Jesse Andrews’ seven-yard touchdown run sends Gaiters to the playoffs.
The anticipation built on the morning of October 31st prior to a game that decided the playoff fate of the Gaiters. The game definitely lived up to the hype as the Gaiters took a one point lead over the Concordia Stingers with only 26 seconds to go, thanks to Andrews’ remarkable seven yard touchdown run on 3rd and goal. A total of 1,973 spectators witnessed the marvel at Coulter Field; a high scoring game that had nine lead changes, 972 total yards and a wave of costume bearing Bishop’s students swarming the field after the final whistle.
Despite the crazy finish, the first frame started off very slowly as the defenses were strong, allowing only four points in fifteen minutes; Concordia’s Rene Parades kicked a field goal while BU’s own Josh Maveety kicked an 85 yard single. The high scoring frenzy started only 39 seconds into the second quarter as Jesse Andrews connected with Shawn Gore on a 12-yard touchdown. The Stingers answered four minutes later as Robert Mackay threw a touchdown pass of his own from the Gaiters’ seventeen yard line to Cory Watson, his favourite receiver of the day. The lead changed for the fourth time as Junior Turner caught his first interception of the season and returned it for 39 yards for a touchdown. The ecstatic crowd was hushed by the following drive, as Concordia’s Mackay launched a 65-yard bomb to Cory Watson for their second hookup of the game. After Bishop’s had to give up a safety, the crowd was thrown back into a frenzy as Gore also caught his second touchdown pass with twenty seconds left in the half, from five yards out. The Gore major set the score at 22-19 in favour of the Purple and Silver at halftime.
Six minutes into the third quarter, the fans at Coulter Field witnessed another highlight reel play, as Zak Buis got his second interception of the season and ran 69 yards of open field for a touchdown; however, credit goes out to Elie Ngoyi, the first year defensive end who was inches away from sacking Concordia’s Mackay leading to a blind throw directly to Buis.
The 29-19 Gaiter lead was soon masked by seventeen straight points put up by Concordia, who took charge of the field and travelled 195 yards on twenty plays. A 25-yard Josh Maveety field goal and a conceded safety by the Gaiters gave the ball back to the Stingers with only 3:17 left on the clock with the scoreboard showing 38-32 for Concordia. With the opportunity to run out the clock with a couple of first downs, Concordia failed to move the chains as the Gaiter defense stuffed their attempts.
This set up the final drive of the game for the Gaiters, as they had to score on this drive to keep their season alive. With only 1:26 left on the clock, Jesse Andrews started his mission to the end zone on the 35 yard line and never looked back. Olivier Mongeau and Dave Soucy both caught two straight first down passes for twelve and seventeen yards respectively.
An incomplete pass to Mongeau on 2nd down had fans quite nervous, but a late pass interference flag renewed their hopes. Another pair of first down catches by Mongeau and Soucy set up first down on the Stingers’ 7-yard line. Two straight incompletions by Andrews brought fans to their feet for what possibly could have been the Gaiters’ last offensive play of the season. Andrews received the snap and dropped back into the pocket looking for an open receiver, only to be met by Cory Greenwood and JP Binette, two defensive players seeking a sack to end the game. Barely getting away from the first tackle, Andrews dashed to his left and appeared to be down for the count, but he magically broke from the tackle and ran the remaining distance into the end zone, sending waves of emotions throughout the crowd. The touchdown tied the game at 38-38, and the Maveety extra point put the Gaiters on top, 39-38. Maveety also kicked an 80-yard single off of the ensuing kickoff, rounding out the scoring and ending the game 40-38.
Andrews finished the game 17 for 32, for 196 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Mackay went 34-47, 480 yards with 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Even though Mackay’s three interceptions might have been the reason for the Gaiters winning, Mackay set two QUFL records as he eclipsed the single season passing record with 2,739 yards and tied the season touchdown record with eighteen. Shawn Gore led the Gaiters in receiving with seven receptions for 84 yards while Cory Watson led all receivers with 182 yards on 11 receptions.
Andrews led the Gaiters’ rushing attack with 54 yards and Concordia’s Cedric Ferdinand amassed 148 yards. Strangely enough, the Stingers ended up gaining 649 yards of total offense, compared to Bishop’s 323, however Bishop’s also gained 108 yards off of their three interceptions.
In spite of their loss, the Stingers (3-5) still managed to make it to the playoffs thanks to the losses suffered by McGill and Sherbrooke; so they will face number-one ranked Laval University’s Rouge et Or (7-1) on Saturday November 7th. The Gaiters moved up to 3rd place in the QUFL with the win, and will also play Saturday, facing the Montreal Carabins (5-3) for the second time in three weeks after having beaten them in the seventh game of the season. The Carabins have home field advantage, so the game will be played at the CEPSUM campus. The winners of the two semifinal games will meet in the QUFL final for the Dunsmore Cup November 14th.
