Sherbrooke Record

Foles, Eagles outshoot Patriots for 1st Super Bowl, 41-33 Belanger named Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop’s Athlete of the Week

- By Barry Wilner THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Philadelph­ia Eagles' flight from last to first ended up with a Lombardi Trophy. In a record-setting shootout between Nick Foles and Tom Brady, the backup quarterbac­k led a pressure-packed 75yard drive to the winning touchdown, 11 yards to Zach Etrz with 2:21 to go Sunday night. Then a defence that had been shredded throughout the second half made two final stands to win 41-33.

Brandon Graham strip-sacked Brady and Derek Barnett recovered, setting up rookie Jake Elliot's 46-yard field goal for an 8-point lead.

Brady got his team to midfield, but his desperatio­n pass fell to the ground in the end zone.

The underdog Eagles (16-3), even injured starting quarterbac­k Carson Wentz, came bolting off the sideline in ecstasy while Brady sat on the ground, disconsola­te.

It was the first Super Bowl title for Philadelph­ia (16-3), which went from 7-9 last season to the franchise's first NFL title since 1960.

Super Bowl MVP Foles orchestrat­ed it with the kind of drive NFL MVP Brady, a five-time champion, is known for. The Eagles covered 75 yards on 14 plays and had to survive a video replay because Ertz had the ball pop into the air as he crossed the goal line.

The touchdown stood _ and so did thousands of green-clad Eagles fans who weren't going to mind the frigid conditions outside US Bank Stadium once they headed out to celebrate.

But not before a rousing rendition of “Fly Eagles Fly” reverberat­ed throughout the stands once the trophy was presented to owner Jeffrey Lurie. Later, fans danced along with the “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from “Rocky,” the city's bestknown fictional underdog.

The Patriots (15-4) seemed ready to take their sixth championsh­ip with Brady and coach Bill Belichick in eight Super Bowls. Brady threw for a gamerecord 505 yards and three TDS, hitting Rob Gronkowski for 4 yards before Stephen Gostkowski's extra point gave New England its first lead, 33-32.

Then Foles made them forget Wentz _ and least for now _ with the gutsiest drive of his life, including a fourth-down conversion to Ertz at midfield.

Foles has been something of a journeyman in his six pro seasons, but has been spectacula­r in four career playoff games. He finished 28 of 43 for 373 yards and three TDS.

The combined 1,151 yards were the most in any modern NFL game, and Brady's 505 were the most in any playoff contest. The 40-year-old master finished 28 of 48 and picked apart the Eagles until the final two series.

It was such a wild game that Foles caught a touchdown pass, and Brady was on the opposite end of a Danny Amendola throw that went off his fingertips.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson brought home the championsh­ip in his second year in charge. Belichick is 5-3 in Super Bowls and his teams have only a plus-4 overall margin in those games.

So this one was in keeping with that trend: thrilling and even a bit bizarre.

Jessica Belanger (Sherbrooke) of the women's hockey team is the Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop's University Athlete of the week for the week ending Feb. 4th.

Belanger was a leader on the ice for the women's hockey team in each of their four games at the Lakehead University Challenge Cup. Belanger was a dominate player for the Gaiters at both ends of the rink and on the scoresheet as she tallied 3 goals and added 3 assists in the tournament. She led the Gaiters to two victories over Iowa State to help the team finish the weekend with a 2-2 record.

Up Next:

Belanger will return to the ice with her team on Friday, Feb. 16th when they make the trip to Amherst, Massachuse­tts to take on Umass.

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