By Reece Bastien – Contributor

Bishop’s football continues to prove they are a force to be reckoned with in USports this year. The Gaiters rolled through the AUS with ease this season, going undefeated in regular season play. This included dominant wins such as a 70-7 win against Acadia, and a 62-0 victory over Mount Allison in September. Play like this secured them 1st place in the AUS and a semi final matchup at home against Acadia for an opportunity to play in the Loney Bowl.

Nov. 2 the Acadia Axemen rolled into the swamp to face off against the Gaiters. The first quarter would see Bishops put up one touchdown with Oliver Burnett finding the end zone off a pass from Justin Quirrion. In the second quarter, Bishops would start to run away with the game, starting with a kick by Xavier Gervais for a field goal early in the quarter to put the Gaiters up 10-0. This would be followed up by a stellar 70 yard passing touchdown with Oliver Burnett once again finding the end zone from the hands of Justin Quirrion. Quirrion would then throw for his third touchdown of the day, this time to Nykolas Pierre-Masse for a 22 yard play. Xavier Gervais would then extend the lead to 29-0 going into the half with a field goal and two rouges. 

The second half would be a lot of the same from the Gaiters who smelled blood in the water. David Chaloux would score on a one yard run making the score 36-0. Bishop’s defence would then prove their dominance again, getting two safeties, boosting the score even further to 40-0 to end the third quarter. The Gaiters would strike again early with a touchdown pass from Quirrion to Joey Julien for a 23 yard score. Xavier Gervais would then see time at quarterback scoring a touchdown with a 14 yard pass to Charles-Édouard Bizier. He would follow that up with a field goal not long after to make the score 57-0. The game would be capped off by another safety from the defence for an absolute stomping of the Axemen 59-0 in the swamp.

Standout performances on offence came from Justin Qurrion, who threw 21-30 for 364 yards and two touchdowns as well as receiving player of the game honours, Marco Briones, who rushed for 75 yards on nine attempts, and Oliver Burnett who went for 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five catches. On the defensive side of the ball, Alex MacDonald racked up six total tackles. This included one for loss, and an interception and a fumble recovery, Jaures Goke who recorded Bishop’s only sack on the day and Felix Massicotte who recorded seven total tackles including five solos.

This allowed the gaiters to prepare themselves for the Loney Bowl where they would face off against the SMU huskies on the 9th of November in the swamp. With the winner taking home AUS champion as well as a matchup against Laurier to continue their seasons, stakes were high and the tension was clear. Fans packed the stands to cheer Bishops on and the game kicked off. 

Bishops would kick a field goal in the first, later matched by Saint-Marys in the second to make the score 3-3. A massive interception for BU from Cherif Camara on the SMU 40, returned to the 22, would set the gaiters up well. With two minutes left Xavier Gervais would drive in another kick to make it 6-3 gaiters heading into half-time. In the third quarter, David Chaloux would break off an astounding 57 yard rush into the end zone to make the score 13-3 in favour of BU. Alex MacDonald and Krystopher Isidore would both record interceptions in this quarter as well. The fourth quarter would see SMU come out strong scoring two field goals before punching in a short rushing touchdown to put the score at 16-13 for SMU. Bishops would rally back to set up a clutch kick for Xavier Gervais once again with five seconds on the clock to tie the game and bring it to OT. 

Saint-Marys would get the ball first and manage to knock in a 38 yard field goal. Bishops matched this with a 17 yard field goal of their own. BU would then kick a 21 yard field goal that would be countered by an 18 yard field goal back from SMU to knot it up again. Now in triple overtime at this point, the Bishop’s defence holds SMU to a long field goal attempt which they miss. This sets up the game winning drive opportunity for BU, with David Chaloux breaking off an 18 yard rush, putting the gaiters on SMU’s 17 yard line. This would lead to the eventual 25 yard field goal attempt from Xavier Gervais, who would once again nail it to seal a massive victory and complete the undefeated sweep of AUS competition for Bishops.

The Gaiters will now host the OUA champion, Laurier Golden Hawks at home, November 16th on Coulter field at 12 p.m. in the Uteck Bowl. Make sure to come out and cheer the team on, it will be a can’t miss event.