blame on its QB. “That may be a mistake of inexperience, but the reality is that this is not that game that killed us. a strong game we played, but we made too many mistakes, including turnovers, “admitted Glen Constantin.

The match still saw positive points in the loss. “We know where we stand as a team. We have a good unit of measure against a good education. We will go back to work and continue to progress. I’m happy where it is now and the effort tonight, “said the coach.

Unruly Bleus

The Carabins took a 2-0 lead on a safety touch conceded by Laval in the first moments of the match. They would, however, would take the lead on their next possession. The Rouge et Or gave the ball to Christopher Amoah. Three chasing number 20, Laval allowed to include the major, converted by Dominic Lévesque. After a little more than six minutes it was 7-2.

The score remained unchanged until the beginning of the second quarter. The Laval attack was progressing well, breaking 84 yards to the end zone. Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau picked off the 11-yard pass to Richard Hugo, allowing Montreal to take the 14-2 lead. The score remained unchanged until the half.

Beyond the score, the penalties have attracted attention. Montreal had conceded 14 penalties for 137 yards in the first 30 minutes against only three for 35 yards for Laval.

The Carabins narrowed the gap right out of the locker room. They would gain 85 yards in just five games, including 48 on the pass to Samuel Guillaume Caron package for the affected. Early in the third, Laval was still in front 14-9.

Towards the end of the game, Montreal still pushed a little after a 22-yard succeeded by Felix Menard-Brière. It was then 14-12.

The Laval attack found its rhythm on the next series. The Reds, left on their own 35, reached the end zone with an impressive game-Gagnon Brousseau on a pass and 12-yard run. After another safety touch granted by Laval Rouge et Or led 21-14.

Montreal tied the game with two minutes to go on a four-yard run by Sean Thomas-Erlington. Then, the Carabins were recovering a fumble on the kickoff return, which allowed Ménard-Brière to kick the ball between the posts for a distance of 16 yards. It was 24-21 for the visitors with a minute to go.

Laval moved the ball well, while Richard was accumulating completions. There wasn’t enough time, however,  to complete the task, and they lost the game and returned home with two points in the standings.

The Laval offense generated 336 yards against 472 for Montreal. The Carabins finished the game with 192 yards penalty, while Laval was punished for 65.

The Rouge et Or will play its next game at Concordia next Saturday, September 10 at 15h. Laval will return home a week later, on September 18 from 12am, while the Sherbrooke Vert & Or will visit TELUS-UL Stadium.

 

 

Source: Len Catling (Sr. Manager, Communications and Media Relations) | UBC Athletics

Alberta (24) vs UBC (39) 

The UBC Thunderbirds eased a lot of concerns amongst their supporters Saturday night with a 39-24 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears before a raging crowd of over 5600 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. During a tough week of practice the UBC coaching staff demanded a response from their players after the 50-7 drubbing the T-Birds took in exhibition play against the Manitoba Bisons.

UBC quarterback Michael O’Connor threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns on the evening, while wide receiver Trivel Pinto caught 6 passes for 105 yards and one major.

“We got the win and that’s what’s most important,” said O’Connor post game. “We have a lot of things to clean up. Overall it was a good team win but we have a lot to work on for next week.”

Alberta wasn’t able to capitalize on their prolific run game. Golden Bear’s tailback Ed Ilnicki scampered for 175 yards on 28 carries, while quarterback Ben Kopczynski also crossed the century mark gaining 101 yards on 7 rushes, with 68 of those yards coming on a late game touchdown dash.

“Our defence played well enough for us to win, they just have a very good offence,” said Alberta Head Coach Chris Morris. “We just can’t make mistakes, you can’t get penalties to give them points. It was a good learning experience for us, we played hard, we just didn’t get there.”

Four different Thunderbirds found the end zone on the evening, as along with Pinto, Marcus Davis and Will Watsoncaught O’Connor passes for six points. Kory Nagata opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds with 16-yard dash to pay dirt in the first quarter.

Colby Miller caught the lone Golden Bears touchdown pass on a 17-yard strike from Kopczynski.

The Thunderbirds will head out on the road to face the Calgary Dinos on Friday, as the teams will play a rematch of last years thrilling Hardy Cup Final that UBC won on their way to a Vanier Cup Championship.

“We knew going in we’ve got to develop as a defence,” said UBC Head Coach Blake Nill. “We managed to win a game. We’ll be better on defence next week and hopefully good enough to compete in Calgary.”

Alberta also plays on Saturday, this time at home versus the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Sherbrooke vs. Bishop’s at Lennoxville, Que. 9/3/2016 at 7:10 pm
Sherbrooke 38	Bishop’s 7

MON vs. LAVAL at Quebec 9/3/2016 at 19h00
Montreal 24	Laval 21