Vert et Or run over Stingers

After defeating division-rival Université de Montréal Carabins one week ago in Concordia’s annual homecoming game, it seemed that the Stingers would carry the momentum into Sherbrooke to take on the Vert et Or.
That wasn’t the case as Sherbrooke thumped the No. 8 ranked Stingers by a score of 35-19 in front of over 3,100 ecstatic Vert et Or fans at Stade de L’Université de Sherbrooke. This was the second straight victory for the Vert et Or as they continue to strive for a playoff birth.
After holding on to a slim one-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Sherbrooke exploded with fifteen straight points, beginning with a 51-yard rushing touchdown from Pascal Fils, followed by a rouge from Alex Poirier. Within a three-minute and ten-second span Sherbrooke scored another rushing touchdown from Pascal Fils’ partner in crime Diego Ratelle, who ran a 40-yard touchdown to paydirt.
Sherbrooke’s running-back tandem of Fils and Ratelle tore up the Concordia defence, rushing for a combined 386 net-yards from scrimmage and three rushing touchdowns. Pascal Fils alone set a new Vert et Or record, rushing for 259 yards.
Stingers backup quarterback Liam Mahoney got the nod to start Saturday’s game, replacing injured starting pivot Rob Mackay who is still nursing a knee sprain suffered against the Carabins last week. Mahoney completed 13-of-28 passes for 133 yards passing and two interceptions. Mahoney also led all Concordia rushers with 179 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. It would be the only touchdown Concordia would score the entire game.
Mahoney’s adversary, Vert et Or’s quarterback J.P. Shoiry, completed 18-of-29 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown pass and two interceptions. Shoiry completed a twenty-two yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Massé-Simard. The Vert et Or wideout led all receivers with 71 yards off of six receptions.
The one bright spot for the Stingers came in the form of kicker Rene Paredes, who continues to put up All-Canadian numbers. Paredes was 4-for-5 in the game, executing field-goals from the 29, 37, 37, and 34 yard-lines respectively.
The Stingers finished with 387
total offensive yards. The Vert et Or surpassed the Stingers in virtually every category including offense, racking-up 576 yards.
The Stingers (3-2) are currently third overall in the Quebec ranking and have pretty much kissed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs goodbye as the No. 1 ranked Université de Laval Rouge et Or continues to dominate the provincial rankings, going undefeated in its first five games of the season.
Concordia will have to put up serious numbers against a winless
McGill Redmen team in back-to-back games to surpass the Bishop’s Gaiters. The Gaiters have squeaked their way into second place behind Laval with a 4-1 record. The
Stingers will host McGill next week at Loyola Field for the annual Shrine Bowl game which will commence at 1 p.m. It will be followed one week later by a rematch between the two combatants at Percival Molson Stadium as the Redmen will take on the Stingers for the Shaughnessy Cup.