THE CANADIAN PRESS
Benoit Groulx completed 22-of-26 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns as No. 1-ranked Laval routed winless McGill 67-7 on Friday in Canadian university football action.
It was McGill’s most lopsided loss in 32 years, dating back to a 72-0 loss to Ottawa in 1976.
The Rouge et Or, who scored nine touchdowns in the contest, took advantage of 21 rookies in an injury-plagued McGill lineup to rack up 661 net yards of offence, compared to just 229 by the Redmen. Laval led 21-7 after the opening quarter, 35-7 at the half and 49-7 after three quarters.
Receiver Mathieu Bouvette and running back Maxime Beland each scored two touchdowns, with single TDs going to Samuel Fournier, Guillaume Senecal, Victor Tremblay, Steve Landry and defensive lineman Marc-Antoine Beaudoin Cloutier, who ran back an interception 24 yards for his score.
Quarterback Matt Connell scored the lone Redmen TD on a three-yard run in the first quarter. Connell was 18-for-39, for 213 yards and two interceptions. His leading receiver was Erik Galas, who hauled in nine catches for 134 yards.
Laval (5-0) will play at Bishop’s next week, while McGill (0-5) will travel to Antigonish, N.S., to take on St. Francis Xavier.
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Golden Hawks 22, No. 7 Gee-Gees 21
At Ottawa, Luke Thompson overcame four sacks to throw for a pair of touchdowns in leading the unranked Laurier Golden Hawks to a 22-21 upset win over the No. 7 Ottawa Gee-Gees in Canadian university football play Saturday.
The Golden Hawks (4-2) trailed 14-9 at the half before rallying with 10 points in the third quarter, including Troy Leach’s 75-yard TD catch, and then held on as Ottawa rookie Lugi De Lellis missed a 45-yard field goal attempt with seconds left.
“We became a team today,” said Laurier coach Gary Jeffries. “This is huge.”
The Gee-Gees lost for the second straight week to fall to 3-3 and had their eight-game regular season home win streak stopped.
“No good sailor has been tested on a calm sea,” said Ottawa head coach Denis Piche. “Right now we are in a storm.”
Thompson picked up 97 rushing yards and finished 7-of-20 passing for 137 yards, also connecting with Josh Bishop for a 26-yard TD in the second quarter.
Gee-Gees quarterback Josh Sacobie went 16-of-32 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
“We had no momentum,” said Sacobie, who also had four carries for 32 yards. “In key moments we were just an inch off.”
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No. 2 Gaels 80, Lions 0
At Toronto, Scott Valberg had four touchdown receptions as Queen’s (6-0) earned its most lopsided win in school history and York (0-6) suffered its biggest-ever defeat.
Valberg finished the game with seven receptions for 186 yards, three of his four touchdowns coming on passes from Dan Brannagan.
Brannagan was 14-for-18 for 169 yards and four touchdowns
The CIS’s leading rusher Mike Giffin recorded his third 200-yard rushing game of the season with 204 on 19 attempts, along with three touchdowns.
The Gaels secured a playoff position for the second consecutive season, and coupled with Ottawa’s loss, have clinched a bye in the opening round of the playoffs.
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No. 3 Huskies 32, X-Men 26
Antigonish, N.S., Saint Mary’s remained undefeated (5-0) as they beat St. FX (2-3) and silenced the enthusiastic homecoming crowd.
The turning point in the game came early in the fourth quarter when X-Men punter Kyle Chisholm had a punt blocked by SMU’s Karl McCartney, who returned the ball 60 yards for a touchdown, giving Saint Mary’s a
29-26 edge.
A Justin Palardy field goal, his third of the game, added to the Huskies lead and an X-Men fumble in their final series of the game sealed the deal. Saint Mary’s battled back after 23 consecutive points were scored by the X-Men on an early safety and three touchdown runs, two by James Green, who led all rushers in the game with 188 yards, and one by Jeremy Marchand.
Saint Mary’s rookie quarterback Jack Creighton completed 7-of-15 passes for 82 yards, while X-Men QB Steve Snyder was 13-of-26 for 188 yards.
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No. 4 Huskies 37, Thunderbirds 3
At Saskatoon, Dathan Thomas rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and added a receiving TD, as the Saskatchewan Huskies hammered the UBC Thunderbirds.
Laurence Nixon was 21-of-29 for 293 yards and a touchdown for Saskatchewan (4-1).
Billy Greene was 13-of-29 for 148 yards and an interception for UBC (2-4).
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No. 5 Mustangs 58, Lancers 5
At London, Ont., running back Nathan Riva totalled 272 all-purpose yards and added three touchdowns, while Michael Faulds threw for 413 yards and three touchdowns as Western Ontario (5-1) whipped Windsor (3-3).
With the win, Western secured a playoff spot and remains in sole possession of second place in the OUA behind Queen’s.
Western was dominant throughout the game, totalling 633 total offensive yards.
Riva ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Windsor’s Daryl Stephenson was held to just 67 yards on the ground, but it was enough to allow the fifth-year running back to become the first player in CIS history to reach the 5,000-yard career rushing yards mark.
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No. 8 Stingers 19, Carabins 18
At Montreal, Sanchez Deschamps hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Liam Mahoney as time expired, allowing Concordia (3-2) to pull out a win against Montreal (2-3) with the extra point.
Mahoney completed 9-of-13 passes for 123 yards. Stingers running back Cedric Ferdinand led all rushers with 99 yards on 23 carries.
Carabins quarterback Marc-Olivier Brouillette was 20-of-33 for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
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Vert et Or 37, No. 10 Gaiters 19
At Sherbrooke, Que., Pascal Fils rushed 20 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns as the Vert et Or (4-1) avenged a loss last weekend to Bishops (2-3).
Joseph Mroue added 132 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as Sherbrooke rolled up 309 total yards on the ground. William Dion was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts.
Bishops quarterback Jesse Andrews was 18-for-26 for 198 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss.
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Gryphons 37, Warriors 22
At Waterloo, Ont., Guelph quarterback Justin Dunk threw for 335 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Gryphons (3-3) over the Warriors (1-5).
Guelph also put up big numbers on the ground, with 221 total rushing yards on 35 carries compared to Waterloo’s 130 yards on 21 carries. Nick Fitzgibbon led the way with 133 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown.
Waterloo QB Evan Martin was 20-for-37 and 312 yards, but threw two interceptions.
Gryphons kicker Rob Maver connected on all three of his field goal attempts.
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Mounties 42, Axemen 21
At Wolfville, N.S., Mount Allison (2-3) won its second in a row and sent Acadia (0-5) to its ninth straight loss going back to last season.
Mounties quarterback Kelly Hughes completed 16-of-29 passes for 244 yards and two touchdown tosses, while adding 152 yards and another touchdown on the ground.
League leading receiver Gary Ross was limited to three receptions for 25 yards, but posted a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
Axemen running back Nick Lauder rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries. Keith Lockwood passed for 338 yards and two TDs in a losing cause.
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Rams 28, Golden Bears 15
At Regina, Teale Orban completed 23-of-33 passes
for 242 yards and one touchdown pass and became Canada West’s all-time leader in career pass completions as the Rams (3-2) defeated Alberta (1-5).
Orban broke the record of 611 completions held by former Calgary quarterback Greg Vavra.
Chad Goldie was Regina’s top receiver, catching eight balls for 89 yards, while Luke Derkson rushed for a game-high 88 yards.
Golden Bears quarterback Quade Armstrong was 19-for-33 for 240 yards and a touchdown.
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Marauders 27, Blues 19
At Hamilton, McMaster (3-3) used a 17-point second quarter to get past Toronto (2-4).
Marauders quarterback Ryan Fantham completed 18-of-32 passes for 207 yards and a touchdowns, while running back Joey Nemet rushed 14 times for 106 yards and a major.
Blues QB David Hamilton threw for 342 yards in a losing cause. He was 28-for-45 with a touchdown and an interception.
