MONTREAL -- Quarterback Olivier Roy threw for 352 yards and ran for two touchdowns as Concordia took advantage of numerous McGill miscues en route to a 42-16 victory at Concordia Stadium on Saturday.

Concordia led 7-6 after the opening quarter but McGill went into halftime with a 16-14 lead and envisions of an upset. The Stingers, however, were fully rejuvenated after the intermission, winning the third stanza 7-0 and the final quarter 21-0.

Despite the lopsided score, the game was much closer than it appears, until the wheels fell of in the final quarter. McGill frittered away a winnable football game, committing three turnovers, taking 18 penalties for 125 yards, having a TD pass called back on a holding infraction and throwing two passes that were both intercepted in the Concordia end zone.

The Redbirds were also unable to take full advantage of Concordia fumbling on each of their first two possessions. Despite the pair of golden opportunities handed to McGill, the Redbirds came away with only a field-goal.

Roy, the conference MVP last season, completed 25 of 36 passes and was picked off once. He also rushed four times for 37 times, scoring on a nine-yard TD run with just 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter, narrowing the deficit to 16-14. He also scampered for a three-yard visit to the end zone at 8:36 of the final quarter, putting the game out of reach at 35-16.

After that play, Concordia head coach Brad Collinson opted to rub salt in the wound with a successful onside kick. Four minutes later, Franck Tchembe scampered in for a one-yard run to complete the scoring.

Rounding out the Stingers scoring was a pair of one-yard TD plunges by running back Adrien Guay, late in the first and third quarters -- and a 19-yard run by Dwante Morgan early in the final quarter.

McGill's lone touchdown was scored by running back Jeremy Langevin, who hauled in a nine-yard toss from freshman Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald. That capped an impressive 11-play, 102-yard drive to put McGill ahead 16-7 with 5:29 remaining before the half.

The 20-year-old pivot was 12-for-21 passing for 197 yards, one TD and two picks. He was sacked twice but was the team's leading rusher, for the third straight game, with 98 yards on 10 carries. Latendresse-Regimbald continues to lead the RSEQ conference in rushing with 293 yards on 28 carries for a 10.5 average.

Rounding out the Redbirds scoring was 10 points from place-kicker Antoine Couture who was 3-for-4 on field goals, connecting from distances of 34, 37 and 10 yards. He missed a 45-yard attempt but averaged a lofty 47.2 yards on five punts and 61.5 yards on a pair of kickoffs. Couture leads the league in both field goals (7) and success rate (87.5 %).

Concordia, which had a lopsided 38-20 edge in first downs, generated 586 yards of offence, compared to McGill's 360.

The result improved Concordia's record to 1-2, while McGill dropped to 0-3.

Next week, McGill will host the division-leading Montreal Carabins (3-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m., while Concordia will travel to Quebec City to confront second-place Laval (2-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Neither game will be televised by TVA Sports but the McGill game will be streamed on its pay-per-view site.

REDBIRDS RAP: leading the McGill defence was defensive back Tristan Fleury, who was credited with 8.5 total tackles, including seven solos, and a forced fumble... Fleury, who was selected by Saskatchewan in the 2022 CFL Draft,  is ranked third among the league's leading tacklers with 16.5 in three games... Ryan McNally added six tackles, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery... Jahnai-Taj Copeland-Lewis registered 5.5 tackles and an interception.   

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca