September 18, 2008

Download the full game notes here (pdf)

THIS WEEK: The Bishop’s Gaiters take their second of three trips to Montreal this season, this time to take on the McGill Redmen.

THE RECORDS: The Gaiters are 0-2, having lost at then-No. 9 Concordia and at home to No. 3 Saint Mary’s. McGill is also 0-2, with losses at Sherbrooke and at home to then-No. 8 Concordia.

LAST MEETING: Bishop’s downed McGill 30-25 on Oct. 6, 2007 in Lennoxville. Jamall Lee scored on a 62-yard touchdown run, while Jesse Andrews added two touchdown passes to put the Gaiters up 30-6. A furious McGill comeback that saw them score three touchdowns in the final four minutes fell just short. Lee finished with 181 yards rushing, while Andrews had his best day, going 13-for-19 for 211 yards. The Gaiters’ defence rang up nine sacks on the day, led by James Yurichuk’s four.

THE SERIES: All-time, the Gaiters are 37-36-1 against the Redmen. While the first meeting occurred in 1885, they did not being playing each other regularly until 1971. The Gaiters have won three of the past four games in the series, after breaking a seven-game McGill winning streak.

LAST WEEK: The Gaiters fell 35-27 to the No. 3-ranked Saint Mary’s Huskies on Saturday in Lennoxville. The Huskies took a 27-7 halftime lead on two touchdowns by Tyler Schussler and a fumble recovery by Zach Agathos. In the second half, a pair of defensive touchdowns (a fumble return by Dusty Burke and an interception return by Kyle Jones) keyed a Gaiters’ comeback that saw them close to within two points at 29-27 with a chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion. However, two late SMU field goals put the game away. Jamall Lee led the Gaiters with 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while Allistair Blair (223) and Craig Leger (100) each ran for over 100 yards for SMU. Jesse Andrews was 11-for-22 for 153 yards.

ABOUT THE REDMEN: McGill is 0-2, after suffering a last-second 46-41 loss at home to Concordia last week. After wins by Simon Fraser and Toronto this year, the Redmen currently hold the longest-running losing streak in the CIS (11 games). Their last win came on Oct. 28, 2006—a 14-0 win over Bishop’s.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Tonight’s game is the second of two Friday night games for Bishop’s this season. This year marks the first time since 1983 that the Gaiters have played two Friday games. All-time, the Gaiters are 5-7 on Friday night, with their last Friday win coming on Oct. 8, 1993—a 23-10 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees at Lansdowne Park. This is the Gaiters’ fourth Friday night trip to Percival Molson Stadium, but their first since Oct. 8, 1999—a 11-10 win by McGill. The Gaiters are 1-2 in Friday night games at Molson Stadium, with a 36-15 win on Oct. 7, 1988 and a 32-27 loss on Oct. 14, 1983.

TODAY IN GAITERS HISTORY:  On September 19, 1992, the Bishop’s Gaiters dumped the Queen’s Golden Gaels 45-17 at Richardson Stadium in Kingston. Quarterback Jim Murphy threw for 303 yards, including one touchdown, and ran for two more as the Gaiters cruised to the victory over their perennial OQIFC nemesis. Masaki Konno made nine catches for 134 yards. Defensively, future CFLer Tom Europe ran an interception back for a 111-yard touchdown, a feat which still stands as the QUFL record, and Eric Edwards also scored on a 40-yard interception return