By Dylan Monico – Contributor

It certainly wasn’t easy, but the Gaiters’ football team won their third game in a row

on Saturday Sept. 23, defeating the Mount Allison Mounties 18 – 10 in Sackville, N.B. The Gaiters traveled to Sackville for another AUS matchup looking to win their third game in a row for the first time since 2013, back when they were led by Hec Crighton-winning quarterback Jordan Heather. 

Oliver Burnett (Fredericton, N.B.) would open the scoring just seven minutes into the game on a 12-yard pass from Justin Quirion (Saint-Georges, Que.). Quirion finished the game 22/31 with 258 passing yards and a touchdown. He added 30 yards on the ground as well. Xavier Gervais (Ottawa, Ont.) would kick a 25-yard field goal late in the second quarter as well as kicking a rouge in the fourth quarter.

The play of the game emerged with just under 12 minutes left when fifth year defensive back Alexandre Prévost (Gatineau, Que.) knocked the ball out of the hands of the Mount Allison running back. Bishop’s own Yani Gouadfel (Mitry-Mory, France) would then pick it up and return the ball 43 yards for a Gaiters touchdown, putting them up 18-10.

Gouadfel would make another play with 14 seconds left in the game when he intercepted a pass in the endzone, clinching the Gaiters their third consecutive victory.

Quirion continues to sparkle for the Gaiters he’s collected 941 passing yards and four touchdowns with a 61 per cent passing rate over just four games. Another player making a strong impression on the AUS has been second year receiver Gabin Leux (Vannes, France). Leux is currently leading the AUS in receptions (18) and receiving yards (264), as well as catching one touchdown pass so far this year. 

The Gaiters biggest game of the year took place on Friday, Sept. 29, when the sixth-ranked St. Francis Xavier X-men visit Lennoxville for a night game. The Gaiters, who were currently ranked 10th in the country, looked to beat the X-men for their first time since 2019. Winning this game would have been huge for the rest of the Gaiters’ season as it would have increased their chances of finishing first in the AUS for the regular season, a standing that would give them home field advantage throughout the entire AUS playoffs. However, the team fell short of a fourth consecutive win on Friday night, losing 34-31 to the X-Men. This brings Bishop’s to 3-2.

Photo courtesy of Heather McKeen-Edwards