Slotback Kris Bastien caught a 19-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left on the clock to lift the Concordia Stingers to a 43-40 victory over the McGill Redmen in the 44th annual Shaughnessy Cup game at Molson Stadium on Saturday.
Bastien, who returned to the lineup that afternoon after sitting out several games with an injury, caught six passes for 55 yards and scored two touchdowns.
The third-year receiver’s first major came on an eight-yard TD strike from quarterback Reid Quest five minutes into the second quarter. His second TD capped off a Stingers’ march that started with 1:04 left to play.
The Stingers were impressive early in the game, jumping out to a 26-0 lead on touchdowns from receiver Michael Harrington, halfback Kris Robertson, who returned an interception 80 yards, and Bastien. A safety and a 39-yard field goal from Keegan Treloar rounded out the offensive.
The lead slipped to 26-12 by halftime. Then the teams traded punches in the second half. Running back Mike Donnelly scored on a two-yard run with 2:47 left in the third quarter to keep Concordia in the mix.
In the fourth quarter, Treloar connected on a 40-yard field goal and Bastien’s TD in the final seconds wrapped up the scoring.
It was the 10th straight Shaughnessy Cup victory for the Stingers. Concordia’s win-loss record in now 21-17 in the prestigious game played by the two universities in honour of the late Frank Shaughnessy Sr. A football innovator who coached both at Loyola College and McGill, he is credited with introducing the forward pass to Canadian university football.
Next Saturday the Stingers travel to the Eastern Townships to face the Vert & Or at Université de Sherbrooke. Kickoff is 1 p.m. The game will be televised in French by Radio Canada.
