At the dawn of their second half of the season, the Carabins of the University of Montreal (UdeM) can say mission accomplished so far.
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Head coach Marco Iadeluca’s squad are undefeated in four games and sit third in the Canadian standings, according to U SPORTS.
“Football is a sport of results and we obtained positive results in our first four games, analyzed the pilot of the Blues. However, are we where we want to be in all aspects of our game? No, we still have things to refine.”
It would have been surprising if Iadeluca, who also wears the hat of offensive coordinator for the Carabins, said he was fully satisfied with his team’s performance.
“I’ve been really happy with our defense since the start of the season. Offensively, I think we haven’t played a 60-minute game yet…”, he said.
Inconstancy
The numbers prove Iadeluca right, as his offense scored just seven touchdowns, five through the air and two on the ground. Only the McGill Redbirds have fewer offensive successes in the Quebec university circuit so far in 2022.
However, the Carabins are third in yards amassed when in possession of the ball.
“In all our games, we moved the ball well and had very good quarterbacks, but we never played a game during which we capitalized on all our chances. It is a very young offensive and it must find the instinct of the killer”, declared Iadeluca.
It must also be said that the UdeM attack lost several important pieces due to injuries. These include wide receivers Hassane Dosso, Justin Langlais, Iraghi Muganda and Wedens Alexandre, as well as lineman Alexandre Levac. Several of them should, however, make returns to the game in the coming years.
Get off on the right foot
The Carabins enjoyed their second week off before returning to action by hosting the Concordia Stingers on Saturday. They are having a disappointing campaign, considering their performance of the previous year. So far, Brad Collinson’s squad have maintained a 1-4 record and sit second to last in the standings.
Iadeluca, however, made sure that his players did not take victory against their Montreal rivals for granted.
“We know very well that this team relies on super athletes on offense,” he said. We won’t be able to afford to fall asleep, not even 10 seconds, because they will hurt us. We don’t take the Stingers lightly, like every other team in our league.”
– The Carabins and Stingers will be in action starting at 2 p.m. at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard.