A task to be erased for the defense

The McGill air attack caused trouble for Laval University's Rouge et Or in the first leg between the two teams.

McGill had scored a touchdown in their first offensive series by betting on the pass and added a 2nd major before the end of the first quarter in a loss of 37-17 on 22 September. Both teams will meet on Saturday at Percival Molson Stadium.

"We still have this performance on the heart," said defensive back Maxym Lavallée. We had been surprised early in the game and we will get better prepared and we will play hard. We did not know him and we realized that Jean Bidaux was an excellent athlete. He has a good size and good speed. It will be necessary to pay attention to him. At the beginning of the week, Marc [Fortier] told us to show that we have the best defensive unit. "

The tight end French had notably captured a pass of 35 yards to pave the way to the first touchdown of the match, managed by Pearce Dumay. McGill had 246 yards passing.

"Dumay is very, very fast and McGill wants to put the ball in his hands," Lavallée said. McGill distributes the ball well. "

First departure this year

Used in the formation of seven defensive backs for a few games, Souleymane Karamoko made his presence felt during the match against McGill by winning a bag. "It was my first bag since I played football and I was surprised to find myself in the backfield, said the French defensive back. I was really happy. "

If the trend continues, Karamoko will see more action on Saturday. He trains with the first group since the beginning of the week while veteran Nicolas Viens is found as the 7th defensive back.

"There is a lot of competition in Laval and we have to work hard to find a place," said the one whose only career start came at Concordia last year. I hope it stays that way. Last year, I wanted to be a starter in my first season, but I realized in hindsight that I was not ready. I now know better the game book, which gives me confidence. I also had good training.

"We want to do better than in the first game against McGill," added the 6-1, 195-pound defensive back who played two seasons in the Thetford Mines Filaments. We had given a lot of passing yards and made corrections. "

Very athletic, Karamoko is an important element of the Red and Gold on the special units. "I really like it coming down on the kickoff," he said with his best smile. I like to hit the world. It removes stress at the beginning of the match to get off the kickoff. "

A new receiver not so new

The Rouge et Or has a new receiver in training since the beginning of the week.

Amani Murura Malinda has been training with the receiver group since Tuesday. Used as a cornerback last year in his first campaign, he had seen action only as a returner on kickoffs.

"Monday, Justin [Ethier] and Marc [Fortier] proposed to me to make the change and I quickly accepted, he said. In the ranks of school at Du Phare, I played as a receiver. I also played one season as a receiver in my first year in the college ranks with the Beauce-Appalaches Condors before making the transition as a defensive back. It's not just a test. I will continue as receiver. I was rusty on Tuesday at my first training because it was a long time since I had made any changes of direction or ran in a straight line. "

Used as a returner last year, Malinda did not play a game this year. "It's hard to play in Laval, but you have to keep working to be ready when your number comes out," he said. At first, it was hard to accept, but you have to think about the team. For returns on kickoffs, we will see tomorrow [today] who will be the starter. "

Take time

Used as a returner on kickoff since the game at Concordia, running back Luca Perrier will miss the game against McGill who suffered a concussion Sunday against the Stingers.

Justin Ethier wants to take the time to evaluate Malinda's chances. "He has good skills and he is enthusiastic about taking on this challenge," said the Laval offensive coordinator. Given the depth at the half corner position, we talked about the situation. We'll see how it's going. "