UPDATED: It started off promising. Steven Turner’s first quarter punt return TD gave the Bishop’s hopefuls life, but it also woke Laval up. BU’s offense was unable to sustain a drive and Laval’s #15, Sébastien Lévesque, tore the Gaiter’s defense apart en route to an easy 45-6 win; Laval’s 14th victory in a row. Bishop’s QB Jesse Andrews will need to rest up after taking some vicious licks and be ready for a must-win game next week against the McGill Redmen.
It may have been slightly premature to think that Laval would be unable to come back following the amazing 62 yard punt return touchdown by BU’s Steven Turner 2:56 into the first quarter, but the Rouge et Or proved their number one ranking by responding with three quick scores to squash any hope of an upset.
The Gaiters were unable to penetrate Laval’s stingy defense all afternoon, as they managed a dismal 186 yards of total offense compared to 525 from their counterpart. Laval was led by Lévesque’s 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while quarterback and reigning Hec Crighton trophy winner, Benoit Groulx, threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters of work.
Laval is the class of the QUFL and with the Vanier Cup in their backyard this season, as well as in 2010, it appears that Laval may be stronger than last year’s championship team. They crushed the previous number six-ranked Concordia Stingers 51-0 last week before dismantling the Gaiters. The Rouge et Or average over 14,000 fans per home contest, which makes for an atmosphere in which it is nearly impossible for any road team to have success. We may be looking at a dynasty of sorts, if they are not considered one already; accounting for five national titles in their thirteen year existence in the league.
Bishop’s faithful held their breath late in the third quarter as quarterback Jesse Andrews was on the wrong end of successive hits, which resulted in him being helped off the field by the training staff. Andrews watched the remainder of the contest from the sidelines; a smart move as the Gaiters will need a strong performance from him and the rest of the squad if they hope to be victorious next week against the Redmen.
As dominating as the performance was by the Rouge et Or, the Bishop’s crowd continued to cheer on their Gaiters, as the season opener drew an impressive crowd of 2,188. The loss sets up a must win game next week against McGill, with early playoff implications written all over it.
Gaiter’s linebacker, Zak Buis, who had 4.5 tackles and a sack in Saturday’s loss, understands the pressure to win next week: “This is why you have to win those close games like our first against Sherbrooke. Obviously I hate losing and by such a wide margin [to Laval], but there are some positives to take from the game that we can use in our must win game against McGill this week.” McGill is coming off an impressive and somewhat surprising victory over Sherbrooke, so Bishop’s cannot take them for granted. “McGill has a dangerous running back and we have to be sure not to take then lightly because they’re coming off a big win against Sherbrooke. We have a short week, but if we play our game and limit our mistakes we should be in good shape for a win,” adds Buis.
The Gaiters will need some support and the fans will have the opportunity as Bishop’s Student Representative Council has organized buses for students to travel to Friday’s game in Montreal.
Photo: Olivia Lees
