McGill ends 23-game losing streak with win over Mounties
Quarterback Ryne Bondy of Richmond Hill, Ont., passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as McGill knocked the monkey off their backs with a lopsided 36-9 victory over the visiting Mt. Allison Mounties before 2,187 at Molson Stadium, Friday.
The result improved McGill's record to 1-2 and snapped a 23-game losing streak for the Redmen, while extending Mt. Allison's losing skid to 10. It was also the first victory in six decisions for head coach Clint Uttley who took over as bench boss with three games remaining last year.
The Redmen racked up 438 yards in offence while their defence, aided by nine quarterback sacks, limited Mt. A to just 63 net yards. McGill also had a 22-8 margin in first downs.
Bondy, a fifth-year senior who was making his first start of the season, completed 13 of 22 passes for 189 yards and rushed eight times for a game-high 69 yards. After connecting with receiver Gabriel Aubry of Lanoraie, Que., for a 59-yard TD bomb just three minutes into the game, Bondy called his own number and scampered eight yards to make it 14-0 before the game was six minutes old.
He then hooked up with Ottawa native Sean Murphy for a 10-yard TD strike to make the score 25-0 at the 13:44 mark and found freshman Shaquille Johnson of Toronto for a five-yard toss to make it 35-0 late in the second quarter.
The game was halted for about 12 minutes late in the second quarter as a severe thunderstorm hit the Montreal area. Bondy gave way to Jonathan Collin at halftime and the senior pivot played the remainder of the game in an unrelenting downpour. He completed just one of seven pass attempts and was picked off once.
Freshman kicker Samy Rassy of Montreal added nine points with a 2-for-3 performance in field goals (37 and 20 yards). He added a pair of conversions and a rouge on a missed 39-yard field-goal attempt.
Punter Tomas Silva of Kingston, Ont., rounded out the scoring for McGill with a 74-yard kickoff single to start the third quarter.
The Mounties lone TD was scored early in the final quarter when McGill return specialist Yannick Langelier-Vanasse fumbled a punt in the endzone and linebacker Te Nguyen of Oakville, Ont., pounced on the loose ball. Langelier-Vanasse. A sophomore from Lachine, fumbled twice in the wet, slippery conditions but he still managed to amass a game-high 202 all-purpose yards, including 169 on 15 punt returns.
Quarterback Brandon Leyh went the distance for Mt. A and completed only 6-of-18 for 38 yards and one pick.
Trailing 36-0, the Mounties finally broke the goose-egg with just over five minute remaining in the third stanza when kicker Kyle McLean registered a 64-yard punt single. He added another 64-yard single early in the final quarter.
McGill (1-2) will host No.3-ranked Laval on Sept. 21, while Mt. Allison (0-2) hosts St.FX in their Homecoming game on Sept. 22.