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The top two teams in division 2 of CEGEP football played for the #1 spot in the standings and a bye in the first week of the playoffs and they could not be any more different. The Valleyfield Noir et Or play the ball possession style of football, using many plays and steadily advancing towards the end zone, while the John Abbott Islanders are a “big play” team, either scoring points by running just a few plays or punting the ball away. In the end, the Noir et Or, even though they executed twice as many plays as the Islanders and had a 2:1 advantage in the time of possession, needed a 34-yd field goal with only 21 seconds left on the clock to win the game 35-33.
After Valleyfield punted on their first possession, the Islanders got the ball at their own 12-yd line and staying true to their character, executed a quick, 7-play, 98-yd drive that finished with I#21 scoring the first TD of the game to put the home team in front 6-0 (convert kick failed). The visitors, however, responded right away in their own style, putting together a 16-play, 108-yd drive that took almost seven minutes off the game clock, finishing with a 19-yd TD catch by V#32 to take a 7-6 lead (V#3 convert kick).
It looked like the spectators, who numbered close to 1000 people, would be treated to a good old fashioned football shootout but instead both teams then settled down and played a careful punting game. The only points that were scored came on Valleyfield punts with the Islanders conceding a safety on one punt return and a rouge on another to give the visitors a 10-6 lead at the half time break.
The tempo of the game picked up at the start of the second half as the Islanders scored a TD on a 32-yd catch by I#8 finishing off a rare long drive that took nine plays and went for 97 yards to retake the lead 13-7 (I#15 convert kick) but once again Valleyfield responded immediately. This time it was a nine-play, 73-yd drive that finished with a 10-yd TD run by V#32 and put the Noir et Or back in front 17-13 (V#3 convert kick).
After that, it was back to the punting game just like in the first half.
Mid way through the 4th quarter, however, the scoring tempo picked up again and stayed that way until the end of the game as the two teams traded the lead back and forth. First, the Noir et Or increased their lead to 24-13 with a TD on a 35-yd catch by V#88 but the Islanders replied right back on the ensuing kickoff when I#88 picked up the ball at his own 25-yd line, found a seam through the Valleyfield defense and sprinted 85 yards to the end zone to narrow the gap to 24-19 (2-pt convert attempt failed).
The Valleyfield offense then stayed on the field for only three plays because of a turnover caused by I#92 who recovered the ball after the Noir et Or QB got sacked and fumbled it at the Valleyfield 47-yd line. The Islanders offensive unit then quickly took advantage of the opportunity and needed just three plays to score a TD on a 12-yd catch by I#4 to go back in front 26-24 (I#88 convert kick).
The scoring frenzy then continued with Valleyfield getting into the end zone on a 7-yd run by their QB to take a 32-26 lead (2-pt convert catch by V#88) but the Islanders were not to be outdone and scored a TD on an 80-yd catch-and-run play by I#25 for a 33-32 lead with only 1:43 left to play in the game (I#15 convert kick).
The Noir et Or offense then went on the field starting from their own 31-yd line and in six plays got a first down at the John Abbott 35-yd line with about 40 seconds left on the clock. After a short pass, an incompletion and a run, they were faced with a 4th down and two yards to go at the Islanders 27-yd line. V#3 then kicked the 34-yd field goal that sealed the victory and the first place in the standings for Valleyfield. |
