Stingers survive Redbirds rally in Homecoming Week's Shaughnessy Cup thriller

MONTREAL — Concordia's defence bent but didn't break — and linebacker Nelson Tawah made sure of it on the final play. With 2.8 seconds remaining and McGill scrimmaging at the Concordia nine-yard line, Tawah broke through on an eight-man blitz to sack quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald, sealing the Stingers' dramatic 31-24 victory before a Homecoming crowd of 3,607 at Percival Molson Stadium, and a nationally-televised TVA Sports audience, on Saturday afternoon.

The result secured third place for Concordia in the RSEQ football standings and the 56th Shaughnessy Cup, sending both teams into next week's league semifinals — Concordia (3-5) visiting Montreal (6-2) and McGill (2-6) heading to Laval (7-1).

In a highly-entertaining see-saw match, Concordia outgained McGill 490-400 in total offence and collected 27 first downs to the Redbirds' 10, but 15 penalties for 160 yards kept the visitors from pulling away. McGill had a season-low four penalties for 35 yards and did not commit a turnover.

Rookie quarterback Antoine Ouimet, making his second career start, led the Stingers' attack, completing 16 of 22 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown, while rushing nine times for 95 yards and three more majors. Running back Franck Tchembe added 161 yards on 16 carries as Concordia rolled up 265 rushing yards on the day. Receiver Ely Rivest caught four passes for 132 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown strike late in the first quarter. Kicker Dante Magliocco added a 27-yard field goal and converted all four extra-point attempts.

Latendresse-Regimbald kept McGill in the game, completing 11 of 25 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown while also scoring on a one-yard keeper. Tailback Jerry Momo ran for 153 yards and a major on 12 carries and added 56 yards on two receptions.

The Redbirds jumped out to a 9-0 first-quarter lead on Latendresse-Regimbald's touchdown plunge and a safety. Ouimet tied it with a 20-yard scoring run in the second quarter, then added another from 29 yards midway through the third before Magliocco's field goal made it 24-9.

McGill responded with two second-half touchdowns — a 26-yard pass from Latendresse-Regimbald to Antonio Gioffre and Momo's nine-yard burst with 4:43 left, followed by a two-point convert to tie it 24-24.

Ouimet then engineered a 93-yard drive, highlighted by a 51-yard completion to Rivest, before finishing it himself from the nine-yard line with 58 seconds to play. McGill answered with a 55-yard drive aided by a clutch, long completion to rookie Samuel Macieira and a defensive pass interference call, but Tawah's sack on the final snap preserved the win.

McGill now owns a 24-31-1 record in 56 Cup appearances (including a 5-0-1 mark against Loyola College). The Stingers are 31-19 in 50 Shaughnessy Cup confrontations against McGill. The Cup is named after legendary coach Frank Shaughnessy, a McGill Sports Hall of Fame inductee who introduced the forward pass to football in Canada during a 1921 McGill exhibition game against the NCAA's Syracuse Orangemen at Molson Stadium. Overall, the Stingers' improved their lead in the cross-town rivalry to 53-43 through 96 lifetime meetings since the teams first clashed in 1975.

REDBIRDS RAP: Pacing McGill's defence was Victor Paradis (4 solos tackles, 4 assisted) and Ryan McNally (2 solos, 5 assisted)...McGill collected four QB sacks, which were credited to Amboise Duplessis-Giroux (2.5), David Gautheir-Gonzalez (1) and Frederic Beneteau (0.5).. Among the special guests on hand for the Homecoming Game was Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Jacques Dussault who was a starting middle linebacker on McGill's 1973 squad that won the Quebec University Athletics Association title, the Western Bowl national semifinal and reached the Vanier Cup championship game. His long coaching journey began as a high school coach in 1975, the year before graduating from McGill with a degree in education (BEd '76)... McGill head coach Alex Surprenant paid tribute to 13 players in a Seniors Day pre-game ceremony for their contribution to the program and the University. All but six of them have one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.Those who have no eligibility left includes DB Ryan McNally, DL Jonathan Montour, OL Domenico Piazza, REC David Kabwe, DB Thomas Raphael, and REC Josh Campbell. Others who could possibly return for another degree include:QB Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald, LB Ilan Barbaras, RB Jeffrey Amisial-Chatelier, DB Jahnai-Taj Copeland-Lewis, P/K Abdullah Quasem, OL Zach Aboud, OL Félix-Olivier Leclerc and OL Louis-Gabriel Hallé.

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