Redbirds 21, Stingers 17: Concordia nearly completes Homecoming comeback
The Stingers have reached the halfway point of their regular season with a losing record of 1-3
The Concordia Stingers were a touchdown away from completing a wild comeback against the McGill Redbirds during their Homecoming matchup on Sept. 21. Concordia trailed 21-0 in the later half of the third quarter.
Despite managing 17 points in the fourth quarter, the team couldn’t overcome being blanked in the first three quarters.
Coming off a tough loss to the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins on Sept. 14, the team hoped to put it behind them heading into their Homecoming matchup against McGill University. Unfortunately, the Stingers couldn’t manage a consistent enough offence to support a productive defence in a loss.
“We gotta play four quarters, you know. It’s something we’ve been preaching. We gotta learn how to close out drives,” head coach Brad Collinson said post-game. “It’s not for a lack of effort or lack of trying, [but] they gotta be able to perform at a high level all the time.”
Collinson also praised the defence’s performance, acknowledging that it kept the Stingers in the game. Most notably, linebacker Samuel Morissette lived in the opponent's backfield as he notched 4 sacks on the day. His brother Gabriel Morissette made his presence felt, putting up 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup himself.
The Stingers struggled on offence in the first three quarters of the game. The team failed to reach the red zone until the very end of the first half, where a last second drive ended on an incompletion just outside of the end zone. Things didn’t seem to improve as the offence started the second half with a turnover, as quarterback Olivier Roy threw an interception. This led to the McGill offence driving the other way for a touchdown. After a safety and successful field goal attempt that increased the score to 21-0 for the Redbirds, the odds seemed to be against the Stingers.
“That’s not how we play. That’s not our style of play. In the second half, we are going to do our thing,” said running back Franck Tchembe in a post-game interview, recalling what was said in the locker room before the second half.
The tide turned as the offence scored its first touchdown of the day when Caleb Faulkner converted on a successful quarterback sneak call at the one yard line. The Stingers offence started chipping away, driving into the red zone with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter. El-André Abbey caught a slant in the end zone to make it 21-15 after a successful kick for the extra point.
Unfortunately, that was the last time the Stingers scored on offence for the remainder of the game. An incompletion in the end zone nearly gave the Stingers a late lead with 1:32 left in the game, as receiver Tristan Mancini couldn’t haul it in against tight coverage.
The drop, however, was not a testament to Mancini’s performance against the Redbirds’ secondary.
“Tristan Mancini made some great plays in the middle, he’s not afraid to take some hits. He’s reliable,” Stingers quarterback Olivier Roy said post-game. Mancini led the team in receiving with 6 receptions for 146 yards on the day.
The Stingers will visit the conference-leading Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 29 at Telus Stadium in Quebec City. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
