The most anticipated duel of the season in Quebec university football met expectations as the Carabins of the University of Montreal won by a score of 32 to 31 in overtime against their great rivals from the Rouge et Or of the Laval University, Saturday afternoon, at Cepsum.
It is a half-victory for the Carabins who, despite the victory, failed in their attempt to win the match by at least two points to improve their chances of hosting the Quebec final. Montreal (6-1) still holds first place, but Laval (5-1) could take first place by winning its last two games.
During the first match between the two teams, Laval also won by one point. Montreal needed to win by more than two points to grab the tiebreaker. Even though both teams have scored the same number of points against each other this season, Laval could have the upper hand at the end of the season due to its lower number of points allowed over the entire season (128 compared to 89 so far).
On the last play of the match, Émile Choquet had the chance to give the Rouge et Or the victory with a 42-yard field goal, but he missed the target. The Carabins could have won on this last play, but Marco Iadeluca’s men, well aware of the real stakes of the match, chose to send the match into overtime when the returner dropped his knee to the ground to create the equality.
Montreal’s gamble paid off when Sénécal joined Carl Chabot at the entrance to the end zone to give the Carabins a 32-25 lead, but the Rouge et Or immediately responded with Isaac Gaillardetz’s touchdown. Laval then attempted a two-point convert to win the game, but the ball carrier was stopped at the goal gate, giving Montreal the victory, not just a point.
Laval gave itself a 16-7 lead at the half by scoring all their points in the space of one minute and three seconds at the end of the 2nd quarter.
Guillaume Cauchon first tied the game with a major. Then, the Laval defense scored a safety touchdown by tackling the Carabins kicker in the end zone. With four seconds left in the half, Benjamin Nadon blocked a Carabins kick which allowed Maxime Saucier-Lafond to bring it back into the end zone.
The Carabins did not let this poor end to the second quarter affect their play when they returned to the field. In the 3rd quarter, Philippe Boyer reduced the gap to 16-10 with a field goal.
In the 4th quarter, the Carabins continued to regain the upper hand. Justin Langlais tied the game with a touchdown on a pass from Jonathan Sénécal before a successful two-point conversion by Carl Chabot to bring the score to 6:16 p.m. in favor of the Blues.
With less than three minutes to play, Lucas Bertet Dembele ran 48 yards to set the table for a superb major from Enrique Jaimes Leclair thanks to a one-handed catch.
The Rouge et Or responded when Arnaud Desjardins connected with Olivier Cool who scored his 9th touchdown of the season, before adding a two-point conversion to bring Laval within a single point.
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