In the 46th edition of the Shaugnessy Cup, the Concordia Stingers (2-0) routed McGill Redmen (0-2) 41-7. The Redmen managed to muster just 220 total yards in a disjointed performance that was riddled with penalties—30 for both teams combined—and featured four intentional safeties by McGill.
The Redmen were down 19 points in the first quarter, and the injury-plagued squad–among those scratched from the lineup was the team’s star receiver Jean-Philippe Paquette–never found its stride. McGill’s only points came on a seven-yard curl route from junior quarterback Dallon Kuprowski to Louis Brouillete with six minutes left in the second quarter. Brouillette, a junior receiver from Sherbrooke, Quebec, was a bright spot in the night, with 78 yards on eight grabs amidst an offence that struggled to move the ball.
Concordia had the upper hand throughout the entire game. They completed 19 first downs, moved the chains consistently on second downs, and scored in every quarter. The Stingers complemented their offence with a complete defensive performance that pressured McGill into four safeties and bad field position for the majority of the game. This left the McGill defence worn out and disorganized, while the offence struggled to find any rhythm throughout the contest.
Concordia kicker Keegan Treloar proved to be an effective weapon for the Stingers, contributing 15 points on four field goals—the longest of which went 43 yards—and three conversions. His impressive range put added pressure on the Redmen, who battled to keep Concordia out of field goal distance all night.
Defensively, two Redmen players in particular stood out. Defensive end Devon Stewart, from St. Hubert, Quebec, had 7.5 tackles, and freshman linebacker Karl Fogues chipped in with seven tackles and a forced fumble. The unit as a whole, however, was undisciplined and committed many unnecessary penalties, such as a controversial roughing-the-passer late in the third quarter.
With the win, Concordia avoids going winless against the Redmen for a second consecutive season. McGill could not replicate the come-from-behind victory of last season’s Shaughnessy Cup game. The two teams’ all-time head-to-head record now stands at 37-37.
While the Redmen’s performance was underwhelming, they were without five of their starters thanks to injury. Paquette did not play due to an unspecified injury suffered last week against Sherbrooke. The offensive line is still struggling to replace the protection was once provided by that offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a rookie for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
“We [were] disappointed with how the game went.” Assistant Coach Ronald Hilaire said. “Obviously when you lose a guy with that talent to the NFL your O-line takes a hit, but we do have good guys coming through. We will move forward with a great attitude, we will take one game at a time […] and we’ll get better every week.”
The defeat will not cause too much panic amongst the Redmen, who are committed to playing a balanced brand of football.
“To be successful, we have to be 50-50 on the run-and-pass game.” Hilaire added. “We are practicing on both sides of the ball.”
McGill will aim to improve their game next week against the third-place Montreal Carabins (1-1), and will be bolstered by the return of numerous players from injury. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19 at Stade CEPSUM.
