Montreal – August 27, 2022
The Montreal Carabins spoiled the home opening match for the Concordia Stingers, with a score of 26-18.
Montreal’s skies were dark, grey and the rain had barely subsided by the time the U Sports Football campaign got underway this afternoon, with a match between the Concordia Stingers and the Montreal Carabins in Notre-Dame-de-Grace. With the field still slick from the rain, both teams began their campaigns with great aspirations for the new season.
Early on, both squads showed signs of rust – or perhaps the on-field conditions made it seem that way, but before long, both squads began to find their footing and a solid match began to take shape. The surging Carabins eventually ran in a one yard touch down, and converted on the kick to take a seven-point first quarter lead.
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Despite the strong play of Concordia Stingers quarterback Olivier Roy, last season’s RSEQ (Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec) MVP, the Stingers struggled to contain the strong aerial threat that is the Montreal Carabins offense. Roy was the bright point on the field for Concordia, and could have benefited from a little more help from his team.
Credit the strong play of Montreal’s defense, the Stingers were only able to come away with seven points, on a converted touchdown play, in the second quarter which was also their sole scoring playing of the quarter, as the Carabins lead by a score of 15-7 at half-time following a second Carabins touchdown.
With the score 15-10 in the third quarter, following a Concordia field goal, the Stingers managed to stop the Carabins offensive push on a third down rush at the one-yard line. Eventually, Montreal would earn another touch down with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, given them a 24-10 lead heading into the final frame.
The final quarter saw Concordia play their best football of the game, showing resilience and a willingness to battle back, and all their hard work would eventually pay off. With seconds shy of seven minutes to go in the game, Concordia ran in a touch down and followed that up with a two-point conversion that put them within a single score of tying up the contest. Alas, it was not to be, as the Montreal Carabins spoil the season-opening home game for the Concordia Stingers by a score of 26 to 18.
Second-year Carabins quarterback, Jonathan Sénécal, began where he left off last season, and continues to show a great deal of promise. Sénécal threw for three touch downs on the day, and completed twenty one of his twenty seven pass attempts, for 276 yards. Sénécal put balls into the hands of Alexandre Jones Dudley, Carl Chabot and William Legault, as the Carabins offense continuously caused problems for the Stingers defense.
Furthermore, the Carabins running game was strong, and continually found holes to run routes through. Running back Bertrand Beaulieu was dominant, running for one hundred three yards on twenty three carries. Meanwhile, Stingers quarterback, Roy, was sacked on four separate occasions, twice by Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal, and once each on plays by Nicky Farinaccio and Christopher Fontenard.
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At the end of the day, the Carabins were simply too much for the Concordia Stingers to handle – and once again showed where they are continuously one of the strongest sides in RESQ. 2200 fans attended the game – and if you missed out – never fear, there is a broadcast of the match-up that can still be seen.
The Concordia Stingers are back in action, away, versus Sherbrooke on September 3rd. While the Carabins will be hosting the Rouge et Or from Laval University, on Saturday, September 10th, at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. Tickets are available and the games will be broadcast by TVA Sports.
