MONTREAL -- McGill quarterback Matt Connell of St. Bruno, Que., established league and CIS records and hooked up with receiver Erik Galas of Ottawa for an early 7-0 lead, then watched in horror as the Carabins rallied with 58 unanswered points to rout the Redmen 58-7 in Quebec University Football League action before 4,012 at CEPSUM Stadium, Saturday.
Montrealer Hantz Boursiquot rushed 16 times for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns to pace the Carabins. Left in his wake was a Carabins record for most points scored in a game and was McGill's most lopsided regular season loss in 39 outings, dating back to a 58-5 setback at Laval, Oct. 12, 2003.
Connell's one-yard TD toss improved his career total to 59, which surpassed the Quebec university career record held by former Laval pivot Mathieu Bertrand, now a member of the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos. Connell, who completed 22 of 34 attempts for 201 yards and one interception, also established a CIS career record for passing attempts with 1,229, which broke the national mark of 1,200 set by Calgary's Greg Vavra from 1979 to 1983.
It appeared that an upset might be in the making early on as McGill stymied the Carabins, leading 7-1 after one quarter. But the sleeping dogs awoke to grab a 17-7 halftime lead and expanded that to 45-7 after three quarters.
Montreal, which registered 577 net yards, compared to 213 by McGill, had seven quarterback sacks as a depleted McGill lineup, which featured 20 freshmen, dropped like flies. At one point, Connell had to go in for rookie punter Sebastian Saunders, who had been shaken up on one play. Connell also had to fill in as a receiver for one series because of a string of injuries that left the Redmen short.
Carabins pivot Marc-Olivier Brouillette, a third-year law student from Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., connected on 18-of-25 pass attempts for 266 yards and a pair of TDs. His understudy, Alex Rivet, came on in the final stanza, and made 4-of-6 for 88 yards and a major. He connected with Djems Kouame for a 30-yard scoring strike late in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Rivet was the Carabins leading receiving with eight catches for 144 yards and one TD.
Montreal native Raymond Hall tallied the other Carabins TD on a 35-yard interception return to make it 45-7 in the third quarter.
McGill, 0-4, will host No.1-ranked Laval on Oct. 3, while Montreal, which evened their record at 2-2, will host Concordia on Oct. 4.
