The Bishop's Gaiters are showing they belong among the country's top varsity football teams.
Jordan Heather threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns as the Gaiters beat the Concordia Stingers 40-18 in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football action Saturday.
The Gaiters entered the game ranked 10th among CIS teams and is likely to climb when the rankings are updated.
They started strong against visiting Concordia, with Matthew Burke scoring on a six-yard run just 45 seconds into the game. The touchdown was set up by Heather's 89-yard pass to Alexander Fox on the first play of the game.
Heather and Fox hooked up again later in the first, with Fox hauling in a 17-yard touchdown pass at the 7:37 mark.
Ryon McCalla's one-yard TD plunge at 12:46 of the second, then a safety and a pair of field goals from Mathieu Paquette put the Gaiters up 29-0 at the half.
After Bishop's tacked on a single, Concordia got on the board when Jamal Henry caught a 10-year touchdown pass from Francois Dessureault at 7:53 of the third.
Bishop's quickly took the momentum back, with Stephen Adekolu's 38-yard TD reception and another Paquette field goal putting the Gaiters up 40-7 after three quarters.
Concordia chipped away at the lead in the fourth with a pair of safeties and a 12-yard touchdown run by Dessureault, but it was far to little to overcome the large deficit they faced.
Adekolu finished with 157 receiving yards, while Fox had 116. Burke had a game-high 115 rushing yards.
Dessureault was 13-for-26 with 205 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also led the Stingers with 37 rushing yards.
Michael Harrington had 130 receiving yards for Concordia.
Bishop's (3-1) will face a stiffer test next week when it hosts top-ranked Laval. Meanwhile, Concordia (0-4) will look for its first win of the season when it hosts McGill.
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York Lions 50, Carleton Ravens 34
At Ottawa, Myles Gibbon completed 23-of-29 passes for 381 yards and five TDs for York (2-2). Jesse Mills was 26-of-42 passing for 450 yards and three touchdowns for Carleton (0-4) while running seven times for 29 yards and a TD.
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No. 2 Western Mustangs 45, Laurier Golden Hawks 24
At Waterloo, Ont., Will Finch threw for 423 yards and two touchdowns while receiver Brian Marshall had seven catches for 209 yards to lead the unbeaten Mustangs (5-0). Dillon Campbell ran for 155 yards on 15 carries and two TDs for Laurier (1-4).
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No. 6 Guelph Gryphons 24, No. 9 McMaster Marauders 22
At Guelph, Ont., Jazz Lindsey threw for 173 yards and a touchdown as the Gryphons (4-0) remained unbeaten. Marshall Ferguson was 25-of-42 passing for 302 yards and two TDs for McMaster (2-3) but also had three interceptions.
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No. 3 Queen's Gaels 36, Ottawa Gee Gees 21
At Ottawa, Billy McPhee finished 16-of-32 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns to lead Queen's (4-0). Aaron Colbon completed 19-of-39 passes for Ottawa (2-3) for 254 yards and three TDs but also was picked off three times.
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UBC Thunderbirds 37, Regina Rams 27
At Regina, Brandon Deschamps ran 230 yards and two touchdowns as UBC (2-2) topped the Rams (1-3). Deschamps' second TD broke a 27-27 tie in the fourth quarter.
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Windsor Lancers 26, Toronto Varsity Blues 11
At Windsor, running back Mitch Dender ran the ball in 49 yards for a touchdown as the Lancers (3-2) dropped Toronto (1-4). Dender finished with a total of 89 yards.
FRIDAY
The Calgary Dinos got it done on the ground and in the air against a ranked opponent.
Running back Mercer Timmis ran in three touchdowns and caught another as Calgary disposed of the Manitoba Bisons 48-24 on Friday in Canadian university football action.
Quarterback Andrew Buckley completed 24-of-36 passes for 512 yards and three TDs as the No. 5 Dinos (4-0), undoubtedly improved their standings in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports power rankings with the win.
Jordan Yantz made 25-of-47 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns for the eighth-ranked Bisons (2-2). Anthony Coombs was effective as a rusher and a receiver for Manitoba. He ran for 120 yards and caught six passes for 115 yards.
Elsewhere in CIS football it was: Mount Allison 29 Saint Mary's 15; Acadia 40 St. F-X 11; Sherbrooke 31 McGill 19 and Alberta Saskatchewan.
At Calgary, Timmis scored twice in the span of 1:12 in the second quarter. He ran the ball in from the one-yard line with 2:18 left in the second, then found the end zone after a 32-yard run with 1:06 to go before halftime.
Early in the third Timmis caught a 15-yard strike from Buckley for his third TD of the night, then the Calgary running back had a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
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Mounties 29, Huskies 15
At Sackville, N.B., defensive back Devante Sampson ran a 60-yard fumble return in for a touchdown as Mt. Allison (1-2) beat St. Mary's (1-2).
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Axemen 40, X-Men 11
At Antigonish, N.S., quarterback Evan Brown completed 14 of 25 passes for 221 yards and three TDs as Acadia (1-2) crushed St. F-X (2-1).
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Vert et Or 45, Redmen 26
At Montreal, running back Isaac Lauzon rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns as Sherbrooke (1-3) downed McGill (2-2). Lauzon's biggest play was after time expired in the fourth quarter — he ran for a 76-yard TD score.
No. 7 Huskies 39, Golden Bears 17
At Saskatoon, Shane Buchanan ran 87 yards on 10 attempts for two touchdowns to lead Saskatchewan (3-1) past the Golden Bears (0-4).