The Collège St. Jean Géants football team handed the John Abbott Islanders a crushing 48-0 defeat on Saturday afternoon in McHugh Park.
St. Jean scored early in the first quarter after a John Abbott turnover that led to a touchdown by Julien Messier who carried the ball into the end zone. The successful conversion made the score 7-0, and the Géants never looked back.
Messier put himself in the spotlight again before the end of the first quarter as he scored another touchdown from Islanders’ 25-yard line after catching a magnificent pass.
Messier, a 17-year-old rookie, was humble at the end of the game despite his impressive performance.
“The offensive line made huge holes in their defense and I was able to push through. Everybody on the team did his job and that is why we won,” he said.
The score was 17-0 for St. Jean after the first quarter. Things did not get better for John Abbott as the game went on. Alex Massio from the Géants scored a touchdown after receiving a pass in the endzone late in the second quarter. This was followed by a conversion which made the score 24-0 at half time. The Géants kicker then added an 5-yard single to put them up by 25.
Second half
John Abbott’s offence continued its erratic play in the second half. Géants defender Félix Bouthillier-Gagné intercepted a pass with 10:42 left in the quarter which led to a touchdown three minutes later, followed by a successful conversion. St. Jean intercepted the ball three times during the game while John Abbott intercepted only one pass.
Géants receiver Carl Gagnon-Bisaillon added another touchdown before the end of the third quarter and a conversion was made as well. The score was 39-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. St. Jean added another touchdown, a conversion and a safety in the fourth quarter and the game ended with a score of 48-0 for St. Jean.
John Abbott Head Coach Justin McHugh had trouble figuring out what had happened to his team at the end of the game.
“I can’t explain this loss. I felt we were maybe a little bit more prepared than we showed today. Offensively, we did not move the ball. Defensively, we did not stop their offence. So overall, it was a very bad day at the office. I think we are a better team that we showed today but we have to work on all aspects of our game: passing, running, tackling,” he said.
As for St. Jean Head Coach Alexandre Vendette, he was ecstatic after his team’s brilliant victory.
“A match like this is more than satisfying. I have used all my players and everyone has made key plays. This shows that we have depth in our team. Defensively we have executed our game plan very well. This is a great start for us,” he said.
