SHERBROOKE, Que. – Three touchdown passes by Frédéric Paquette-Perrault led the McGill Redmen to a 37-14 win over the Bishop's Gaiters in CIS football action before 535 fans at a cool, dark Coulter Field on Friday night.
The rookie quarterback from Montreal accounted for all four of McGill's touchdowns, as he threw scoring strikes to Preston Bews, Louis Brouillette and Jeremy Sauvageau, and ran in for another. He finished with 465 passing yards, as he completed 37 of his 48 passes.
The Redmen got off to a quick start, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, and taking a 15-0 lead after the first quarter. A pair of Findlay Brown field goals and a safety touch gave the visitors a 23-0 halftime advantage.
After struggling in the first half, Bishop's came out strongly in the second half, as
Mathieu Demers (Quebec City, Que.) led the Gaiters on a seven-play, 65-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard pass to
Alexandre Bouffard (Sherbrooke, Que.), to get on the board.
The Gaiters comeback continued four minutes later, on a great defensive play. On third-and-goal from the one, Paquette-Perrault attempted to dive into the end zone but was stripped of the ball. The Gaiters'
Arnaud Dandin (Paris, France) picked up the loose ball at the 6-yard line, and sprinted 104 yards to the end zone, pulling Bishop's to within nine points at 23-14.
However, that was as close as the Gaiters got, as the Redmen added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
McGill outgained Bishop's 575 yards to 108, made 30 first downs to the Gaiters' 11 and held the ball for 39:31.
For the Redmen, Bews was the leading receiver, with 11 catches for 139 yards, while Sauvageau had seven for 70 yards, and Brouillette had six for 80. Donavan Martel led their rushing, with 12 carries for 80 yards.
For Bishop's, Demers went 6-for-18 for 79 yards passing, as he came on in relief of
Jaeden Marwick (Regina, Sask.), who went 4-for-9 for 29 yards. Bouffard had four catches for 33 yards and the major, while
Michael Nelson (Brampton, Ont.) led the Gaiter rushers with two carries for 20 yards.
Defensively,
Ben Pouliot (Quebec City, Que.) led the Gaiters with eight tackles and a blocked kick, while Dandin finished with three tackles, the 104-yard fumble return and three passes knocked down.
The Gaiters (1-5) are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 23, as they visit the Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec City. McGill (3-3), meanwhile, returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22 as they visit Concordia.