The Université de Montréal Carabins earned their place in the Quebec university football final on Saturday at the Claude-Robillard center with a 23-15 victory over the Vert et Or of the Université de Sherbrooke.
Posted at 9:15 p.m.
It’s often difficult for the Carabins against the Vert et Or, like their 5-12 loss two weeks ago in Sherbrooke. And it doesn’t help when the Blues lack discipline like they did on Saturday.
Despite a clear dominance statistically, with nearly 500 yards of attack, the Carabins were under pressure from their rivals until the last moments of the game, the fault of 200 yards of penalty, often questionable.
Head coach Marco Iadeluca was also visibly angry after the match: “I’m going to be careful what I say. We’ll take the win and focus on our preparation for next week’s game. We beat more than one team today,” he said, taking care not to say more about the work of the officials.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, THE PRESS
The Carabins racked up over 200 penalty yards in Saturday night’s game.
As for the Vert et Or, head coach Mathieu Lecompte also deplored certain decisions that did not favor his team. “We were deprived of a turnover, just before their first touchdown,” he said. And I can’t wait to review player progress on our latest play on offense [un troisième essai et une verge à parcourir, près de la zone des buts des Carabins]. Where I was from was hard to say, but still frustrating to end our journey this way. »
A tense match until the end
The Carabins got off to a good start with a long rush of 86 yards in 11 plays. Inserted in the quarterback position on third down, receiver Fabrice Hennekens scored the first touchdown on a one-yard sneak.
After a single from the Vert et Or, Philippe Boyer managed an 18-yard field goal to widen the gap a little. The visitors did not give up, however, and they were rewarded with a touchdown from William Marchand, on a three-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Robichaux, to come back to just two points, 8-10.
Despite numerous penalties – more than 200 yards in total – the Carabins still regained the upper hand at the end of the second quarter. A touchdown from Hassane Dosso, on a thirteen-yard pass from Sénécal, then another 18-yard field goal from Boyer, allowed the hosts to return to the locker room in a better position.
In the second half, both defenses dominated. The Carabins played more nervously in attack and the Vert et Or often took advantage of a better position on the field. The tough Carabins defense limited the damage, however, and the visitors had to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Louis Tardif and two safety touchdowns.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, THE PRESS
The Carabins repeatedly came up against the tough defense of the Vert et Or.
Returning to six points from the Carabins, 15-21, the Vert et Or however had to concede in turn an important safety touch which forced him to play everything for all, on the third try at the end of the match, without success , as we said.
Neglected in Quebec?
Carabins quarterback Jonathan Sénécal, who struggled throughout the game and was careful not to make any mistakes, saw two touchdowns called up for penalties.
“We shot ourselves in the foot, and of course we can’t take 200 yards of penalties next week and hope to win,” he said. But it is in adversity that we improve.
“If it hadn’t been for a few big plays that we narrowly missed, the pace of the game would have been completely different. I think we are very close to doing very good things and, with the return of several important players in attack, we will be ready to face the Rouge et Or.”
The Carabins will travel to Quebec City next Saturday for the Dunsmore Cup final against the Université Laval Rouge et Or. Double reigning champions, the Blues will be neglected this time against a team that clearly beat them, 22-3, three weeks ago at Laval University’s PEPS, and which finished the “regular” season in force. In the first match between the two teams, in Montreal at the start of the season, the Carabins won 21-18 on the last game of the match.
On the Vert et Or side, despite the defeat, Mathieu Lecompte was delighted with a season that saw his team progress significantly with a 4-4 record in the “regular” season.
“Some people still talk about a two-team league, but we saw today that the Vert et Or is a solid team that has its place with the country’s elite. Now it’s up to the young people who can make a difference in the field to have the audacity to come to us! »
The Rouge et Or defeated the Stingers 38-27
Université Laval en route to the Dunsmore Cup
The Concordia Stingers tried everything to try to thwart logic, but the valiant efforts of the Montreal team came up against a Laval offensive in very good shape. The Rouge et Or were able to maneuver their opponents’ strong start to slowly impose their pace and win 38-27 against the Stingers on Saturday afternoon, in front of a crowd of 10,620 spectators at Telus Stadium. The Rouge et Or will participate in its 19th consecutive Dunsmore Cup. A victory that was well taken for head coach Glen Constantin, happy to take the next step.
The sun