Football: Kick It to Win It

Concordia Stingers Win Shaughnessy Cup and Clinch A Playoff Berth With Victory

SportsJulian McKenzie — Published October 25, 2015

“I was just going over the kick in my head,” said Treloar. “I knew if [the team] got me close, I’d have an opportunity.”

Thanks to Treloar’s kick, Concordia defeated the McGill Redmen by a score of 43-41 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. In addition to winning the 47th annual Shaughnessy Cup game, Concordia will be in the Réseau de Sport Étudiant du Québec playoffs for the second straight year under head coach Mickey Donovan.

Concordia led for most of the game before McGill receiver Yannick Langelier-Vanasse scored his second touchdown and gave his team a 41-40 lead with over a minute left in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Trenton Miller then brought his team on a 10 play, 70 yard drive down the field, leading to Treloar’s kick with three seconds left to play.

“It is so amazing to see our team come back like that,” said Stingers receiver Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren, who made four catches and had 54 yards receiving in the win. “With a minute and a half left, just to see [our] poise. We didn’t get angry, we didn’t get mad at each other. We just came together. It was awesome, it was beautiful.”

Concordia had a 33-21 lead after the first two quarters of play, but could only score 10 points in the second half. The Redmen began to chip at Concordia’s lead with two field goals in the third quarter, making the game 33-27 entering the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Stingers extended their lead to 13 points thanks to a Trenton Miller touchdown pass to Yanic Lessard. However, two touchdowns from Langelier-Vanasse put the Redmen in the lead just before Treloar’s kick won the game for Concordia.

“I honestly felt we were going to win,” said Redmen receiver Louis Brouillette, who made nine catches for 81 yards in the loss. “That was our team’s whole thought process during the game, so it was hard at the end of the game when the field goal went through the posts.”

Concordia improved their record to 4-3, earning their second victory over McGill this season and rising to fourth in the RSEQ standings. In the victory, receiver Daniel Skube set a school record for most catches in a single season. Skube has 59 on the season, seven more than the previous record, set by receiver Cory Watson in 2009.

The Redmen fell to 3-4 and are in fifth place. In the event that both teams end with the same record after next weekend’s final games of the season, Concordia would win the tiebreak and enter the playoffs because of their wins over McGill.

McGill has three more wins than last year, when they went an entire season without a victory. Despite the loss, Brouillette is optimistic that his team will continue to improve for next season and beyond.

“The new coaching staff has been recruiting pretty well since last year and every guy has bought into the program,” said Brouillette. “I think it’s going to be better and better for McGill football.”

Concordia will face the Université de Montréal Carabins at the CEPSUM Stadium next Saturday on Halloween afternoon. The McGill Redmen will face the Laval Rouge et Or next Saturday as well.