Jon Roach – Staff Writer

Game one, following a week three loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies, the 1-1 Gaiters found themselves at a critical moment in their season on Sept. 13, here in the swamp against the X-Men of Saint Francis-Xavier University. This first home affair of the season let the Gaiter fans bear witness to the new BU Football threads in a high-stakes contest for the Bigg Bowl, an honour the Gaiters looked to hoist for the second straight year. 

Photo courtesy of Francois Quirrion

Bishop’s came out hot in the opening quarter, vengeful after their recent loss to the SMU Huskies. The nation’s third-leading pass game connected on a 14-yard pass to Charles-Edouard Bizier for the first touchdown of the contest, capping off an 81-yard drive from the Purple and Silver. The defence began the second quarter with an interception by Kyle Chorney, before the run game followed up with another score, a five-yard rush from Mathieu Bellavance this time, to extend the lead. The X-Men would find their first points on a 36-yard field goal to end the half, Bishop’s leading 15-3. In the second half, X marked spots in the endzone twice more for Quarterback, Justin Quirion, seeking Bellavance again in the third quarter, and besting the defence for a 45-yard completion to Noah Blais to polish off one of the Gaiters’ best halves of football this season. The defence played a perfect second half, conceding zero points and grabbing their sixth interception in three games, this one in the hands of Philippe Theroux.  

The offence put together a chain-moving masterclass to the tune of 26 first downs, 411 offensive yards, and four touchdowns on the day. Led by Justin Quirion’s 356 passing yards at 78 per cent completion, finding top targets, Noah Blais three times for 84 yards and a touchdown, Charles-Edouard Bizier five times for 48 yards and a touchdown, Timote Nehma-Lacasse six times for 67 yards and Mathieu Bellavance with a game-high two touchdowns. The Defence had its best performance of the season, allowing a season-low three points from the X-Men, forcing three turnovers, and conceding only 78 offensive yards. Alex Macdonald led the effort defensively with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, while Kyle Chorney, Felix Massicotte, Howard Jiao and Benjamin Drouin all gathered two and a half tackles. 

The Gaiters then took to Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to face the Acadia Axemen on Sept. 20. The first meeting of the year between Bishop’s (2-1) and Acadia University (1-2) presented a chance for the Gaiters to advance their pursuit of first place in the Atlantic University Sport division. 

Bishop’s came out of the first quarter with an 8-0 lead, following a rouge and a 28-yard housecall from Mouhamdou Dia on his lone catch of the afternoon. After another Bishop’s rouge in the second frame, the Acadia Axemen would taste their first points of the outing with a safety and a 27-yard field goal to close out the first 30 minutes of action. The second half opened up slowly, with Xavier Gervais breaking the silence midway through the third quarter with a 23-yard field goal. The offence completed one more scoring drive in the fourth quarter, finding Oliver Burnett through the air for a 15-yard touchdown. The Gaiters’ special teams unit was able to put one more point on the board, forcing a fumble into another rouge in the final minute, nailing the coffin for a final score of 20-5.

The solid defensive win improves our record to 3-1, creating a three-way tie with SMU and StFX for first place in the AUS, and solidifying our place at seventh on the latest National Ranking. Kicker, Xavier Gervais, had a strong outing, contributing eight points to the contest through extra points, field goals and rouges. The defence put on a scoreless second half for the second straight game, led by Kyle Chorney’s seven tackles, Jemerie Trudel and Yan-Luca Balmer’s five apiece, and two interceptions. The Gaiters have eight interceptions in four games, catching themselves into elite company at second in USports football for such takeaways. Quarterback, Justin Quirion, found targets Oliver Burnett and Mouhamdou Dia for two touchdowns in the contest while racking up 276 passing yards and 40 yards on the ground. The run game also claimed 116 yards in the trenches, completing a total of 392 offensive yards for a decisive outcome.