Undefeated this season, Notre-Dame du Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy bent the knee for the first time at the worst time Friday evening at the Stade des Diablos in Trois-Rivières. He lost 52-42 to the Champlain-Lennoxville College Cougars in the final of the division 1 collegiate Bol d'or.
In a completely crazy duel, during which the offensive units gave it their all, amassing almost 1,000 yards of gain, Notre-Dame was in a good position in the last quarter.
Up 35-31 at the start of the last period, Notre-Dame quarterback Thomas Leroux, who was having a very good game, however saw the sky and perhaps also the full moon which was pointing above the Stadium of the Diablos on this beautiful Friday evening in November, falling on his head.
The second-year player was the victim of three turnovers in a span of seven minutes.
After each of these turnovers, the Cougars took the opportunity to find the paying zone and give themselves a comfortable lead of 52-35.
I'm never going to point fingers, it's a team defeat
, commented Notre-Dame coach Marc-André Dion who had nothing to reproach his quarterback. It's difficult for everyone. We had them at one point, but it fell apart.
Offensive Festival
This match, which pitted the two best defenses on the circuit against each other, was nevertheless dominated by the offensive units. They livened up the show, to the great dismay of the defensive coordinators, but to the great pleasure of the 3,011 fans present.
And what a spectacle it was! After eight minutes of play, the Cougars led 14-0. A quarter later, Notre Dame had already responded with three touchdowns. The two teams exchanged leads like that all evening.
To see the two best defenses in our league get crossed like that, I wasn't expecting that. I was expecting a 23-21, but not that
launched Jean-François Joncas, the coach of the Cougars, who won the 15th Bol d'Or in their history.
I am happy for them kids who put in the effort at school and in the gym all year round. For them, the Bol d'or is the pinnacle of Quebec football. This is the fun!
Jerry Momo's evening
Many players helped themselves to this all-you-can-eat buffet of long games and hard-hitting stats, but Jerry Momo had the biggest appetite.
The Cougars running back scored four touchdowns and ran for 268 yards, which was more than half of his team's 519 yards in the entire game.
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Cougars number 5 Jerry Momo (in white) was the best player of the game with four touchdowns
Photo: RSEQ / Éric Massicotte
Unsurprisingly, he was named the game's MVP in his last appearance in a collegiate duel in the RSEQ.
Jerry was in good shape today, Joncas said, without laughing. He came to see us before the match and told us: today, I feel it. He had another speed.
Before the game, I asked the coach how many touchdowns he wanted, Jerry Momo said. He told me five. I told him six. I made four. I hope I find a way to compensate, said the player of the game with a laugh, he who was in his last collegiate game.
No perfect season
Notre-Dame misses its attempt to win the second championship in its history and become the 11th team to complete its season without defeat in the history of the division 1 collegiate circuit.
We gave everything we had, it breaks our hearts, but we will live with it
explained Paul Kamdem, Notre-Dame running back.
We arrived ready. We failed to win this championship. It's a shame because we had something good
concluded his coach Marc-André Dion.
