With playoff hopes and pride on the line, the McGill Redmen hosted the Concordia Stingers on Saturday afternoon in their final home game of the regular season at Molson Stadium. Unfortunately, despite an amazing fourth quarter comeback, the McGill Redmen fell just short of the Concordia Stingers 43-40.

Entering the matchup, the Redmen—bearers of a long playoff drought—needed a win to keep their playoff hopes in their own hands. McGill also had a chance to take the lead in the all-time series matchup between the bitter rivals, which stood at 35-35 before the game.

Before the kickoff, receiver and kick returner Yannick Langelier-Vanasse, who has proved throughout the season to be one of McGill’s best offensive weapons, commented on the team’s task at hand.

“We need to execute and focus on the small details. We have a team that can cause a lot of surprises this year, but the players have to believe in what we are capable of doing,” Langelier-Vanasse said.

However, McGill came out stumbling in the first half.  After hitting a 39-yard field goal to open the scoring, the Stingers compiled an uncontested 26-point run, including an 80-yard interception return to start the second quarter.  McGill finally managed to get on the scoreboard with kicker Samy Rassy’s 37-yard field goal. After a team safety cut the Concordia lead to 21, McGill concluded an eight-play drive with a short pass from quarterback Jonathan Collin to running back Sean Murphy for the Redmen’s first touchdown. The half ended with the score 26-12.

Entering the second half, the Redmen needed a spark, and got one in the form of an onside kick. McGill recovered the ball and quickly converted thanks to a 31-yard field goal by Rassy that brought McGill within eleven points. After Concordia grinded out a touchdown to cap a nine-play drive, the Redmen added another field goal to cut the deficit to 15 entering the fourth.

Fifth-year quarterback Ryne Bondy, who replaced starting quarterback Jonathan Collin late in the third quarter, wasn’t going to settle for a loss in his final home game as a Redman. Bondy’s presence awakened the lethal, young offensive duo of Murphy and Langelier-Vanasse, who were largely contained in the first three quarters by the Concordia defence.  A 99-yard drive, which included two 20-plus yard passes to first-year receiver Shaquille Johnson, concluded when Bondy connected with Murphy for his second touchdown of the game to cut the lead to just eight.

After Concordia was only able to score three points off of consecutive interceptions, Bondy redeemed himself by connecting on a 51-yard bomb to a sprinting Johnson for a touchdown. Fellow offensive star Laurent Duvernay-Tardif raved about Johnson, who finished the game with a team-high 186 receiving yards.

“Shaq [Johnson] is someone [who] brings another dimension to our offence with his natural talent. He is a guy [who] is capable of turning a game around in a few seconds by making a big play,” Laurent Duvernay-Tardif said.

On the following McGill possession, Bondy took the ball into the end zone himself, giving McGill its first lead of the game with under a minute to play. However, the lead would be short-lived, as Concordia converted on its final drive via a 19-yard passing touchdown with just 15 seconds remaining, making the score 43-40 in favour of the Stingers.

On the final drive, with playoff hopes on the line, McGill’s last gasp wasn’t enough, and the game came to a heartbreaking end with an incomplete pass.

Despite being all but eliminated from playoff play, the Redmen continue their season on Oct. 20 on the road against Montreal.