MONTREAL – Jonathan Senecal passed for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for another as the No.1 ranked Montreal Carabins defeated McGill 47-8 in RSEQ university football before 3,491 spirited fans at Percival Molson Stadium, Friday.
 
It was a challenging debut for new McGill head coach Alex Surprenant and his young squad, which features an 89-player team roster, composed of 33 freshmen, 14 sophomores, 14 juniors and 28 seniors.

"I'm proud of my team,'" said Surprenant. "It's not a game that defines our season but an indicator of the work ahead. Let's get better!"
 
This year, McGill is in the midst of a season-long celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the first-ever intercollegiate rugby-style football game, a home-and-home series played against Harvard way back in 1874. And in honour of that milestone, the Redbirds were sporting new, red uniforms with spiffy white helmets, adorned with a 150 logo on one side and an old-fashioned McGill "M" on the other.
 
Unfortunately for an undersized Redbirds lineup, they faced a difficult confrontation against the defending national champion Carabins, a polished squad that had already opened their campaign a week ago with a 45-14 conquest over Sherbrooke.
 
The Carabins led 10-0 after the opening quarter, 20-8 at halftime and 30-8 after three stanzas.
 
McGill's lone TD was scored by junior quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald on a seven-yard rushing play early in the second quarter, narrowing the deficit to 10-7. "ELR" ended up as the game's leading rusher with 65 yards on 11 carries. The 6-foot-4, 197-pound pivot was 12-for-18 passing for 188 yards but was picked off for a costly interception in the Carabins end-zone. He was also sacked six times by an aggressive U de M front seven.
 
The Redbirds were unable get one sack against Senecal, who captured the Hec Crighton Trophy last year as the country's most outstanding football player. He was protected by a massive offensive line, anchored by 22-year-old junior Adam Lachance, who measures 6-foot-4 and tips the scales at a whopping 430 pounds.
 
The Carabins field general directed an offence that had a 25-17 edge in first downs and generated 392 yards of net offence, compared to McGill's 241. Senecal completed 22 of 27 pass attempts for 264 yards and one interception. He threw TD passes to receivers Glodi Halfu (six yds) and Alexandre Jones-Dudley (17 yards). Senecal also rushed three times for 27 yards, including an eight-yard TD scamper to put his troops up 17-7 at 10:54 of the second quarter.
 
The only other UdeM major came late in the game when back-up pivot Rakim Canal-Charles threw an-eight-yard scoring strike to Redval Keita. Rounding out the scoresheet for the Carabins was kicker Philippe Boyer with 17 points, including a solid 4-for-4 effort in field-goals, from distances of 18, 27,18 and 28.
 
McGill rookie kicker Mario Delli Fraine of Rosemere, Que., who has more of a background in soccer and impressed in training camp with his leg strength, converted ELR's touchdown and added a 57-yard rouge when his 37-yard field-goal attempt missed but went through the end-zone.

The Redbirds (0-1), who need to win their two-game season series against either Sherbrooke (0-2) or Concordia (1-1) in order to qualify for the playoffs, now face a critical contest when they return to play on Sept. 6 on the road against the Vert & Or in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Stade de l'Universite. Sherbrooke has a 9-12 record at home over the last five seasons and 1-21 on the road. The Carabins (2-0) will put their unblemished record to the test when they travel to Quebec City on Sept. 7 to confront Laval (1-0).
 
REDBIRDS RAP: McGill running back and return specialist Brandon Ciccarello led all players with a game-high 100 all-purpose yards, including 71 on five kickoff returns and 29 on seven carries. The next closest player to the century mark was UdeM's Louis Drolet (88)… On the defensive side of the ledger, McGill halfback Victor Paradis, a freshman from Montreal, posted a game-high 6.5 tackles, including three solos and seven assisted… Teammate Mathis Pilon, a sophomore from Boucherville, Que., who started at the strong-side linebacker position, was next on the defensive charts with four solos, a pair of assisted tackles and an interception returned 42 yards… The Redbirds official 52-man dress-list for Week 1 featured 11 freshmen making their debut in the university ranks, including two starters: Felix Joly at wide receiver and Charles-Hugo Thomassin at defensive tackle.... Three players from the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes – WR Austin Mack, DT Dylan Wynn and LB Tyrice Beverette – were on hand to participate in the halftime show... A number of key people from the Als football operations staff were there to scout the game, including GM Danny Macioca, head coach Jason Maas, defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe and assistant head coach / director of player personnel Byron Archambault.
 
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2024 McGILL REDBIRDS TEAM ROSTER

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
McGill University - Athletics & Recreation
CELL: 514-983-7012
TWITTER: @EarlZukerman
E-MAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca