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HEADLINES

Montreal outlasts Bishop's 22-13
Blugh proud of his team's effort

By Mike Hickey, Special to the Record
Lennoxville, Oct. 3, 2005 - The maturation process of the Bishop’s Gaiters football team continued Saturday when they played their best game of the season in a hard-fought 22-13 loss to the fifth-ranked Montreal Carabins in Montreal.

In a game highlighted by several melees, two ejections and a serious injury, the Gaiters fought, literally, from the opening whistle to the final gun.

“I am so proud of this group right now,” Bishop’s head coach Leroy Blugh said moments after the game. “Each one of them battled and fought for sixty minutes. We have been getting better game by game. The guys have done it by believing in themselves and by buying in to what we are trying to do with the programme.”

Unlike the team’s previous three losses, this was a game that the Gaiters could have won and a game in which the defence shined against one of the best teams in the country.

Bishop’s took an early 3-0 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Jones at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter but the Carabins answered with a 30-yard field goal by Lamarche on the ensuing drive to tie the game at 3-3 and the home team took the lead for good in the first minute of the second half on another Lamarche field goal, this time for 28 yard line.

The Gaiter defence played great all game but a mental mistake led the Montreal’s first touchdown as Karl Frah-Lajoie scored on a 48-yard draw play to give the Carabins a 13-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

“This week I talked about eliminating our mental mistakes and we did a much better job of that today,” veteran defensive lineman Dan McCullough. “

Bishop’s could have folded their tents at that point but instead they answered with a touchdown drive of their own as Jamall Lee capped a 78-yard drive with a 2-yard run.

Lee was initially stopped at the line of scrimmage but bounced off several tacklers and bulled his way into the end zone.

The Gaiters did get a break when a touchdown by Yves Beriault on a punt return was called back because of an offside penalty.

Blugh elected to concede a safety late in the half to give the Carabins a 15-10 halftime lead.

The second half was marred by penalties and a horrific injury to Beriault. With the ball at midfield, the Carabins tried to exploit the wide receiver’s speed by calling a reverse, a play that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown run in an earlier game against the Sherbrooke Vert & Or. However the Gaiters were not fooled by the play and tackled Beriault for a yard loss. The electrifying Beriault landed awkwardly and did not move for several minutes. After a long delay he was carried off the field on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital.

When play resumed a fight broke out and Matt Chown was one of two players ejected from the game. A few players later a tackle near the Gaiter bench produced further extracurricular activities and more roughing calls.

“We had to play without two starting defensive lineman and I think we still played a good game,” McCullough said. “I am pumped about this team.”

The Gaiters closed to within two points of the Carabins with a long drive that was aided by two roughing calls against Montreal and a spectacular pass and run play by Lee that covered 28 yards. However the Gaiters stalled inside the 10-yard line and had to settle for a 13-yard field goal that made the score 15-13 as the third quarter end.

Montreal had great position throughout the fourth quarter as a result of strong defensive play and several excellent punt returns. But every time they advanced into the Bishop’s side of the field the Gaiter defence rose to the occasion, limiting the Carabins to just two field goals for a 21-13 lead.

Bishop’s still had a chance to tie with a major and two-point conversion but was unable to move the ball effectively in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute to play the Carabins put the game out of reach when Michael’s Shousha’s punt sailed through the end zone to give Montreal a 22-13 lead.

Still the Gaiters refused to give up and drove to Sherbrooke 10=yard line before time ran out.

Lee continued to play beyond his years as he gained 76 yards on 24 carries and two pass receptions. Montreal’s star running back ran the ball 28 times and picked up 188 yards. Neither quarterback was particularly sharp; Sherbrooke Simon Lemieux completed just five of 14 pass attempts for 50 yards while Joel Lefebvre was good on eight of 23 passes for 136 yards. The defeat officially eliminated the Gaiters from post season play but right now that is the farthest thing from Blugh’s mind. This season is all about developing a winning team and on Saturday the Gaiters took another step towards that goal.

The Gaiters will have a bye week and then return to action the following Saturday when they host the McGill Redmen.

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