QUEBEC CITY – Darius Simmons, a junior receiver from Lachine, Que., hauled in an impressive 226 yards and one touchdown but it was insufficient as the visiting McGill Redbirds were grounded by No. 5 ranked Laval, which cruised to a 36-17 victory in RSEQ football before 11,573 at Stade Telus, Sunday.
 
It was the third-highest single-game reception yardage total in McGill history, behind the 294 by Casey Cook in 2013 and 238 by Charles-Antoine Sinotte in 2007.
 
Simmons, a six-foot, 178-pound slotback who earned All-Canadian honours last year, caught eight passes on the day, including long bombs of 83 and 90 yards. His performance was overshone, however, by the Laval duo of quarterback Arnaud Desjardins and fullback David Dallaire.
 
It took just 69 seconds after the opening kickoff for Desjardins to hook up with Dallaire for a 45-yard scoring toss. Undaunted, McGill responded only 48 seconds later. On the first play from the 25-yard line after the Laval kickoff, Redbirds quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald found Simmons for an 83-yard pass-and-run play that culminated at the Laval two-yard line. The wily freshman field general then plunged up the middle to knot the score at 7-7.
 
Latendresse-Regimbald finished with a 17-for-29 passing performance for 325 yards, one TD and no picks. He also rushed for a team-best 58 yards on six carries. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound pivot continues to lead the conference in rushing with 352 yards on 30 carries for a lofty 9.0 average. He is 86 yards ahead of his nearest competitor, Sherbrooke running back Pier-Olivier Cadoret (266).
 
When the Redbirds added a safety and a rouge on a missed field-goal for a 10-7 lead over the next six minutes, it looked like their 35-game winless streak against Laval would be in jeopardy but the Rouge et Or put together seven consecutive scoring plays to jump ahead 33-10. 
 
When the dust settled, Laval racked up 30 first downs and 587 net yards, compared to 13 and 357 by McGill, respectively. The Redbirds front four managed to break through for two QB sacks and the offensive line did not allow one against. A huge improvement compared to the previous week, when McGill had two sacks and conceded nine in a loss against the Montreal Carabins.
 
Desjardins connected on 26 of 37 passing attempts for 345 yards, two TDs and one interception.

Dallaire registered a pair of scoring majors, one in the air, the other on the ground. He reached the century mark with 118 yards on four catches and added a one-yard TD plunge. That capped a six-play, 99-yard scoring drive to all but put the game out of reach at 33-10 late in the third quarter.

The other Rouge et Or touchdown was scored by Antoine Dansereau on a three-yard toss from Desjardins to give the host team a 16-10 advantage early into the second quarter.
 
Safeties touches and kickers accounted for the rest of the scoring, led by Laval's Vincent Blanchard, who registered a dozen points on three conversions and a trio of field-goals, connecting from distances of 26, 29 and 14. He put McGill in poor field position for much of the game, averaging an impressive 47.8 yards on eight punts and 60.0 yards on five kickoffs.
 
Antoine Couture added three points for the Redbirds, converting both TDs and added a rouge on a missed 33-yard field-goal. He averaged 38.4 yards on nine punts and 61 yards on three kickoffs.
 
McGill committed four turnovers with three of them on third-down attempts and one on a fumble. Laval had three turnovers (one interception, one fumble, one on downs).
 
The penalty situation was divided equally, with Laval flagged 12 times for 86 yards, while McGill forfeited 90 yards of real estate on 11 infractions.
 
Laval now has just four days to prepare for a Friday road game at Sherbrooke (3-2). The Redbirds will enter their second bye week of the season and return to action on Oct. 15 when Sherbrooke (3-2) visits Molson Stadium, a critical game slated for at 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
Despite McGill's disappointing 0-5 record this season, the fifth-place Redbirds have been in every game and can still make the playoffs. With three contests remaining, McGill needs to defeat both Sherbrooke and Concordia (1-4).
 
The Vert & Or have second-place Laval (4-1) and the division-leading Montreal Carabins (4-0) left on their schedule. The Stingers also have upcoming confrontations with Montreal and Laval, in addition to the all-important Shaughnessy Cup rendezvous at McGill during Homecoming Week on Friday, Oct. 21.
 
A McGill win over the Carabins in the season finale on Oct. 29 would be a bonus. A three-way tie would not be favourable to McGill unless their remaining victories are achieved with a large enough point-spread. This is a result of their eight-point deficit with Sherbrooke and their 26-point deficit against Concordia.
 
REDBIRDS RAP: Alex-Antoine Mayer led the McGill defence with seven total tackles, followed by Benjamin Labrosse (6.5), who added his second career interception -- the team's fourth in five games… Quarterback sacks were credited to Nicholas De Francisco-Paul and linebacker Dimitrious Papanikolaou, who was making his first appearance this season after clearing some administrative hurdles. He added two solo tackles, a pair of assisted tackles and forced one fumble.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STANDINGS & STATS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca