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THIS WEEK: The Bishop’s Gaiters return home for the first time in nearly a month, as they host the McGill Redmen.
NOTHIN’ BUT NET: The game will be webcast on SSN Canada, available at www.ssncanada.ca.
FOLLOW LIVE: There are a number of ways to follow the game live:
- Score and quarter updates will be available at www.gaiters.ca and at @BishopsGaiters on Twitter.
- Live stats will be available at http://livestats.prestosports.com/bishops.
- The Gaiters’ in-game live chat will return this week. Follow the links at www.gaiters.ca to join in.
TICKETS, PLEASE: Tickets are available at the gate. Adult tickets cost $13. Concession tickets are priced at $5 (Champlain/high school students), $3 (Bishop’s students) and $2 (children under 12).
THE RECORDS: The Gaiters head into the contest with a 2-5 record and alone in fifth place in the Quebec conference, one game back of Concordia. McGill is 0-7 on the season, currently on a 19-game losing streak. McGill’s last win was on Oct. 3, 2009—a 21-19 win over the Gaiters at Coulter Field.
LAST TIME OUT: Sébastien Lévesque ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3-ranked Laval defeated the Gaiters, 57-9, on Oct. 16 in Quebec City. The Rouge et Or led 19-9 at halftime, but pulled away with four touchdowns in the third quarter. Laval also got touchdowns from Charles Lambert, Maxime Boutin, Guillaume Rioux, and Christian Lavaud. Four field goals and a single by Boris Bede, along with a safety touch, rounded out Laval's scoring.
The Bishop's scoring came courtesy of a four-yard pass from Jordan Heather to Alexander Fox in the second quarter, and singles by Mathieu Paquette and O'Shane Daley.
For Laval, Bruno Prud'homme went 15-for-26 for 251 yards with a touchdown. Rioux was the Rouge et Or's leading receiver, with 115 yards on four catches. Lévesque led Laval on the ground. For Bishop's, Jordan Heather went 11-for-29 for 93 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
PLAYOFFS?: Last week’s loss has left the Gaiters with one pathway into the postseason. They must win their final two games, and the Concordia Stingers must lose their last two games (vs. Montreal and at McGill).
THE SERIES: The Gaiters lead the all-time series 41-37-1. The Gaiters-Redmen series is the longest-running series for Bishop’s, with the first meeting occurring back in 1885. However, the teams did not begin playing each other regularly until 1971, when both teams joined the Quebec Universities Athletic Association. The Gaiters have won six of the past nine games in the series, dating back to 2006. The Gaiters and Redmen used to meet twice per season, but have seen the matchup reduced in more recent times to once annually. This is the first time the Gaiters and McGill have met twice in a season since 2009, and only the second time since 2006. The last time the Gaiters swept a two-game regular-season series from McGill was in 1992.
LAST MEETING: A pair of second-half touchdown passes by Jordan Heather led the Bishop's Gaiters to a come-from-behind victory, 23-18, over the McGill Redmen on Sept. 30 in Montreal. He connected on scoring passes to his brother Nathan and Quincy Van De Cruize as the Gaiters overcame a 15-3 halftime deficit. The older Heather finished with 324 yards passing. Mathieu Paquette made three field goals for the Gaiters. McGill's scoring came from a touchdown by Bobby Mikelberg, three Austin Anderson field goals and a safety touch. McGill outgained the Gaiters 376 yards to 320, but Bishop's held a 324-211 edge in passing yards. The Gaiters committed only one turnover, while forcing a pair of McGill miscues. Nathan Heather led the BU receivers with 108 yards on three catches, while Alexander Fox caught five balls for 83 yards, and Steven Turner was 5-for-63. Harrison Maloney made a season-high eight tackles for Bishop's, while Jermaine Lewis-Parris made 7.5 and knocked down a pass.
PASSING FANCY: The Gaiters remain the top-rated pass offence in Quebec, and the fourth-highest nationwide, with an average of 289.3 yards per game. Gaiter quarterbacks Jordan Heather, Alex Rivet and Shane McDonald have combined to go 148-for-274 for 2025 yards with 13 touchdowns. The Gaiters have recorded four 300-yard passing games this year. With their 189 yards last week, Bishop’s has recorded their first 2,000-yard passing season since 2002, when they passed for 2,021 yards. The Gaiters’ all-time single-season passing record is 2,457 yards, set in 1995
TAKE YOUR PICK: Bishop’s has made a league-leading 12 interceptions this year (the fourth-highest total in the CIS), and knocked down 29 pass attempts. McMaster leads the country with 16 picks. Ryland Smith leads the Gaiters, and is tied for 6th overall nationally, with three picks this year, while O’Shane Daley, Marcus Lam-Peters and Harrison Maloney each have a pair of thefts. Smith also leads the CIS with nine passes knocked down.
THE HEATHER REPORT: Third-year quarterback Jordan Heather is fifth in the nation with 257 passing yards per game. The leader is McMaster’s Kyle Quinlan, who is averaging 335.2 yards per game. Heather has posted an efficiency rating of over 100 in five games this year, and is second in the country in completions (136), attempts (249) and fourth in total yards (1799). His 12 touchdowns is also fifth nationally. Heather also leads the conference in “total offence” (rushing + passing yards combined) with 270.6 yards per game.
CFL GAITERS UPDATE: James Yurichuk made his first career start last week at middle linebacker for the B.C. Lions., picking up a career-high seven tackles as the Lions defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 29-18. In the previous week, Yurichuk excecuted a dribbled ball manoeuvre for the second time in his career, as he kicked the ball 24 yards forward and picked it up in a game against Calgary. Yurichuk how has 30 total tackles (20 defensive, 10 special teams) on the year. Among the other Lions-Gaiters, Jamall Lee has 13 Special Teams Tackles and a fumble recovery this year, while Tim Cronk has four special teams tackles and a touchdown, Dan McCullough has eight special teams tackles, and Shawn Gore is second among all Canadians in the CFL with 727 yards on 52 catches. Altogether, ex-Gaiters have accounted for 24.4% (35 of 143) of the Lions’ Special Teams Tackles this season. Elsewhere in the league, Stamps rookie Junior Turner has made 23 tackles, including a pair of sacks, while Justin Conn has a pair of special teams tackles. Saskatchewan’s Mathieu Boulay returned to action on Sept. 24, after spending two weeks on the injured list. He made his first career tackle September 4 vs. Winnipeg. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Kyle Jones is back on the one-game injured list. He has nine total tackles this season.
TODAY IN GAITERS HISTORY: On October 22, 1988, the Gaiters downed the McGill Redmen 27-21 at Bishop’s Field. Before a nationwide audience on TSN, Al Matheson made a 75-yard interception return to break the game open early in the third quarter, after the Gaiters had taken a 13-7 halftime lead. Mike Swan scored the Gaiters’ only other major, on an 11-yard pass from Silvio Martel. Simon Restall went 3-for-5 on field goal attempts, and finished with 13 points. The Gaiters won despite gaining only 159 yards of net offence. The 1988 Gaiters went on to finish 6-1 and win the Dunsmore Cup before falling to Saint Mary’s in the Atlantic Bowl.
UP NEXT: The Gaiters close out the regular season next week, as they host the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday, October 29. Kickoff at Coulter Field is set for 1 p.m.
