A must-win game, an undecided quarterback position, and a bruised and battered defensive line did not faze the McGill Redmen (2-4) as they defeated the Bishop’s Gaiters (2-4) on Thursday to capture the first annual Thanksgiving weekend “Turkey Bowl” by a score of 34-20.

After the Redmen’s obliteration at the hands of the Laval Rouge et Or at home, and an away loss at Bishop’s last weekend, Head Coach Clint Uttley realized he needed to send a clear message to the leaders of the team, who, for the majority of this season, have struggled to persevere through challenging situations.

“What I told them before the game was their legacy could be defined by being a group that didn’t win a lot of games or being … the ones that turned the corner,” Uttley explained.

The message clearly resonated with the seniors, who stepped up their intensity.  As a result, the team only gave up a record-low five yards on penalties, and had a stand out offensive performance.

The Gaiters scored on their first drive after a 40-yard pass sailed into the hands of a wide-open receiver. Despite Bishop’s ability to take advantage of lapses in the McGill defence, the Redmen offence kept it close throughout the first half. This was largely thanks to kicker Samy Rassy, who hit two of his five total field goals in the first half. The first half concluded with the Gaiters on top with a score of 9-7.

Uncharacteristically, McGill was able to grind out yards through the ground game, largely thanks to the play of offensive linemen Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. However, Duvernay-Tardif did much more than just lead the offence to their 261 rushing yards—appearing to take Uttley’s message to heart, he played on both the defensive and offensive lines.

McGill’s offence got rolling at the beginning of the third quarter after Redmen defensive end El-Hadj N’Doye intercepted a bullet pass from the Bishop’s quarterback, leaving McGill with great field position. After struggling in the red zone during the first half, starting quarterback Jonathan Collin was sure not to waste this opportunity, and took the ball into the end zone himself, putting McGill up 16-14.

Bishop’s answered McGill with a field goal on its following drive, but the Redmen responded quickly. Collin made an incredible scrambling pass to running back Sean Murphy, setting up Rassy for another successful field goal.  Collin was in obvious control of the offence, efficiently going 16-25 for 136 passing yards. However, he was sidelined following the end of third quarter with an injury to his MCL.

While Coach Uttley’s message was directed towards his seniors, it was clear that the sentiment trickled down to the Redmen’s young offensive stars.  Once again, receiver and return specialist Yannick Langelier-Vanasse led the team with 127 all-purpose yards, and Luis Guimont-Mota finished the game with an outstanding 119 rushing yards. Coach Uttley had nothing but praise for his return specialist, who has been McGill’s most consistent threat this season.

“Yannick is awesome. He’s like instant field position and he’s only in his second year. I’m excited to have him for three more years,” Uttley said.

However, it was the entertaining receiver Shaquille Johnson who stole the show. Johnson had nine receptions, including the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.  After Bishop’s cut McGill’s lead to two, Ryne Bondy—Collin’s replacement—connected with Johnson to give McGill a 29-20 lead—one that the Redmen would not relinquish.

Not only did the victory put to rest the notion that this team crumbles under pressure, but it also placed the Redmen in a four-way tie for the two remaining playoff spots in the RSEQ.

McGill will battle the Concordia Stingers on Oct. 13 at Molson Stadium in the annual Homecoming Game.