(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – The CIS No. 1-ranked Montreal Carabins handed the host Acadia Axemen a 63-1 loss in AUS-RSEQ interlock play Saturday.
Carabins pivot Samuel Caron (Levis, Que.), named the Subway Player of the Game, was 18 for 23 for 226 yards in the air but had two passes intercepted by Acadia's Brandon Jennings (St. Albert, Alta.) who was recognized as Acadia's Player of the Game.
After a three and out by the Carabins on their game-opening drive, the Axemen took a five-play, 43-yard drive to the Montreal 49-yard line before turning the ball over on a fumble recovery by Montreal's Alex Cromer-Emond (Price, Que.).
Montreal's first play from scrimmage after the turnover resulted in a 72-yard touchdown run by Julien Choquette-Daigneault (Gatineau, Que.) to give the Carabins their first of a six touchdown day.
A Felix Menard (Sainte-Agathe-des-Mont, Que.) rouge that followed the touchdown on the kickoff and a 39-yard field goal by Menard gave the Carabins a 11-0 lead. Louis-Mathieu Normandin's (Montreal, Que.) 42-yard touchdown reception from Caron pushed the first quarter lead to 18-0.
Only one touchdown followed the first quarter majors when Caron rushed one yard, capping off a 10-play, 86-yard drive to give Montreal an early second quarter 25-0 lead. Menard would follow with a rouge on a missed field goal and field goals from the 11 and 34 yard lines to give the Carabins a 32-0 halftime lead.
Menard would open the second half with a 33-yard field goal at the three minute mark of the third quarter followed by a team safety to push the lead to 36-0.
Eleven minutes into the third frame, Will Altema (Montreal, Que.) added to the insurmountable lead on a 21-yard carry that ended a three-play drive that included Altema's 10-yard rush and a 44-yard reception by Louis-Mathieu Normandin.
With a 44-0 Carabins lead, Axeman Jeffrey Beattie broke the goose-egg with a 29-yard field goal that went wide, giving Acadia a rouge.
Two more touchdowns by Montreal's Khallil Kerr (Montreal, Que.) on a four-yard run that concluded a five-play 75-yard drive and an Asnnel Robo (Cayenne, Guyanna) three-yard plunge into the end zone ended the scoring for the Carabins. A missed 26-yard field goal by Menard that resulted in a rouge and a team safety were between the two majors scored in the final quarter.
The Axemen's offence sputtered all day with a total of 96 yards that included 55 yards on the ground, 110 yards in the air and 69 yards lost. On the winning side, Montreal posted a season-high 632 net yards of offence, including 357 yards in rushing and 285 yards in passing, against a young Axemen squad.
Normandin posted a game and team-high 129 yards receiving on five receptions, while teammate Choquette-Daigneault added 94 yards in rushing on seven carries. Acadia's Sabastian Robinson (Saskatoon, Sask.) had a team-high 73 yards in receiving on six catches.
On defence, the Axemen's Brandon Jennings pulled down three interceptions while Brady Switzer (Oakville, Ont.) had 1.5 sacks. Carabins' Jonathan Boissonneault-Glaou (Lyster, Que.) posted 1.5 sacks and teammate Alex Cromer-Emond led Montreal with three solo tackles.
Montreal improves to 4-0 and travels to Sherbrooke (2-1) next Saturday, while the Axemen drop to 1-2 and will have to regroup to take on the winless Mount Allison Mounties next Saturday in Sackville, N.B.
Source: Acadia Sports Communications