Hard Finish

Stingers End the Season with their Heads Up

SportsSabrina Curiale — Published October 29, 2012

The Concordia Stingers football team had a strong finish to a tough season this Saturday despite losing 32-19 on home turf, where they put up a great effort against the first-placed Université de Laval Rouge et Or.

“I believe we played our best football game of the season,” said quarterback Reid Quest, who completed 28 of 43 passes for a total of 361 yards and one touchdown.

With the powerhouse Rouge et Or gearing up for the playoffs, the Stingers were in for a difficult match. Nevertheless, they came out fighting.

“We were the underdogs coming in and everybody played as a team. We played our hearts out,” said slotback Nicolas Abelhauser-Gosselin.

Laval dominated early in the game, with touchdowns by running back Pascal Lochard and wide receiver Guillaume Rioux, and two field goals by kicker Boris Bede putting them ahead 20-0.

Concordia managed to get on the scoreboard before the end of the first half, with running back Michael Donnelly reaching the end zone, Keegan Treloar with the conversion point. At halftime, the score was 20-7.

The beginning of the third quarter looked promising with back-to-back field goals by Treloar, bringing the score to 20-13. But the Rouge et Or responded harshly, with a 16-yard field goal by Bede and a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tristan Grenon to wide receiver Matthew Norzil. A safety would bring the score to 32-13.

With the final whistle blow of the season approaching, the Stingers’ Michael Harrington caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Quest to make the final score 32-19.

After four quarters, it was clear that despite the challenges of this season, the Stingers left the field in high spirits.

“It feels good for us, especially against one of the best teams in the country,” Quest said.

Offensive tackle Isaac Throop said, “It comes down to who wants it more, who plays harder, who hits harder. We came out with a vengeance this week, unlike we did last week and it really showed with the scoreboard. I mean, I’ve never been more impressed with my boys than this week.”

The pride in the players was evident.

“That’s one of the best teams in the country so to go down last game like that, it shows a lot of character in the guys on the team,” said Donnelly, adding, “You wanna go down swingin’.”

The team maintained their positivity, looking forward to coming back next season as a force to be reckoned with.

Wide receiver Sanchez Deschamps, who caught the football 11 times Saturday for a total of 209 yards, said, “[We have to] just keep working hard; build off of this loss.”

One football season has come to an end for the Stingers, but with focused training, a good recruiting class and a positive outlook, this year’s playoff dreams could become a reality next season.

Donnelly wrapped it up, saying, “If everyone puts in the work, it will definitely be a good showing next year for sure.”

And if Saturday’s performance was any indication, we can all look forward to Stinger football next fall with great anticipation.