With the regular season officially over, the Stingers have their eyes on a long playoff run.
Coming off a massive victory in their final regular season game against the Montreal Carabins, the Stingers football team will try and keep the momentum going into their RSEQ playoff semi final against the Laval Rouge et Or on Nov. 4.
Out of the five teams in the RSEQ football conference, four teams made the playoffs—with the first seed playing the fourth seed and the second seed playing the third.
Concordia had the third seed locked up after their dominant win against the McGill Redbirds at Percival Molson Stadium on Oct. 20. This meant that despite their winning effort against the Carabins on Saturday, the Stingers could not move up or down in the standings. They will end the regular season with a 5-3 record.
Montreal captured the first seed this season, having clinched it weeks before the playoffs began. The Stingers played spoiler to a potential undefeated season, as the Carabins ended the regular season with a 7-1 record. Laval, who finished the season with a 6-2 record, secured home field advantage in the semi final by clinching the second seed, meaning they will be the team hosting Concordia in the first round of the playoffs.
The fourth and final seed was decided on the final day of the regular season, as the winless Sherbrooke Vert et Or upset the McGill Redbirds to steal their spot in the RSEQ playoffs.
This year, Laval and Concordia matched up against each other twice. Finding consistent offense was an issue for the Stingers against the Rouge et Or this season, with Concordia compiling only 21 total points in their 31-14 and 23-7 losses. However, it seems like Concordia is right where they want to be headed into Saturday’s matchup.
Photo Credit: José Acosta
The two teams were only separated by 26 total points scored for the entire regular season, with Laval scoring 226 and Concordia 200. This proves that come playoff semi finals, it may come down to whose defense can hold the fort longer.
The combination of similar offensive stats with Laval, as well as three straight momentum-building wins to end the regular season, shows that the Stingers are surging at the right time of year. After their win against McGill on Oct. 20, head coach Brad Collinson spoke on the challenges that lie ahead of them in the playoffs.
“Moving forward we have some big games coming up—we are going to be going up to Quebec City to face a good team [in Laval],” said Collinson. “If we want to beat the best, we have to be the best.”
A simple message, but an effective one. The Stingers will have to be at their best if they want to beat the Rouge et Or this Saturday. But Concordia has proved that they can play with the best in the RSEQ. If they bring that gameplan to the field on Nov. 4, it could earn them a one-way trip to the RSEQ championship game on Nov. 11.
