MONTREAL -- Running back Ryth-Jean Giraud scored two touchdowns and defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy had a pair of interceptions, including one for a 40-yard TD, as the No.4 ranked Montreal Carabins took advantage of 11 McGill turnovers to rout the Redmen 48-2 in an RSEQ university football semifinal before 3,288 at Stade CEPSUM, Saturday.

UdeM advances to next Saturday's Dunsmore Cup conference final against No.2 ranked Laval, which blanked Sherbrooke 40-0 in the Quebec league's other semifinal.

McGill broke Montreal's bid for a third consecutive shutout over the Redmen with just 18 seconds remaining, on a safety touch when linebacker Alexandre Pare stopped running back J.C. Dazouloute for a loss in the Carabins endzone. It was a fitting microcosm of a season where McGill's defence flexed their muscles, while a rookie-laden offence struggled to move the ball. Pare, a 6-foot-2, 227-pound science junior from Neuville, Que., posted a game-high 7.5 tackles, including four solos and seven assisted.

The Carabins led 10-0 after the opening quarter and outscored the visitors 26-0 in the second and 10-0 in the third. The final quarter was a 2-2 thriller.

The game, played in cold, wet, windy slightly snowy conditions, was marred by an astronomical 31 penalties for 246 yards of real estate. McGill, which was flagged 17 times for 135 yards, managed a dozen first downs and 123 total yards of net offence. The Carabins fared marginally better, collecting only 10 first downs and 200 yards of offence.

McGill slowly self-destructed, turning over the ball three times on interceptions, twice on fumbles and six times on failed third-down attempts. The Carabins only committed a pair of turnovers, both on fumbles.

Carabins quarterback Dimitri Morand completed 11 of 16 pass attempts for 146 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He connected with receivers Louis-Mathieu Normandin and Ryth-Jean Giraud for TD tosses of 21 and 44 yards, respectively, just 98 seconds apart late in the second quarter.

McGill's defence had frustrated Montreal up to that point as UdeM held a tepid 12-0 lead as halftime approached. But the Carabins exploded for 17 points in the last five minutes of the second quarter to put the game out of reach, ignited by a two-yard run from Giraud at 10:33 of the quarter. To rub salt in the wounds, Montreal added another TD just 33 seconds into the third stanza when Dequoy picked off a pass near midfield and ran it back to the endzone.

The rest of their scoring came on a plethora of field-goals and safeties. Kicker Louis-Philippe Simoneau was 4-for-4, connecting on distances of 45, 52, 33 and 30, respectively. The host team added another eight points on four safeties conceded by the Redmen.

McGill sophomore quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos struggled behind a young offensive line, going 7-for-32 for 82 yards. He was picked off three times. Without injured two-time all-conference receiver Jeremy Sauvageau in the lineup, Sinodinos hooked up with Pearce Dumay and Jacob Dwinnell for three catches apiece, for 57 and 15 yards, respectively.

McGill's ground game wasn't especially effective with 85 yards but matched the Carabins, who had 80. Running back Donavan Martel accounted for a team-high 42 yards on nine carries.

REDMEN RAP: The end result was Montreal's 24th consecutive victory over McGill since a 58-0 Redmen conquest on Oct. 7, 2002... It also turned out the lights on McGill's 138th season of football, which produced a third-place finish, the team's highest since the 2002 campaign when they captured the league's Dunsmore Cup title... The team's nine graduating seniors include Remi Bertellin, Jacob Dwinnell, Scott Macdonald-Ducharme, Maxime Rouyer and Alexandre Ghaly. Four others are expected to graduate but could return for a fifth year of eligibility, namely Simon Aubin-Lavoie, William Pettersen, Kamba Katchelewa and team captain Dane Wagner.

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