Montréal’s ballhawks flip the script in Jacques-Dussault Cup win over Laval, advance to Uteck Bowl

Picture via Montreal Carabins

The old adage that defence wins championships came true for the Montréal Carabins in the Jacques Dussault Cup on Saturday.

A trio interceptions thrown by Laval pivot Victor Charland into the hands of Carabins’ defenders proved to be the difference in the RSEQ title game, with Montréal coming out on top by a 14-10 score.

Mathis Berube came up with the last of the three interceptions, picking off Charland on Laval’s desperation last drive to seal the win. The biggest play on the day came via the Carabins’ Elijah Cramaix, who returned the ball 100 yards on a third-quarter interception and the Carabins took their second and final lead two plays later after punching it in.

Carabins defender Mathys Leboeuf also came up with a key play midway through the first quarter, jumping a route in the red zone to intercept Charland and kill a possible scoring drive.

The win helped avenge a 35-3 defeat for Montréal against Laval in their final regular season game.

“It’s truly an incredible feeling every time,” Carabins head coach Iadeluca said postagme. “After the last game against the Rouge et Or, many people doubted our chances, but we never lost faith. We got to work and showed what we’re capable of today.”

There wasn’t much doing for either side in the early going, with the first quarter being a pair of goose eggs on the scoreboard after fifteen minutes.

Montréal struck first midway through the second quarter, driving the ball the length of the field on seven plays for their first touchdown.

Laval replied immediately with a 27-yard touchdown from Charland to Nathan Carignan, setting the game up at 7-7 just ahead of three minute warning.

Carabins pivot Esteban Bedoya was looking for a deep shot on the first play of the next drive, but instead found Rouge et Or defensive back Alexis Bourque midfield instead. Laval wasn’t able to capitalzize for a major, but settled for a field goal that gave them a 10-7 lead they’d carry into halftime.

Bedoya hardly had a game to remember himself, throwing for just 94 yards on 11-for-21 passing. But a pair of short passing touchdowns to Enrique Jaimes Leclair and Mathieu Barsalou proved to be enough in the low-scoring affair. It was actually Jaimes Leclair who had the longest passing play of the day, finding teammate Mamadou Ba for 47 yards on a trick play after receiving a handoff on the Carabins’ first scoring drive.

Merton Theagene was a workhorse on the day for the Carabins, putting down 23 carries for 102 yards. Though he didn’t break any plays for longer than 12 yards on the day against the stingy Rouge et Or defence, he provided over 40% of the team’s offensive output on the day, as they totaled 251 yards in the win.

The game was a typical title matchup for RSEQ fans, with these two teams meeting in the conference title game every year since 2014 that a game was held.

Laval earned their spot in the game by taking down Concordia 42-4 in last week’s semifinal. Montréal outlasted McGill in a closer contest, prevailing 28-21 to earn their berth in Saturday’s contest.

The Carabins advance to host the Uteck Bowl, where they face the winner of the Canada West’s Hardy Cup between the Regina Rams and UBC Thunderbirds.