Sherbrooke quarterback Alex Jacob-Michaud threw three touchdown passes to lead the Sherbrooke Vert & Or to a 38-7 win over the Bishop's Gaiters in the opening game of 2016 for both teams. With the win, Sherbrooke claims local bragging rights, and the Mayor's Cup for the third straight year. The rookie quarterback made his three scoring throws in the second half, as the Vert & Or broke the game open.
The Gaiters came out strongly, to the delight of most of the 2,207 assembled at Coulter Field, as second-year quarterback
Mathieu Demers (Lévis, Que.) moved the attack quickly on their opening drive, picking up three first downs. However, a time-count violation stalled the Gaiters' momentum, and they were forced to punt.
On the next drive, the Gaiters defence held strong, stopping Sherbrooke twice on the one-yard line, and forcing them into a short field goal attempt that bounced off the post, keeping the game scoreless.
The Gaiters put together a 10-play drive at the end of the opening quarter, but a 42-yard field goal attempt by Kevin Simard sailed wide, keeping the game scoreless.
Sherbrooke opened the scoring at 2:53 of the second quarter, on a three-yard touchdown rush by Gabriel Poland.
Three minutes, later, the Vert & Or doubled their lead on a strange play. Sherbrooke's Pierre-Antoine D'Astous had a 35-yard field goal attempt sail wide, but in attempting to run the kick out of the end zone, the Gaiters' Jamall Hamilton-Hyman fumbled the ball. Jonathan Forest of Sherbrooke jumped on the ball, putting the Vert & Or up 14-0, after the second of D'Astous' five conversions.
Sherbrooke pulled away in the third quarter, as Jacob-Michaud connected with Frédérick Cadieux-Boudrias for their first touchdown of the year, and D'Astous added another field goal.
The Gaiters got on the board 52 seconds into the fourth quarter, as Demers found
Michael Nelson (Brampton, Ont.) in the end zone for a 26-yard major, capping a six-play, 88-yard scoring drive. However, touchdown catches by Anthony Gosselin and Félix Marquis-Chevrier put an end to the Gaiters' comeback hopes.
The Gaiters young offence showed promise, putting together six drives of six plays or more, but were finally outgained by Sherbrooke 425 yards to 359. The Vert & Or made 25 first downs, to the Gaiters' 24.
Jacob-Michaud finished with 238 yards passing as he completed 15 of 23 attempts. The Gaiters' Demers went 21 for 31 for 214 yards.
Nelson led all receivers with six catches for 126 yards, while
Dashaun Smellie had five catches for 32 yards. For Sherbrooke, Frederick Caron made six catches for 91 yards, while Antoine Pinkos had three receptions for 60 yards. The Gaiters'
Vincent Davignon led all rushers with 12 carries for 82 yards.
Defensively,
Arnaud Dandin (Paris, France) led the Gaiters with 6.5 tackles and two passes knocked down, while Alex Chevrier led Sherbrooke with seven tackles and a forced fumble.
Bishop's turned the ball over five times, while the Vert & Or did not cough the ball up. Flags flew aplenty in the game, with each team penalized 15 times. Sherbrooke marched back 138 yards, while the Gaiters were dinged for 149.
The Gaiters (0-1) return to action on Friday night at 7 p.m., as they visit the No. 2-ranked Montreal Carabins (1-0), who defeated Laval 24-21 on Saturday night. Sherbrooke (1-0), meanwhile hosts McGill (0-1) on Saturday afternoon.
