The Concordia Stingers went down fighting in a tough 19-17 loss to the No. 7-ranked St. Francis Xavier X-Men before a Homecoming crowd of 2,101 at Concordia stadium on Saturday afternoon in Montreal.
The X-men were quick out of the gates, pulling ahead 9-0 in the first quarter and taking a 19-3 lead into the locker room at halftime. They had two field goals from Anthony Alix and touchdowns from James Green on a one-yard run and Peter Giannikipoulos. The latter caught a 52-yard TD pass from pivot Steve Snyder.
Concordia scored 14-0 unanswered points in the second half. Running back Cedric Ferdinand scored on a one-yard run 10 minutes into the third quarter. Quarterback Rob Mackay hit paydirt on a two-yard run with 33 seconds left to play.
The teams were even statistically. The Stingers had 23 first downs while the X-Men rolled up 19. Concordia had 440 yards of offence to St. FX’s 444 yards.
Snyder was impressive at quarterback for the X-Men. He completed 30 of 38 passes for 396 yards, one TD and one interception. Giannikipoulos was his favorite receiver. He hauled in 12 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown.
The Stingers’ Rob Mackay also posted good numbers. He completed 29 0f 44 passes for 360 yards. He threw two interceptions. Arian Francois was the top receiver for Concordia with 10 catches for 154 yards. Francois was presented the Homecoming Cup as the outstanding Stinger in the game.
Next Saturday, Concordia (0-4) hosts the Sherbrooke Vert et Or (2-2) in the 23rd annual Shrine Bowl. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
