Keegan Treloars last minute kick sealed a Shrine Bowl victory as well as playoff birth for the Stingers
The Concordia Stingers eked out a close victory in Saturday afternoon’s 47th annual Shaughnessy Cup at McGill Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in front of a raucous homecoming.
With “win and you’re in” playoff implications on the line, the Maroon and Gold survived a furious McGill second-half rally to set up kicker Keegan Treloar’s 30-yard playoff-clinching field goal.
“It’s a game kickers dream of,” said an elated Treloar following the game.“To be able to win the game and secure a playoff spot, it’s a day I’ll always remember.”
Despite the tight score, the Redmen’s 20 penalties for 185 yards were a reoccurring issue that plagued them all afternoon. McGill’s undisciplined play has been an point of contention all season as their numerous penalties extended multiple Concordia offensive drives in both encounters this season.
“It was a playoff game for us … it was personal, it was our house and we really wanted to win this game,” said a frustrated McGill receiver Remi Bertellin. “We had some issues with the referees, some penalties were legit and others [not so much].”
The Stingers counted on another big game from quarterback Trenton Miller who currently leads the RSEQ conference in passing yards, touchdowns, attempts and completions despite only taking over as the starting quarterback in week two of the RSEQ regular season.
“[Miller] is cool and calm all the time” said third-year defensive back Rashawn Perry about his star quarterback. “He never gets rattled and that’s why he’s a true leader.”
Nothing was more emblematic of Miller’s reputation as a cool customer than the game’s final drive. With 88 seconds left on the clock and the Stingers down 41-40, Miller led the Stingers offense on a 10-play 70-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal.
“When I saw we had to drive the field I knew we could do it, Trenton’s been absolute money for us and he got us in a good position,” said Treloar.
The win keeps head coach Mickey Donovan undefeated against McGill, where he was the Redmen’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from November 2011 to February 2014.
“This rivalry goes so deep, it means the world to me to win the Shaugnessy cup,” noted Perry. “The way we fought to the end to get the win, my teammates are the best and I couldn’t ask for a better way to finish off my career against McGill.”
Next up for the Stingers comes in the form of another familiar cross-town rival as they pay a visit to the reigning national champions from the Université de Montréal, Oct. 31 at CEPSUM stadium.
Great job Stingers!