Concordia’s injury-plagued squad was outplayed from start to finish against Montréal
On Saturday, Oct. 11, the Concordia Stingers hosted the Montréal Carabins in the battle for second place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) division. The Stingers were hoping to rebound after they lost to the Laval Rouge et Or last weekend, but unfortunately the Stingers were outplayed by the Carabins, losing 36-3.
The team was missing nine starters who were out due to injuries they suffered in last week’s loss. The list included Stingers starting quarterback Francois Dessureault and wide receiver Jamal Henry.
The first quarter started slow for both teams as neither team could capitalize on their early drives. The Carabins would score first on a 75-yard punt return by Montréal wide receiver Mikhail Davidson. Davidson would extend their lead and score another touchdown shortly after, this time on a 42-yard reception from quarterback Gabriel Cousineau. Cousineau picked apart the Stingers’ defense all afternoon, as he went 23 for 27 on passing attempts that included two touchdowns and 300 yards through the air.
While Concordia continued to sputter early and often, the Carabins would extend their lead 20-0 thanks to a two-yard touchdown rush by Montréal running back Sean Thomas-Erlington. Down 20-0 by the end of the first quarter, the home crowd was stunned.
Concordia would finish their first drive of the second quarter with a 46-yard field goal by kicker Keegan Treloar. Unfortunately, the three points would be Concordia’s only points of the game.
The Carabins would quickly add another touchdown to their total, as Cousineau would connect with wide receiver Regis Cibasu for 46-yard touchdown. Montréal entered halftime with a commanding 27-3 lead over the home team.
The Carabins got the first points of the second half and continued their onslaught with a 41-yard field goal by kicker, Louis-Philippe Simoneau. On the offense, the Stingers made a switch at quarterback as Colin Sequeira was benched in favor of backup quarterback Mario Porreca. Sequeira ended his day with seven completions out 14 attempts, 68 passing yards and two interceptions. Porreca went two out of five and had 32 passing yards.
The Carabins continued to control the game in the fourth quarter recording a safety, capping off the Stingers’ offensive struggles. The next series, the Carabins added three more points to scoreboard when Simoneau made an 18-yard chip shot. The Stingers defense limited the Carabins to nine points in the second half.
The injuries on offence proved to be too much to overcome for the home team, as they could not get any momentum or consistency on offence.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes and you can’t have that against a tough opponent like Montréal,” said Concordia’s head coach Mickey Donovan. “We faced the best of the best in the conference in back-to-back weeks.”
At the end of the day, Stingers defensive back Kris Robertson appropriately summed up the disappointing day.
“They outplayed us. I have to admit that and they just won,” said Robertson.
