September 18, 2009
Game Stats.

MONTREAL – Olivier Mongeau’s touchdown catch at 1:43 of the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as the Bishop’s Gaiters edged the McGill Redmen 25-20 in Quebec University Football League action tonight at Percival Molson Stadium. The 3,091 fans in attendance saw the Gaiters pick up their first win of the season in a game that featured 11 turnovers, and was not decided until the final 16 seconds.

Mongeau’s catch, on a six-yard pass from Gaiters quarterback Jesse Andrews, capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive, and broke open a game that McGill had tied four minutes earlier on a three-year touchdown run by McGill quarterback Jonathan Collin.

The Gaiters took a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter, on a 25-yard field goal by Josh Maveety and a 61-yard punt return by Steven Turner – his second in as many weeks. McGill responded in the second quarter on a field goal by Austin Anderson and a five-yard pass from Collin to Charles-Antoine Sinotte. A two-yard run by John Jean-Baptiste, his first CIS touchdown, put the Gaiters up 17-10 at halftime.

There were opportunities missed throughout the game, and both teams will feel they left points on the field. For the Gaiters, it was the first quarter, which was played almost entirely in McGill’s end. Bishop’s had a dream start, as Harrison Maloney’s interception on McGill’s second play from scrimmage put the visitors on the McGill 18. However, a pair of incomplete passes forced the Gaiters to settle for a field goal. On McGill’s next series, a fumble by Taylor Kuprowski gave the Gaiters the ball at midfield. However, the Gaiters came away empty-handed after the drive stalled and Maveety’s 38-yard field goal attempt was run out of the end zone. After forcing a two-and-out on the next series, Turner returned Anderson’s punt 61 yards for a major, finally putting Bishop’s into double digits.

Conversely, McGill will rue their missed chances in the second half. On McGill’s first possession after the break, they drove 54 yards in seven plays before stalling on the Bishop’s 9-yard-line. A bobbled snap on the field goal attempt caused Kuprowski, the holder, to try to make the first down himself. He was stopped inches short of the first-down line by the Gaiters’ Justin Conn and Jermaine Lewis-Parris - the first of four turnovers on downs for the Redmen in the second half.

Late in the fourth quarter, after an Anderson single had closed the gap to 24-18, McGill had third and goal from the Bishop’s 4-yard-line with 3:18 left. However, Collin’s pass to Mathieu Guenette was swatted away by Shane Francis. After the Gaiters conceded a safety touch, making the score 24-20, McGill faced a 3^rd-and-3 from their own 47 with two-and-a-half minutes to go. However, Andrew Hamilton, who rushed for 192 yards on the night, was stopped a yard short by the Gaiters’ Kenrick Ritchie. The Redmen had one last gasp with 1:12 to go, however, they only got as far as the Bishop’s 38, as Maloney – who gave the Gaiters their dream start three hours earlier – ensured a dream finish with a knockdown of Collin’s third-down pass.

In total, McGill committed seven turnovers (one interception, two fumbles, four on downs) while Bishop’s made four (three fumbles, one on downs). The Redmen outgained Bishop’s 429 yards to 341, and made 25 first downs to the Gaiters’ 18. Bishop’s was called for 15 penalties for 152 yards, while McGill committed seven fouls for 70 yards.

Matt Burke led the Gaiters with 18 carries for 124 yards – his first career 100-yard game, while Jean-Baptiste had eight carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Andrews went 12-for-22 for 169 yards and a touchdown. His favourite target was Mongeau, who caught four balls for 58 yards and a touchdown. Turner made three catches for 51 yards, to go with his combined 103 yards on kick returns. Defensively, Maloney led the Gaiters with 5.5 tackles and an interception, while Dan West had 4.5 tackles and a forced fumble.

For McGill, the star of the game was Hamilton, who carried 18 times for 192 yards and made three catches for 23 yards. Collin was 19-for-37 for 156 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 49 yards and a touchdown. Sinotte made eight catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

The Gaiters (0-2) hit the road next Sunday, Sept. 27 to face the Laval Rouge et Or (2-0) at the PEPS stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. McGill (1-2) will visit the Mount Allison Mounties (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 26.

-30-

NOTES: The Gaiters now lead the all-time series 39-36-1, and have won five of the last six games between the teams … Oliver Mongeau’s personal pass-catching streak is now up to 15 games … Mongeau now needs 82 yards to get to 1,000 career all-purpose yards … Shawn Gore made one catch for 14 yards, extending his streak to 18 games with a reception … He needs 181 yards to get to 1,000 career receiving yards.

SUMMARY

First Quarter
   Bish – FG Maveety 25 2:08
   Bish – TD S. Turner 61 punt return (Maveety convert) 6:45
Second Quarter
   McG  - FG Anderson 23 5:11
   McG  - TD Sinotte 5 pass from Jonathan Collin (Anderson convert) 8:27
   Bish - TD Jean-Baptiste 2 run (Maveety convert) 14:00
Third Quarter
   Bish – TD Collin 3 run (Anderson convert) 12:32
Fourth Quarter
   Bish – TD Mongeau 6 pass from Andrews (Maveety convert) 1:43
   McG  - Single Anderson 50 (punt) 8:38
   McG  - Safety Andrews recovers fumble in own end zone 12:12
   Bish – Single Maveety 46 (MFG) 13:48

YARDSTICKS

                                     Bish      McG
  First downs...................       18       25
  Yards Rushing.................      198      273
  Yards passing.................      169      156
  Total offence.................      367      429
  Team losses...................       26        0
  Net offence...................      351      429
  Passes made-tried.............    12-22    19-37
  Returns-yards.................    7-133   10-164
  Intercepts-yards by..........      1-18      0-0
  Fumbles-Lost..................      4-3      3-2
  Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0     2-21
  Punts-average.................     7-21     7-29
  Penalties-Yards...............   15-152    10-70
  Possession Time...............    28:31    31:29
Net offence is yards passing, plus yards rushing, minus team losses such as yards lost on broken plays.

  RUSHING: Bish — Burke 18-124, Jean-Baptiste 8-43, Andrews 3-14, Exume 1-7, Cronk 1-6, S. Turner 1-4; TEAM 3-minus 5; McG — Hamilton 18-192, Collin 9-49, Kuprowski 7-30, Edem 1-2, Team 1-0.
  RECEIVING: Bish — Mongeau 4-58, S. Turner 3-51, D. White 2-16, Jean-Baptiste 1-19, Gore 1-14, Burke 1-11; McG — Sinotte 8-54, Hamilton 3-23, Guérette 2-33, Dodd 2-18, Fortin 2-14, Aubry 2-14.
  PASSING: Bish — Andrews 12-22, 169 yds, 1 TD 0 int; McG — Collin 19-37-156-1-1.