Robin Kasem, courtesy Queen''s Athletics

Box Score

McGill rookie quarterback Eloa Lantendresse-Regimbald

McGILL MCG 0-0

QUEEN'S QUE 0-0

McGILL MCG

0-0

Final

Aug. 20, 2022

QUEEN'S QUE

0-0

Score By Quarters
Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
MCG McGILL	0	10	0	2	12
QUE QUEEN'S	7	0	3	9	19

Game Recap: Men's Football | 8/20/2022 10:16:00 PM | Earl Zukerman

Queen's rallies for last-minute win as McGill begins 150th year of football

Next Game:

Laval (TVA SPORTS)

9/3/2022 | 4 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Sep. 03 (Sat) / 4 PM

Laval (TVA SPORTS)

History

Recap
Roster

KINGSTON, Ont. - Rookie running back Jaden Blackman scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter and Dawson Matthews-Reid secured the win with a last-second interception at the Queen's one-yard line as the Gaels defeated McGill 19-12 in a U SPORTS pre-season football opener, Saturday.

(ED. NOTE: STATS HAVE BEEN UPDATED)

The game was played before 500 fans at Richardson Stadium, in sweltering 29-degree conditions, but according to team officials, it was closer to 10 degrees higher on the artificial turf.

It marked the 150th year since McGill began its football program in 1872, but was actually the 141st season of play due to canceled campaigns, including two world wars and the COVID pandemic.

The confrontation was first rendezvous between these longtime rivals since a 38-24 victory for the Gaels in Kingston on Aug. 19, 2017. Queen's, which began its program in 1882, finished atop the OUA standings last season with a perfect 6-0 record. The Gaels now lead the all-time head-to-head series with a 102-75-5 record overall, including a 10-8 mark in the last 18 matchups.

The Redbirds, who are coming off a 1-7 season, showed much improvement. They generated 26 first downs and 341 yards of net offence, compared to Queen's, which had 25 and 338, respectively.

"We had a bit of a slow start with some jitters in the first quarter but settled down and our offence played well and looked poised," said Ronald Hilaire, entering his ninth year and eighth season as head coach and defensive coordinator at McGill.

The Gaels led 7-0 after the opening quarter but McGill bounced back to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. Queen's knotted the score at 10-10 in the third stanza and, just as overtime loomed large, they pounced on a McGill turnover to take a 17-10 lead with just 95 seconds remaining in regulation time. Both teams traded safety touches in the final minute.

Blackman paced the Gaels with a game-high 86 rushing yards on eight carries. He was buttressed in the Queen's backfield by freshman Anthony Soles, son of McGill Sports Hall of Fame inductee Michael Soles, who opened the scoring on a one-yard scamper at 5:07 of the first quarter. Soles finished with 21 yards on five carries.

The Redbirds tied the score at 10:12 of the second quarter when senior William Langlais, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound tight-end from Chicoutimi, Que., caught a 12-yard TD toss from freshman quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald. Langlais finished with three receptions for 50 yards.

A 37-yard field-goal by third-year place-kicker Antoine Couture of Montreal, with just 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter, put the visitors ahead 10-7.

But Queen's knotted the score at 6:41 of the third, when kicker Oliver Griffiths struck for a 27-yard field-goal.

McGill appeared poised to go ahead late in the dying moments of the game but backup quarterback Jacob Samuels was intercepted by rookie defensive back Emmanuel Ogunmefun on the Queen's 45-yard line with 1:53 remaining. Three plays later, Blackman rushed 20 yards for the go-ahead TD.

Trailing by nine after a safety touch, the Redbirds had another shot to score in the dying seconds. They had a first down at the Queen's 24 but a Gregory Segal pass was intercepted by Matthews-Rei at the one-yard line with one second left in the game. The Gaels subsequently conceded a safety on the final play.

McGill deployed four quarterbacks who combined to find 13 different receivers for 23 catches and 344 yards. Rookie wide-out Antonio Gioffre of St. Leonard, Que., snared a game-high five balls for 80 yards.

McGill's ground game was limited to just 16 carries for 44 yards.

"We have a good group of talented running backs who have looked tremendous in training camp but we wanted to give each quarterback some work to better evaluate them in game conditions," said Hilaire, explaining why the offence was tapered to the passing game. "We also have a lot of receivers and wanted to see what we had there."

Latendresse-Regimbald, McGill's highly-touted new pivot, played the first half and passed for a game-high 129 yards, completing 9-of-15 attempts for one TD and no interceptions. The 20-year-old native of Montreal also ended up as the team's leading rusher with 18 yards on four carries.

Mathieu Boudreau replaced him at halftime and was good on 8-of-15 for 128 yards with one pick. The sophomore from Terrebonne, Que., also rushed twice for -2 yards and was charged with another turnover on a fumble.

Two other pivots also saw some duty in the final stanza for the Redbirds. Jacob Samuels was 4-for-9 for 58 yards with one interception, while Gregory Segal was 2-for-5 for 29 yards and was picked off once.

James Keenan started at quarterback for Queen's and was successful on 4-of-8 attempts for 50 yards, while Alex Vreeken finished the game and went 10-for-18 for 110 yards and one interception.

Sophomore kicker Antoine Couture rounded out the McGill scoring with four points. He made his 37-yard field-goal attempt and converted the team's lone TD. Couture averaged 45.0 yards on five punts and 57.5 yards on two kickoffs. He was relieved in the second half by freshman Abdullah Qasem, who missed a 41-yard field-goal, added a 50-yard kickoff and a punt for 34.

The game featured a somewhat misleading 11 sacks (seven by the Gaels) but that was mostly due to an exhibition game safety protocol as the referees whistled down any play where the quarterbacks were in danger of being tackled.

McGill committed five turnovers (3 interceptions, 1 fumble, 1 on downs), while Queen's only had one, on an interception by sophomore DB Charles Cossette.

The Redbirds were penalized 13 times for 88 yards, compared to Queen's, which were assessed six infractions for 49 yards.

The Gaels dressed 84 players for this game, while 81 suited up for McGill. Only 48 are permitted to dress for a regular season contest.

Queen's will now prepare for their OUA league opener on Aug. 27 when the Toronto Varsity Blues make the trip to the Limestone City for a 3 p.m. kickoff.

McGill will open their RSEQ schedule on Sept. 3, when the Laval Rouge et Or visit Molson Stadium for a 4 p.m. kickoff that will be televised nationally on the French-language TVA Sports network.

REDBIRDS RAP: First-year DB Darcy Jeannis, a transfer from the Montreal Carabins, led McGill's defence with seven solo tackles, including a pair of QB sacks... Teammate LB Alex-Antoine Mayer added five solo tackles... Rounding out the McGill sack attack with one apiece was Liam Gi-Kwong and Nassib Hassouna.

BOXSCORE

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgill athletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca

Print Friendly Version

Next Game:

Laval (TVA SPORTS)

9/3/2022 | 4 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Sep. 03 (Sat) / 4 PM

Laval (TVA SPORTS)

History

Recap
Roster

Team Statistics

Team Statistics
Game Stats	MCG	QUE
Total Yards	341	338
Pass Yards	344	160
Rushing Yards	44	208
Penalty Yards	13-88	6-49
1st Downs	26	25
3rd Downs	3-4	3-3
4th Downs	0-0	0-0
TOP	30:17	29:43

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play	Visiting Team Score	Home Team Score
1st Quarter
10:53 - QUE - Anthony Soles 1 yd run (O. Griffiths kick), 7 plays, 34 yards, TOP 2:52	0	7
2nd Quarter
05:48 - MCG - W. Langlais 12 yd pass from E. Latendresse- (Antoine Couture kick) 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:30	7	7
00:47 - MCG - Antoine Couture 37 yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:35	10	7
3rd Quarter
08:19 - QUE - Aidan O'Neal 27 yd field goal 5 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:10	10	10
4th Quarter
01:35 - QUE - Jaden Blackman 20 yd run (O. Griffiths kick), 3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:18	10	17
01:17 - QUE - TEAM 1 yd safety	10	19
00:01 - MCG - TEAM 1 yd safety	12	19