The youthful Concordia Stingers had a rough start to the RSEQ football season, falling 48-3 to the No. 5-ranked Montreal Carabins at Concordia Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
But Stinger head coach Gerry McGrath was focused on the positive after the game.
“I’m happy with the way the kids played,” he said. “They played hard until the end and never quit.”
One of the most challenging aspects of the game was dealing with Montreal’s dominating defensive line. The Stingers gave up eight sacks.
“We were out-manned on the line,” McGrath admits. “We have some injuries on our offensive line. Hopefully we can get everyone healthy soon and we will get better.
“As for Reid Quest, our quarterback played his heart out.”
In fact, Quest proved to be the toughest man on the field. He completed 15 of 26 passes for 121 yards despite being sacked eight times.
Rookie running back Jamall Hamilton-Hyman turned some heads in his university football debut. He carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards and showed off his great athleticism.
First-year punter Clark Green was also impressive. He punted eight times for a 34.8 yard average. McGrath said Green was one of the best players in the game for the Stingers.
Concordia kicker Keegan Treloar connected on a 33-yard field goal to account for the Stingers’ only points of the day.
The standout for the Carabins was fifth-year running back Rotrand Sene who carried the ball 10 times for 182 yards, scoring touchdowns on runs of three and 17 yards.
Overall Montreal rolled up 23 first downs and 442 yards of offence. Concordia had 18 first downs and 101 yards of offence.
Next week, the Stingers cross the city to play the McGill Redmen in the annual Shaughnessy Cup game on Friday at 7 p.m.
