MONTREAL -- Defensive back
Benjamin Carre picked off an errant pass to snuff out a Concordia scoring drive and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown midway through the final quarter as McGill rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Stingers 31-19 in RSEQ university football at Concordia Stadium, Saturday.
It was only McGill's second victory in seven games this season but clinched a playoff berth for the Redmen. With one game left to play, McGill could finish either third or fourth in the five-team Quebec conference. It's only the sixth time in 16 years that the Redmen have qualified for post-season play since winning the Dunsmore Cup league championship in 2002.
Concordia led 17-2 after the opening quarter and upped that to 19-2 midway through the second stanza before McGill mounted their miracle comeback. They narrowed the gap to 19-15 by halftime, then outscored the Stingers 9-0 in the third and 7-0 in the final quarter.
"Was it part of our game plan to fall behind 19-2, no it wasn't, but it was part of our game plan to keeping fighting until the final whistle," said McGill head coach
Ronald Hilaire. "I'm really proud of the way we battled. We had to face some serious adversity in the first quarter when we kind of shot ourselves in the foot with mistakes and fumbles but we overcame that and persevered until we ultimately took the lead and never looked back."
Trailing 19-17 late in the third quarter, McGill pivot
Dimitrios Sinodinos was credited with the winning score when his two-yard TD run on a gutsy quarterback sneak put his troops ahead 24-19 at the 13:25 mark.
But the Stingers appeared poised to retake the lead midway through the final stanza when quarterback
Adam Vance was picked off by Carré at the McGill 10-yard-line. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound defensive back ran it back 100 yards to take the wind out of Concordia's sails and silence the hostile crowd. It was the civil engineering junior's second INT returned for TD this season and the third of his career. He also collected four solo tackles in the contest.
"Carré is a constant worker and always strives to be the best he can be," Hilaire offered. "I've been tough on him this year because he's always looking for the big play but sometimes takes risks to make that play and tries to do too much. He's got a lot of character and I can't be more proud of what he has accomplished."
Sinodinos, a 21-year-old sophomore from Laval, Que., completed 16 of 33 passes for 173 yards, one touchdown and an interception. His TD strike was a seven-yard toss to senior
Remi Bertellin, which ignited the McGill comeback, reducing the 17-point deficit to 19-9.
Kicker
Findlay Brown contributed eight points to the victory, with a 2-for-3 performance in field-goals, making from distances of 31 and 12, reducing the Concordia lead to 19-15.
The Redmen offence was sparked by junior
Donavan Martel, an explosive 5-foot-8, 192-pound running back, who rushed 15 times for 109 yards. He added 35 yards on two catches. It was the first time over the century mark by a McGill ball carrier in nine games, dating back one year exactly, when
Daniel Adesegun had 100 yards on 13 carries in a 35-27 win over Sherbrooke on Oct. 21, 2017.
"Martel is very coachable and I was very happy to see him have his best career game at this level," noted Hilaire. "He had numerous plays where he made a long gain out of what appeared to be nothing. It was a great opportunity that he had in his hands and he took full advantage of the situation."
Vance, who ranks second in the conference in passing, was limited to only 186 yards in the air. He was 19-for-38 passing with two picks and one TD. His lone major was a 19-yard strike to
Yanic Lessard which put the Stingers ahead 10-0 only four minutes into game.
The only other Concordia TD came on a 70-yard fumble recovery by
Sam Brodrique that put his side ahead 17-2 late in the second quarter.
McGill's defence was a key factor in the win, collecting three quarterback sacks and forcing Concordia into conceding a pair of two-point safeties. Aside from Carré's aforementioned exploits,
Jean-Philippe Hudon, a 22-year-old kinesiology junior from Levis, Que., was a driving force with 9.5 tackles, eight of them solos. The 5-foot-7, 181-pound defensive back was also credited with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass knockdown.
The vistors were full marks for the win, with a 22-15 margin in first downs and a net offence of 298, compared to Concordia's 236. But the Stingers self-destructed with a plethora of penalties. They were flagged 23 times for a whopping 215 yards of real estate, compared to McGill, which had 11 penalties for 105 yards. The game featured 15 turnovers, including eight by Concordia, which had two on interceptions, one on a fumble and five on downs. McGill threw only one pick but lost four fumbles and turned it over twice on missed third-down situations.
McGill (2-5) now holds the all-important head-to-head tie-breakers over both fourth-place Concordia (2-5) and fifth-place Sherbrooke (1-5). The Redmen would finish third if they either upset the Montreal Carabins at Molson Stadium next week or if Concordia loses their final game at Sherbrooke. Both games are slated for 2 p.m. kickoffs on Oct. 27. If the Stingers win, then the Redmen must defeat Montreal to finish third.
REDMEN RAP: Carré is one shy of the conference single-season record for most interceptions resulting in a TD. Concordia's
Max Caron had three in 2011. He is two shy of the mark for most in a career (five) by Concordia's
Kris Robertson, who played between 2009 to 2014... The 100-yard pick was the third longest return in Quebec conference history, shy of the 111-yard effort by
Tom Europe of Bishop's in 1992 and the 105-yarder by McGill's
Loris Lucchetta against Concordia in 2000.
| 2018 RSEQ University Football Standings • Classement de la saison régulière du football universitaire 2018 |
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