A season to be proud of for Concordia flag football
Despite a tough championship game loss, the Stingers laid the groundwork for a perennial contender
Alexis Labonté remembers a time when Concordia University’s flag football team didn’t even have flag football players. The fifth-year head coach reflected on the program’s evolution after the final Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) tournament at CEPSUM on Oct. 25.
“We started with soccer players, rugby players, whatever kind of athletes that we built into flag football players,” Labonté said postgame. The Stingers lost a heartbreaking championship game 40-27 against the Université de Montréal Carabins.
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Stingers, who failed to defend their 2024 RSEQ title. But Labonté still viewed the season as a success, for both the present and the years to come.
“I'm really, really proud,” Labonté said. “This is the objective we had in mind, to come to the finals and win it. I’m really proud. The girls worked hard even though we came up short.”
For the Stingers and the RSEQ as a whole, the year marked a major step forward in growing the sport of flag football. In its first year as an official league sport, Concordia finished second to the Carabins in both the regular season and the championship.
But visibility around flag football, bolstered by Team Canada’s strong showing at the 2025 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Championships, has skyrocketed, providing hope that its appeal can find a steady base.
As flag football flourishes on the international stage, the sport sees new stars enter the spotlight. Labonté discussed the immense talent on both sides of the RSEQ title game.
“[Concordia and Montréal] have players from Team Canada on both sides, so we’re two great teams,” Labonté said. “When there's a lot of talent, it's a question of details. It can go both ways.”
One of those Team Canada players is Stingers quarterback Sara Parker. The fifth-year gunslinger has played with the program since its inception, helping capture the RSEQ title in 2024. She also competes for the Subzero flag football team and the Canadian national team.
Parker celebrated the team’s youth as a reflection of its growth and potential. She highlighted her excitement about the future of Concordia flag football and its sustainability.
“We had a lot of rookies on the team. A lot of them even started. So I think that it shows a lot of depth on our roster, the fact that we have some rookies coming in that are challenging our vets,” Parker said. “We're proud to see how much they've overcome in one season.”
Caroline Moquin-Joubert plays with Parker at Concordia and for Subzero and Team Canada. The pair won an IFAF silver medal together this summer. The receiver and defensive back reflected on flag football’s meteoric rise across the province, with the RSEQ reaching varsity status after just four total seasons.
“I don't think any sports came out and got established in three years, so it's amazing how fast the sport is growing and how people are moving fast to have bigger leagues, have bigger events,” Moquin-Joubert said. “Every year, I'm amazed.”
Labonté showered his stars with praise, applauding them as building blocks for a Concordia program that has built itself from the ground up in its first years of existence.
“I'm really lucky to have had both of them for five years. They've been amazing,” Labonté said. “They've been leaders for the coaches, for the players. They also helped build the program. Without them, I'm not sure we're that good and we're still there in the finals.”
After her final university match, Parker made sure to celebrate her teammate and go-to receiver.
“Caro and I have been playing together for quite some time,” Parker said. “We’ve built incredible chemistry, but also a very strong friendship. She's always a trusty target, and I'm looking forward to continuing my flag career with her.”
As the team’s foundational pieces ride off into the sunset, Labonté looks to build the team towards the future. He believes the groundwork has been laid for sustained success, built by the program’s early stars and solidified by its rapid rise.
“Rookies from everywhere want to come to Concordia,” Labonté said. “They want to play with us, and they want to have success with us. So the success we’re having is by building a community with the team, and it won't stop. It's just the beginning, and I'm really proud of it.”
This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 5, published November 4, 2025.
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