QUEBEC CITY – McGill quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald passed for 284 yards and rushed for an astounding 180 more with a pair of touchdowns but it was all in vain as No.4 ranked Laval rallied for a 30-17 victory before an impressive crowd of 15,410 in an RSEQ university football game televised on TVA Sports, at Stade Telus-UL, Sunday.
 
The end result spoiled the best rushing performance by a McGill player since 2009 when running back Andrew Hamilton scampered for 254 yards in an interlocking game against Mt. Allison of the AUS conference. The McGill single-game record is 298 by fullback David Fleiszer in 1969.
 
Laval led 7-0 after the opening quarter but McGill took an 8-7 lead into halftime and clung to a slim 16-14 advantage heading into the final stanza. The Redbirds dominated most statistical categories – with a stunning 29-9 advantage in first downs and a 475-287 margin in net yards – but big plays and costly turnovers proved to be their downfall.
 
The Rouge et Or opened the scoring with 17 seconds remaining in the first when quarterback Arnaud Desjardins connected with receiver Emeric Boutin for a 90-yard touchdown pass-and-run play.
 
Undaunted, Latendresse-Regimbald rallied the troops with a pair of short TD runs to put the Redbirds ahead 14-9 with 2:37 remaining in the third stanza.  But on the ensuing McGill kickoff, Laval returner Jonas Billy Pernier scampered 99 yards for another TD. It was the second time in as many weeks that the Redbirds conceded a costly long kickoff return.
 
Undaunted, McGill regained the lead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter when place-kicker Mario Delli Fraine connected on a 30-yard field-goal. Minutes later, however, McGill punter Isaac Marceau mishandled the snap and his punt attempt was blocked, resulting in a 15-yard fumble recovery for TD by Olivier Ruest.
 
Latendresse-Regimbald, who gained his rushing tally on just 23 carries, completed 18 of 33 pass attempts but was picked off twice in the Laval endzone. He found eight different receivers, including Darius Simmons (2 catches, 93 yds) and William Langlais (5 for 56).
 
"ELR" leads the Quebec conference in rushing (657 yards in seven games) and total offence (360.0 yards per game). His eight TDs is one short of the league lead and two shy of the school record held by David Fleiszer (1969) and Michael Soles (1988).
 
Laval's Desjardins was 16-of-25 passing, for 269 yards and no picks.
 
Laval poured salt in the wound when a 47-yard pass to Andrew Menzies gave them a first down at the McGill one-yard line and on the ensuing play,  running back Angel Vital plunged into the endzone at 11:39 of the final quarter to round out the scoring.
 
The Redbirds (2-5) can still finish anywhere from third to fifth, depending on what happens in the final week of regular season play. McGill will host Concordia (2-5) in the annual Homecoming Game for the Shaughnessy Cup on Friday (Oct. 25) in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Percival Molson Stadium. The winning side will finish third and the Stingers are coming off a 33-3 loss to the division-leading Montreal Carabins (7-1).
 
Laval (6-1) and will close out their schedule against Sherbrooke (1-6) on Oct. 26. The Vert & Or needs to win to force a tie for the last playoff berth. If Sherbrooke ends in a two-way tie with McGill, they will have the tie-breaker based on point-differential. If the Vert & Or ends up tied with Concordia, the point-differential in head-to-head meetings will be even and another tie-breaker rule will be applied.
 
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SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca