No. 7 Carabins conquer Redmen in CIS football opener

Source: Earl Zukerman, McGill sports info

MONTREAL - Felix Prevost of Laval, Que., hauled in five passes for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the No.7-ranked Montreal Carabins defeated McGill 24-13 in the CIS football season opener, Thursday, before a capacity crowd of 5,160 at CEPSUM Stadium.

It marked McGill's 12th straight loss to the Carabins dating back to a Redmen sweep in 2002. The game was a lot closer than the scoreboard indicated, however, as the underdog Redmen generated 386 yards of net offence, compared to the Carabins, who were held to only 392 net yards by a voracious Redmen defence that racked up eight tackles for loss, including five quarterback sacks. Montreal registered 27 first downs, just two more than the Redmen.

The Montreal victory spoiled an impressive university debut for McGill's Dallon Kuprowski, an 18-year-old freshman from Ottawa, who became the youngest quarterback in McGill football history to start and only the sixth true freshman to earn a starting assignment.  The 5-foot-9, 170-pound pivot scored one TD, rushed for a game-high 91 yards on 12 carries, and completed 21 of 36 pass attempts for 253 yards. The only blemishes on his performance were two costly interceptions, one of which set up a 33-yard TD toss to  Prevost that gave the Carabins a 22-7 lead with less than three minutes remaining before halftime.

Kuprowski's one-yard plunge gave McGill a 7-1 lead late in the first quarter but the Carabins roared back with three TDs in the second stanza.  Carabins quarterback Alex Nadeau-Puize found receiver Rotrand Sené for a 14-yard major at 6:28, followed by a 22-yard TD to Prevost at 11:12 and another TD strike to Prevost on the first play after a 49-yard interception return by Anthony Coady, at 12:41.

Nadeau-Puize, a senior from Repentigny, Que., finished with 283 passing yards, going 23-for-32.

Kuprowski found seven different receivers, including his older brother Taylor Kuprowski, a senior running back, who caught two passes. His favourite target, however, was freshman Jean-Philippe Paquette, a diminutive 5-foot-6, 150-pound wide-out from Trois-Rivieres, Que., who snared six balls for 57 yards.

Kicker Austin Anderson, a finance senior from Canmore, Alta., completed the scoring for McGill, with seven points, including field goals from distances of 48 and 28 yards. His 48-yarder was one yard shy of his personal best and three short of the school record set by Greg Ashley in 1981.

McGill (0-1) will host the Sherbrooke Vert & Or on Sept. 9 in the school's annual "Fill the Stadium" game. The Carabins (1-0) will head up to Quebec City next weekend. They play the defending national champions Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 10.

REDMEN RAP: Other freshmen quarterbacks on record to start for the Redmen include Jonathan Collin (2009, 20.9 years), Michael Ghorayeb (2005, 19.9), Josh Sommerfeldt (1998, 19.7), David McKinnon (1997, 19.5), and Vic Pywowarczuk (1976)... Joffrey Gorin and Alexander Hutchison led the Redmen defence with 5.5 tackles apiece... McGill kicker Tomas Silva, a native of London, Ont., who had a tryout with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the summer, averaged 41.0 yards on six punts... McGill's 48-man dress-roster against Montreal featured nine freshmen, 15 sophomores, eight juniors and 16 seniors...The McGill team captains for 2011 are defensive linemen Ben Thompson and Charles-Evens Peltrop, plus kicker Austin Anderson, offensive lineman Robert Ravensbergen and running back Taylor Kuprowski.