The Champlain College football team jumped out to an early 24-0 lead Saturday night and then held on for a 24-8 victory over Andre Grasset in Montreal.
The Cougars were firing on all cylinders early in the game as Marc-Antoine Pivin, Guillaume Conraud-Ares and Michael Arruda each scored a touchdown while the vaunted Champlain defence held the Grasset offence in check. However, the Cougar offence self-destructed in the later stages of the game as turnovers allowed the home team to get back in the game.
“We look really good on our first two drives but then mistakes, fumbles and interceptions, stalled the offence,” head coach Jean-Francois Joncas said after the game. “Michael (starting quarterback Michael Arruda) was a little off tonight, it was not his best game. He didn’t play poorly, but he normally plays at such a high level that we expect a lot from him.”
Needing two majors to tie the game, Andre Grasset put together a long drive into Champlain territory that was stopped when defensive lineman Issac Adeyemi-Benglund came through with two quarterback sacks, one on fourth down that ended all hopes of a Grasset comeback.
“Issac always comes up big when it counts,” Joncas said with a smile. “He is big and physical and puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback in passing situations.”
Adeyemi-Benglund said that it was important to finish the game on a strong note.
”There was a sense of urgency at the end of the game,” he said. “We made a few mistakes to let them back in the game and we needed to stop them on the final drive.”
The win improves the Cougars’ record to 6-0 and sets up a Friday night encounter with the league’s only other undefeated team, Campus Notre Dame de Foy. Adeyemi-Benglund believes the game is an opportunity for some Champlain payback. “This is my second year with the Cougars and last year they beat us twice,” he said. “We have been waiting for this game all year.”
Notre Dame kept pace with Champlain by defeating Montmorency 54-27, Edouard Montpetit downed Limoilou 35-23 for their first win of the year, Lévis-Lauzon beat Vieux-Montreal 39-24 and FX Garneau recorded a 22-19 (OT) win over Vanier.
