The Concordia Stingers (3-5) defeated the McGill Redbirds (2-6) by a score of 31-24 Saturday afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium. Both the passing and rushing game were essential to Concordia’s victory. Quarterback Antoine Ouimet passed for 225 yards while rushing for the second-most yards on the team with 95. Running back Franck Tchembe led the charge with 161 yards on the ground.
For McGill, the offense was a different story.
Quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald struggled, completing just 11 of his 25 pass attempts. Running back Jerry Momo had a strong game – averaging 12.8 yards per carry for 153 total.
Both the Stingers and Redbirds controlled their own destiny coming into Saturday’s matchup. ‘Win and you’re in’ was the motto for the matinee, yet, a Sherbrooke Vert et Or loss to the Laval Rouge et Or would mean both Concordia and McGill clinched the final two playoff spots regardless of the result.
The Redbirds got off to a quick 7-0 lead thanks to a 58-yard run by Momo – his longest of the day – followed by a rushing touchdown by Latendresse-Regimbald. They would add a safety on the next drive to extend their lead to nine.
The Stingers got on the board as time expired in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown after going 105 yards up the field. They used this momentum to their advantage in the second quarter.
Starting at their own 42-yard line, the Stingers used three completions and a twenty-two yard rush from Tchembe to find the redzone. The very next play, the Stingers and Ouimet elected to go with a unique run-option play, where the quarterback rushed 20 yards into the endzone for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, the Stingers ran the same play – resulting in a touchdown in almost an identical fashion. McGill responded with a touchdown of their own, where wide receiver Antonio Gioffre caught what looked like an impossible 26-yard toss from Latendresse-Regimbald along the sideline. The Stingers led 24-16 after three.
The teams held strong on defense until the final minutes of regulation. Down eight, the Redbirds began one of their final drives around midfield – giving them a golden opportunity to add points. Two first downs later, the Redbirds’ Momo rushed nine yards into the endzone bringing them within a two-point conversion. Latendresse-Regimbald dropped back into the pocket, and found his receiver for the two points. The game was tied 24-24 with 4:43 remaining. Concordia head coach Brad Collinson spoke postgame on what he told his players after McGill knotted the score.
“We just believe in what we do, you know? Just stay even keel,” Collinson said. “We say it all the time, ‘don't get too high, don't get too low,’ and we knew we were going to get the ball back.”
That they did – and the Stingers’ composure paid off.
Concordia trotted 93 yards up the field, in large part due to a 51-yard pass completion from Ouimet to wide receiver Ely Rivest. With 58 seconds remaining, Ouimet rushed nine yards into the endzone for the score, with again, a similar rushing play as their previous touchdowns.
“It was a replay – we saw the weakness on the defense [...] just crashing inside,” Ouimet said postgame. “And I think I did a good read to pull the ball out and run, that was part of the game plan.”
The Redbirds marched down the field on the final drive of the game, getting as far as the Stingers’ nine-yard line, but a sack to Latendresse-Regimbald as time expired clinched a Stingers victory.
After Sherbrooke’s 26-3 loss to Laval, both McGill and Concordia punched their tickets to the playoffs.
Upcoming matchups:
Concordia Stingers (3-5): Nov. 1 @ Montreal (6-2) at 12 p.m.
McGill Redbirds (2-6): Nov. 1 @ Laval (7-1) at 3 p.m.