Historic night: Redbirds shock No. 1 Carabins in football stunner

MONTREAL — Quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald and running back Jerry Momo combined for nearly 300 yards along the ground as McGill stunned the nation's top-ranked Université de Montréal Carabins 31-24 in U SPORTS football before an estimated crowd of 4,000 at Percival Molson Stadium, Friday night.

It was a night for the ages on the McGill campus, marking the program's first victory over their crosstown rivals in 23 years, snapping a 36-game losing streak that had spanned a generation. The last time McGill defeated the Carabins came on Oct. 7, 2002, a 58-0 blowout. The improbable triumph improved McGill's lifetime record to just 3-36 in 39 matchups with Montréal, yet the historical significance of this one far outweighed the ledger. 

McGill's offence struck first, riding the bruising legs of Momo. The freshman tailback tore through the Carabins defence on the opening series, racking up 43 yards on five carries before plunging in from six yards out to put the Redbirds ahead 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Montreal answered quickly with quarterback Pepe Gonzalez finding wideout Wedens Alexandre in stride for a 54-yard major, one of two long touchdown tosses for the veteran pivot. Gonzalez ended up with a game-high 306 yards passing on 23 completions in 38 attempts, along with two TDs, but his three costly interceptions would ultimately doom the Carabins' bid to extend their dominance in the provincial capital.

After a tightly contested opening stanza , McGill scraped together a pair of second-quarter field goals from kicker Mario Dellifraine, who connected from 34 and 45 yards, to take a 13-7 lead into halftime. Montreal's attack, normally lethal, was held scoreless in the second frame by a swarming Redbirds defence that pressured Gonzalez into rushed throws and bottled up the run game. Linebackers Philippe Bouthot and Alexandre Milnes-Pominville spearheaded the effort, while rookie defensive back Jahnai-Taj Copeland-Lewis was also a standout.

The game appeared to tilt heavily toward the Carabins in the third quarter, however, as the nation's No. 1 team reasserted its depth and talent. Gonzalez marched his squad downfield on a nine-play, 73-yard drive capped by a four-yard TD toss to Simon Riopel. Minutes later, he engineered another scoring sequence, setting up a short field goal, then orchestrated a 99-yard march that ended in a one-yard plunge by running back Brandon Gourgon. That 17-point surge had Montreal up 24-13 late in the third and seemingly in full control.

But the Redbirds had other ideas. Latendresse-Regimbald, who threw for 142 yards on 9-for-19 passing, made up for modest aerial production with bruising effectiveness on the ground. Early in the fourth, after executing a pass for 42 yards to Gioffre, the McGill quarterback scrambled 21 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-19. Minutes later, he engineered a nine-play, 79-yard drive capped by a 28-yard scoring strike to receiver Fabien Turcotte, who slipped past tight coverage down the right sideline. Montreal's lead had evaporated, and when Latendresse-Regimbald delivered an 11-yard bullet to rookie Samuel Macieira in the back of the end zone with just over a minute left, the upset appeared to be sealed.

But Montreal still had time to answer. Gonzalez's desperation drives in the closing minutes ended with interceptions, the final one by Copeland-Lewis at the McGill five-yard line that ignited pandemonium in the stands. The Carabins had amassed more total yards (462 to 365) and held the edge through the air with 298 passing yards, but McGill's dominance on the ground was decisive. The Redbirds churned out 298 rushing yards on 36 carries, led by Momo's 179 and Latendresse-Regimbald's 119, while the Carabins mustered only 117 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Montreal's 22 first downs were balanced by McGill's 22, but the turnover column told the story: McGill gave the ball away once, while Montreal coughed up three picks.

The quarter-by-quarter tally underscored the drama. It was 7-7 after one quarter, McGill ahead 13-7 at halftime, then Montreal flipping momentum with a 17-point third for a 24-13 cushion. The final stanza belonged to the underdogs, as McGill roared back with 18 unanswered points to complete a historic 31-24 triumph. The victory ended one of the longest rivalry losing streaks in Canadian university football and gave McGill its biggest regular-season win in more than two decades, leaving the Redbirds faithful celebrating well into the night.