The Concordia Stingers football team won last night by a score of 31-28 against the Carabins de l’Université de Montréal
The last time the Stingers beat les Carabins was 11 years ago
The Concordia Stingers trailed 17-0 early and it looked as though Université de Montréal was en route to a comfortable victory. The Stingers then scored 10 unanswered points to make it 17-10 going into the half-time break. The Stingers were battling as best they could but the Carabins had the momentum all throughout the first half. On top of that, a crowd of 2,200 rowdy fans were rallying them for every single play. The atmosphere was electric from a crowd that had waited quite some time to see a home game.
Olivier Roy, Concordia’s quarterback, was sensational all throughout the second half. Roy managed to keep his team in the game during the first half. A fumble by Jacob Salvail of Concordia led to a touchdown for Université de Montréal. It made the score 24-10 in favour of the Carabins and shifted the momentum in their direction once again. The Stingers did not get rattled by that, and still managed to respond with a touchdown to make it 24-17. With a field goal for three points, then a missed field goal for another point, the Carabins made the score 28-17 for them heading into the fourth quarter.
With 15 minutes left to play, a difficult task was in order for Olivier Roy and his teammates. A couple of sensational drives ending in touchdowns by Jeremy Murphy and Vince Alessandrini gave the Stingers a 31-28 lead with 2:13 left to play in the game. Two late interceptions by the Stingers’ Derek Acheampong and Joel Therrien deflated the Carabins and wrapped up the hard-fought contest.
Olivier Roy was poised all game long, throwing for 323 yards and four touchdown passes. It was his first win as a starter. On top of the quarterback’s strong outing, Stingers wide receiver Jeremy Murphy hauled in nine catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
This was a gritty win by head coach Brad Collinson’s team. Before the season started, he said that his team had excellent chemistry, which separated them from previous Stingers teams. The cohesiveness was on full display against the powerhouse that is les Carabins.
“The big players made big plays once again,” said Roy. “We gotta let the league know that [Concordia] is for real.” The Stingers are definitely going to turn some heads after the upset they pulled off last night. It took them 11 years to beat Université de Montréal, but they finally got over the hump with their 31-28 victory.
The Stingers next game is on Friday Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. against the McGill Redbirds at Stade Percival Molson.
