The Concordia University Stingers secured a series berth Friday at Percival-Molson Stadium by snatching a 37-30 overtime victory over the McGill University Redbirds.
Posted yesterday at 11:45 p.m.
The match opposed two explosive attacks with quarterbacks Olivier Roy (Stingers) and Éloa Latendresse-Regimbald (Redbirds). Defenses kept the damage limited for a long time and the score was 15-13 in favor of McGill at the start of the last quarter, but the pot was boiling and the last minutes of the game were completely crazy.
Roy first launched the Stingers ahead with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jaylan Greaves. The Redbirds responded immediately with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Latendresse-Regimbald to Darius Simmons.
The hosts then thought they had forced their opponents to settle for a field goal, but a roughing penalty on the kicker gave the Stingers a second chance. They didn’t miss it, reserve quarterback Adrien Guay sneaking into the nets.
Latendresse-Regimbald took charge again, with runs for 19 and 29 yards, the second for a touchdown. The Redbirds defense then limited their rivals to a goal that tied the game, 30-30, and we ended up in overtime.
The Stingers first quickly covered the 35 yards that separated them from the bases, Roy reaching Jacob Salvail for a 21-yard touchdown pass. This time, the Redbirds did not find the parade.
Roy, who finished the game with a whopping 387 passing yards, said, “You never get used to games like that. We kinda shot each other in the foot several times, but we didn’t give up and, in the end, we managed to win. Jacob’s feedback is really positive. Even though he’s not big, he adds a dimension to our attack. We didn’t have the season we were hoping for, but we’ll still be in the playoffs and we’re going to do our best. »
Salvail, who was returning to action after a long injury absence, caught 12 passes for 141 yards.
I couldn’t have hoped for a better way to come back. It was a bit of a crazy match and I’m happy to have scored the decisive touchdown.
Jacob Salvail
The Stingers (2-5) won the Shaughnessy Cup, traditionally awarded to the winners of a match between Concordia and McGill. “I’m happy for our players,” insisted head coach Brad Collinson. As a coach, it’s satisfying to see them happy on the pitch after a victory like this.
” [Les Redbirds] started the game strong and they did some great things up front. But we stayed in the game and took advantage of it at the end. We’re going to the playoffs, it’s always satisfying, but we still have a regular season game to prepare for next week against Laval! »
The Redbirds (1-6) had taken an early lead early in the game when Latendresse-Regimbald ran for a yard, after completing a 59-yard pass on the game’s first offensive play. The quarterback then completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Geoffre.
Antoine Couture scored a point with a 57-yard punt.
Disappointment
Latendresse-Regimbald could not hide his disappointment, even though he accumulated 400 yards of attack (278 passing, 122 rushing). A week after leading his team to a first victory this season, the freshman hoped for better: “We ruined our chances with several mistakes, bad penalties… It’s a loss that hurts, that’s for sure ; we were in a position to win. But we will learn from such a defeat and continue to improve. »
McGill will wrap up its season next week by visiting the University of Montreal Carabins at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard.