PLAYOFFS?!?: According to the QUFL, there are eight possible scenarios remaining, a fact which was determined by multiplying 2 x 2 x 2. If the Gaiters win, they will finish second, and host Montreal in the QUFL semifinal. It would be the first playoff game at Coulter Field since the 1994 Churchill Bowl, and the first league semifinal in Lennoxville since 1993. If the Gaiters lose, they could finish third if Sherbrooke and Concordia both lose, fourth if one of Sherbrooke or Concordia win and fifth if they both win. THE SERIES: The Bishop's-Montreal series dates back over 80 years, the Gaiters' second-longest-running series, with Bishop's holding an 18-7 lead. The first meeting was on October 16, 1926, a 35-1 Bishop's win. After three matchups in the 1920s, the series went on a more than 30-year hiatus, resuming on October 20, 1962 with the Gaiters winning 47-9. After a 70-0 Gaiter win in 1971, the teams would not meet again until 2002. The teams split two meetings last year, with Bishop's winning 21-16 at home, but falling 40-15 in the QUFL semifinal in Montreal two weeks later.
LAST MEETING: A pair of touchdowns by Matt Burke led the #8 Gaiters to a 39-21 upset of then-#3 Montreal on October 3 at Coulter Field. He opened the scoring at 8:04 of the first and put the game away with 29 seconds left, as the Gaiters ran their winning streak to four. Alexander Fox and Jesse Andrews also scored touchdowns for Bishop's, while Josh Maveety finished with 15 points (three FG, four converts and two kickoff singles). Andrews went 18-for-30 for 239 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Burke led Bishop's rushers with 13 carries for 79 yards. David Haddrall had five catches for 65 yards, while Fox had three for 64 to lead the Gaiters' receivers. Defensively, Jermaine Gabriel led the Gaiters with six tackles, while Justin Conn had four tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and an interception.
DROPOUTS: The Gaiters fell out of the Football Reporters of Canada-CIS Top Ten, after having made five consecutive appearances. The Gaiters received 17 points, putting them in 12th spot. Sherbrooke entered the poll at #10, joining Montreal (#8) and Laval (#1). Concordia also received votes, making McGill the only QUFL team that was not listed in the ranking.
MR. 6,000: Jesse Andrews is the first Gaiter quarterback to throw for 6,000 yards, after hitting the milestone in the third quarter of the Gaiters' 39-21 win over Montreal on October 3. The fifth-year Pickering, Ontario native also holds all the Gaiters' major career passing records, and is now 490-for-869 for 6,560 yards with 30 touchdown passes. In the all-time QUFL lists, Andrews is fifth in completions, fifth in attempts and seventh in yards. On the all-time CIS lists, Andrews is 24th in attempts and 24th in completions. Andrews is 14 attempts short of Beau Howes (Queen's) for fourth in the QUFL. He is two completions short of Tommy Denison on the CIS list, and 12 shy of Chris Hessel of Western, who is 20th.
SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU: Saturday's game will mark the last regular-season game for the seven Gaiters who are in their fifth year of eligibility. Donning the Purple and White for the last time in regular season play are Jesse Andrews, Justin Conn, Tim Cronk, Shane Francis, Olivier Mongeau, Shawn Naylor and Nick Poloniato.
PAQUETTE IN: Gaiters' punter Mathieu Paquette scored the first point of his CIS career last week, a 59-yard punt single that went out of bounds in the end zone. Paquette has averaged 37.5 yards this year on 54 punts attempts, and has uncorked six boots of 50 yards or more, including last week's scoring effort. The Gaiters' 54 punts are the lowest in the QUFL.
HE! COULD! GO! ALL! THE! WAY!: Jermaine Gabriel's 112-yard punt return last week set a new school record, surpassing Steve Zatylny's 100-yard runback in 1989. His return was the third-longest in QUFL history, and the 16th-longest in Canada.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR: Both the Gaiters and Carabins have a pair of players who transferred from the other school. For Bishop's, punter Mathieu Paquette and quarterback Alex Rivet are ex-Carabins, while former Gaiters Roody Longchamps and Delien Charles have made their way to Montreal.
MILESTONES: Several Gaiters are approaching career milestones:
· Nick Poloniato's 15 interceptions is one off John Gutelius' school record
· Jesse Andrews needs 84 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for his career.
· Andrews needs 340 passing yards to reach 7,000 for his career
· Olivier Mongeau needs 90 all-purpose yards for 1,500 in his career
· Harrison Maloney needs 2.0 tackles for 100 for his career
SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS: The Gaiters have recorded 43 tackles for loss so far this season, an average of 5.4 per game. Mathieu Boulay leads the team, and is tied for second in the league with 11.5 tackles for loss, while Elie Ngoyi is eighth with 7.0.
TODAY IN GAITERS HISTORY: On October 30, 1993, the Gaiters prevailed 10-9 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in an OQIFC semifinal at Coulter Field. Mike McCarthy had the Gaiters' only touchdown, while Greg Hiscox added a 36-yard field goal in the defensive struggle. Geoff Roberts led the Gaiters with 19 carries for 107 yards, while Jim Murphy completed 15 of 29 passes for 129 yards, but threw four interceptions. The game is the last league semifinal to be played at Coulter Field. Overall, the Gaiters have played 11 times on October 30, and are 5-6.
UP NEXT: If the Gaiters win, they would host a QUFL semifinal against Montreal on Saturday afternoon. If they lose, and Concordia and/or Sherbrooke lose, they will visit either Laval or Montreal in a QUFL semifinal on Saturday. Kickoff is tentatively set for 1 p.m.
