Mitchell the hero as Stingers storm back

Fullback Devon Mitchell and quarterback Liam Mahoney each scored two touchdowns to help lead the No. 7-ranked Concordia Stingers football team to a high-scoring 46-41 victory over the McGill Redmen on Friday night at Molson Stadium.
Despite the Redmen’s strong play throughout the match, Concordia managed to overcome a number of penalties and turnovers in order to rally back from a two-point deficit with only 13 seconds left in the game.
The win moves the Stingers to 2-0 for the fourth straight season, and gives them their sixth straight Shaughnessy Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the battle between the two rivals.
“We played pretty hard [Friday],” said Mitchell, who rushed for 173 yards against the Redmen. “We made a few mistakes, but I think it’s impressive to put up 46 points. We’ll take those any day,”
Similar to their game against Bishop’s, the Stingers played an uneven first quarter. McGill’s Marc-Etienne Vien scored a touchdown following a blocked punt return. The Stingers managed to get on the scoreboard with a 27-yard field goal by Rene Paredes, but McGill answered back by scoring a touchdown with 2:03 left to play in the quarter.
The Stingers’ offence proved to be much more effective during the second quarter. Slotback Corey Greenaway received a six yard pass from Mahoney and scored a touchdown early in the second, but McGill showed no sign of giving up by adding to its four-point lead over the Stingers with a touchdown by running back David Friedman.
Just when it seemed like the Redmen would enter the second half with a comfortable lead, Liam Mahoney once again showed spectators why he was named CIS rookie of the year last season. The Stingers quarterback made an incredible 19-yard run to score a touchdown and reduce the Redmen’s lead over his team. With only 27 seconds left in the first half, Mahoney did it again with an eight-yard run and put the Stingers ahead for the first time in the game.
Concordia’s offence was fruitless during the third quarter, while the Redmen came back with a touchdown by slotback Erik Galas, once again putting the Redmen in the lead.
But there was no shortage of scoring during the game’s final quarter, with spectators once again treated to a nail-biter by both teams.
Paredes managed to put the Stingers back in the lead with a 28-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Moments later, Devon Mitchell ran for five yards and a touchdown, pulling the Stingers ahead of the Redmen by nine points.
However, McGill moved back into the lead with two consecutive Connell touchdown passes.
The Stingers closed in on McGill’s five-point lead with another field goal by Paredes, who converted a 35-yard kick.
With only 13 seconds left in the game, McGill fans were silenced while the Stingers bench roared when Mitchell scored his second touchdown of the game, locking the victory for his team with a 12-yard run.
Mitchell and Mahoney rushed for a combined 301 yards on Friday and, together with a touchdown by Greenaway and three field goals by kicker Paredes, allowed the Stingers’ offence to explode. Most importantly, Concordia refused to put their heads down when McGill took the lead.
“We’re an older team and I think we’re really good at bouncing back from adversity. I think that’s what it’s going to be like all year. We have to stay tough. We have to stick together,” said Mitchell.
Nevertheless, one thing the team has to work on before their next game is reducing their number of turnovers. The Stingers committed three against the Redmen, one of which led to a Connell touchdown pass to receiver Tim Kraemer.
“We have to work at ball security. We can’t make the same mistakes against Laval. They’ll easily run with the ball and score with it,” said Greenaway.
The Stingers return to Concordia Stadium on Saturday for the Shrine Bowl and their annual homecoming game, where they will face the No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or in the first half of a home-and-home series.