MONTREAL ---
Khalil Kerr scored on a 94-yard punt return and
Regis Cibasu added a 99-yard TD reception as the No.4-ranked Montreal Carabins escaped with a 27-17 victory over visiting McGill in the final week of RSEQ regular season play before 4,185 fans at Stade CEPSUM, Saturday. The Carabins, who finished second in the Quebec conference at 6-1, will host third-place Concordia (3-4) in one RSEQ semifinal on Nov. 4. The other semi pits fourth-place Sherbrooke (2-6) against division-leading Laval (7-1). McGill, which has concluded their 137th season of football with a 1-7 record, missed the playoffs.
McGill outscored Carabins 3-0 in the first quarter but UdeM rallied for 23 unanswered points in the second, including the two long TD plays. The Redmen won the third quarter 7-4 and also took the final stanza 7-0.
McGill had a 27-15 edge in first downs and collected 421 yards of net offence, compared to Montreal, which had 382. But despite those numbers, the Carabins took advantage of an error-prone and depleted Redmen lineup to come away with the victory. McGill had six turnovers, three on interceptions and three more on squandered third down attempts, while the Carabins only commited a pair of turnovers, one by interception and one via fumble.
McGill, which has been swamped by injuries this season, were forced to dress two freshmen at quarterback, believed to be a first in school history. Their 48-man dress-roster featured 18 freshmen, 17 sophomores, nine juniors and only only four seniors.
The game, which was televised nationally on TVA Sports, featured a flurry of flags, with Montreal being assessed 16 penalties for 185 yards, compared to McGill, which had 15 for 133.
Among the bright spots for McGill was
Jeremy Sauvageau, a 5-foot-11, 187-pound wide receiver who snared a game-high nine receptions for 152 yards. The 21-year finance sophomore from St. Augustine des Desmaures, Que., finished as the RSEQ conference leader in reception yardage with 841 on 39 catches in eight games for lofty averages of 21.6 yards per catch and 105.1 yards per game. He led the Redmen offence with three TDs.
FINAL RSEQ LEAGUE STATS AVAILABLE HERE
| 2017 RSEQ Football Standings (FINAL) • Classement final de la saison régulière du football 2017 |
|
|
NOTE: The final standings were decided by winning percentage as the Concordia-Montreal game scheduled for Oct. 5, was cancelled due to health reasons with the Carabins lineup.
