Stingers rally and win on a last-minute field goal to beat McGill 30-28 in their final home game
The Stingers hosted their downtown rivals, the McGill Redmen, in the 27th annual Shrine Bowl on Saturday. It was the second meeting for these two teams this season as the Stingers won the last meeting decisively, 41-12. Saturday’s game was a lot different as Stingers trailed for most of the game and would need a last-second field goal by kicker Keegan Treloar to get the win.
On their opening drive, the Stingers went down the field and ended the drive with a 13-yard field goal by Treloar. The Redmen, on their opening drive, would take the lead with a one-yard touchdown by their running back Raphael Casey.
The second quarter was a scoring explosion. The Redmen increased their lead on a one-yard touchdown run by another Redmen running back, Pelle Jorgen. The Stingers, on their next drive, went down the field and quarterback François Dessureault connected with wide receiver Shayne Stinson four times on the drive. Stingers running back, Oliver Dupont would get a three-yard touchdown run to cut the Redmen lead to four points.
Concordia’s special teams would come up big on the kickoff as McGill’s kick returner, Kenny Baye fumbled the ball in the end zone and Stinger Jordan McLaren recovered it for a touchdown. The Stingers scored 15 points in 11 seconds and took a 22-18 lead into halftime.
The Redmen started with the football to start the third quarter and on their opening drive they would get a single point due to a 50-yard touchback by punter Remi Bertellin. The Redmen, on their next drive, cruised down the field thanks to the play of their quarterback and true freshman, Joel Houle, who capped off the drive with a quarterback sneak for a touchdown.
Concordia would get their first points of the final quarter on a 15-yard field goal by Treloar. The Redmen coaches made an interesting move and gave up a safety to make it just a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter. The Stingers took advantage of McGill’s coaching decision as they moved the ball down the field. With 45 seconds left, Treloar kicked a 45-yarder to clinch the victory.
“I knew it was good once it left my foot,” said Treloar after his game-winning kick.
Head Coach Mickey Donovan completed his first year with the team and was happy with the results, but says there’s still a lot of work to do.
“It was a character win as we did not play our best,” said Donovan. “It was a good first year but we want to improve, and with a 5-3 record we are just middle of the pack.”
The Stingers ended the regular season in fourth place and will face Laval next week in the playoffs.
