Montreal advances to Dunsmore Cup final with 40-15 victory over Bishops

Rotrand Sene ran for 236 yards, including two touchdowns, while quarterback Marc-Olivier Brouillette threw for 363 yards and a touchdown to lead the No. 8 Montreal Carabins to a 40-15 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters in a CIS semifinal Saturday.

Montreal (6-3) advances to play the Laval Rouge et Or in the 2009 Dunsmore Cup final next Saturday in Quebec City.

Laval advanced by downing the Concordia Stingers 63-1 in the other Quebec University Football League semifinal.

The Gaiters took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Carabins rattled off 37 unanswered points to book their place in the Dunsmore Cup final.

The Gaiters got off to fast start, as freshman quarterback Jordan Heather - starting in place of veteran pivot Jesse Andrews, who was out with a shoulder injury - led the visitors on a five-play, 58-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard pass to fellow rookie Dave Soucy to put Bishop's up 7-0.

Four minutes later, a bad snap on a Montreal punt attempt gave Bishop's the ball on the Montreal two-yard line, and Tim Cronk plunged over two plays later to put the Bishop's up 14-0.

After a Pierre-Paul Gelinas field goal, Josh Maveety gave the Gaiters a 15-3 lead after the first quarter on a 46-yard single.

The second quarter saw touchdowns by Youssy Pierre and Sene, along with another Gelinas field goal and a safety touch, gave the Carabins a 22-15 lead at halftime.

Elsewhere in CIS playoff football action, it was: Laval 63 Concordia 1; Queen's 32 McMaster 6; StFX 33 Acadia 30; Saskatchewan 53 Regina 23; Calgary 45 Alberta 13; and Western 26 Wilfrid Laurier 16.

At Montreal, the Carabins took advantage of the wind and better field position to stretch their lead in the third quarter on a pair of safety touches, a field goal and a single point.

Meanwhile, Sene put the game away with a 24-yard touchdown at 5:53, while the final Gelinas field goal, with 1:24 left, rounded out the scoring.

The Carabins outgained the Gaiters 639 to 191, and recorded 31 first downs, to the Gaiters' 11. The Gaiters committed three turnovers, while forcing five by the Carabins, marking a rare loss when winning the turnover battle.

Brouillette completed 19-of-26 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown. Youssy Pierre made nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown, while Francois Leclerc caught three for 76 yards.

For Bishop's, Heather finished the day going 12-for-18 for 205 yards with an interception and a touchdown. Shawn Gore had his second 100-yard day of the season, with five catches for 114 yards. Matt Burke was the Gaiters' leading rusher, with seven carries for 29 yards.

The Gaiters finish the season with a 4-5 overall record (4-4 QUFL).

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Laval 63 Concordia 1

At Laval, Que., running back Sebastien Levesque had 266 yards and scored two touchdowns in the first half to lead Laval over the Concordia Stingers, booking the Rouge et Or's ticket to the Dunsmore Cup.

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St. FX 33 Acadia 30

At Antigonish, N.S., the X-Men rallied from a 30-16 deficit with consecutive fourth-quarter touchdowns and Anthony Alix topped it off with a 10-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the game to lift St. FX in the AUS semifinal playoff game.

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Western 26 Wilfrid Laurier 16

At Waterloo, Ont., Nathan Riva ran for a record-high 42 times for 289 yards as the Western Mustangs booked a ticket to their third consecutive Yates Cup game with a 26-16 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

The Mustangs will meet Queen's, which defeated McMaster in the other OAU semifinal.

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Calgary 45 Alberta 13

At Calgary, Anthony Parker returned kickoffs for touchdowns in the first and last minutes of the game as the No.2 Calgary Dinos defeated the Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West semifinal.

The Dinos (8-1), who have been on a collision course with the No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (8-1), will meet their prairie opponents for the 73rd Hardy Cup championship next Saturday in Saskatoon.

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Saskatchewan 53 Regina 23

At Saskatoon, quarterback Laurence Nixon threw 284 yards for five touchdowns as the Huskies defeated Regina to book their ticket to the Canada West final.

Cory Jones caught three TD passes and Jeff Hassler rushed for 113 yards for the Huskies, who will meet Calgary next Saturday in the Hardy Cup.

Marc Mueller threw 470 yards for two touchdowns to lead the Rams.

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Queen's 32 McMaster 6

At Kingston, Ont., Jimmy Therrien and Marty Gordon combined for 146-yards and two touchdowns as the Queen's Gaels earned a trip to the Yates Cup with a victory over the No. 9 McMaster Marauders.

Queen's will host the No. 5 Western Mustangs its first Yates Cup appearance since 2002.