Heather breaks Finch’s week-old CIS record

Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. (CIS)

OTTAWA (CIS) – Bishop’s quarterback Jordan Heather set a CIS football record for most passing yards in a season on Saturday in Sherbrooke, Que., when he racked up 484 in a 40-21 home win over McGill to finish the eight-game RSEQ conference schedule with a mind-boggling 3,132 yards.

The fifth-year senior from Oromocto, N.B., needed 400 yards against the Redmen to break the previous national standard of 3,047 established only a week ago by sophomore Will Finch of Western. Heather shattered the record in spectacular fashion, connecting with speedster Alexander Fox for a 93-yard score on the final play of the third quarter.

It was the fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon for Heather as well as his 20th this season and the 50th of his career, both school records. Thanks to 26 completions on 47 attempts on the day, the veteran pivot finished the campaign with 199 completions, another Bishop’s mark and the sixth highest tally in CIS history.

As has been the case all season, Fox was Heather’s primary target versus McGill and ended the contest with a pair of single-game team marks thanks to his 256 yards and four touchdowns on seven catches. The senior from Montreal was the country’s leader this fall in yards (1,009) and majors (12) on receptions, also new Gaiters’ records.

With the victory, nationally seventh-ranked Bishop’s (6-2) finishes second in the Quebec standings and will host Montreal (5-3) next Saturday for an RSEQ semifinal. It will mark the Gaiters’ first conference playoff date on home turf since 1993, the year of their last six-win season (6-1).

Bishop’s did host a national semifinal in 1994, losing 41-24 to Western in the Churchill Bowl.

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