MONTREAL -- Rookie kicker
Findlay Brown of Winnipeg, Man., made four field goals and tallied 13 points as McGill coasted to a 21-8 road victory at Concordia on a rain-soaked afternoon of RSEQ football, Saturday.
The result snapped Concordia's five-game win streak over the Redmen and the eight points scored was their lowest offensive output against McGill since a 10-6 loss in the 2002 Dunsmore Cup game.
McGill, which improved to 4-3, moved into the driver's seat for a probable playoff berth with one week remaining on their schedule. It is the most victories by a McGill squad since the 2004 season when they posted a 4-4 fourth-place finish.
Despite a constant drizzle, the 18-year-old Brown nailed all four of his field-goal attempts, connecting from distances of 20, 20, 19 and 36, respectively. A measure of consistency, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound management freshman averaged 37.8 yards on nine punts and 45.0 on a pair of kickoffs. Brown also converted quarterback
Frederic Paquette-Perrault's one-yard touchdown plunge that put the Redmen ahead 10-0 on the first play of the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 109-yard scoring drive. Brown has been successful on 14 of 16 field-goal attempts this season and is ranked third in the conference scoring race with an average of 9.1 points per game.
Paquette-Perrault directed an offence that generated 19 first downs and 376 yards, compared to 16 and 279, respectively, by Concordia. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound rookie completed 15 of 25 passes for 177 yards and no interceptions for the second straight outing. He rushed four times for 17 yards.and one TD.
McGill also dominated the ground game with 211 yards, compared to only 43 for the Stingers. Leading the way was running back
Nicolas Khandar, who amassed a career-high 152 rushing yards on 20 carries.
The game featured 30 penalties for 229 penalty yards of real estate, including 149 charged against the Redmen.
McGill led 3-0 after the opening quarter, 18-0 at halftime and 18-1 after three.
Ahead 21-1 with less than a minute remaining in the game, the Redmen defence finally wilted, as Concordia scored their only TD on a 34-yard bomb from
Trenton Miller to
Justin Julien. In the end, the Stingers lost by 13 points after winning the first meeting of the season by 14 points, so they hold the tie-breaker needed on point-differential with McGill, should the teams end up tied in the standings
Miller was 18-for-40 passing, for 244 yards, one TD and an interception.His favourite target was Julien, who collected a game-high 96 yards on four receptions.
Concordia (3-4) now faces a must-win game at Bishop's (1-5) to close out the season on Oct. 29. The scenario will be come a little less foggy after the Sherbrooke-Montreal and Bishop's Laval matchups this Sunday. Barring any upsets over the final week of play, Sherbrooke (3-3) could catch McGill for the final playoff spot if they surprise Montreal or Laval next week. If the Vert & Or pull off a win in one of those mismatches, then the Redmen would need to win their Homecoming Game against the division-leading Carabins (5-1) on Oct. 29. Sherbrooke could also beat out Concordia if the Stingers lose their final game at last-place Bishop's (1-6).
REDMEN RAP: Rookie DB
Benjamin Carre spearheaded a voracious McGill defence with 6.5 tackles, including two for loss and a quarterback sack... Strong-side LB
Antoine Mongeau and weak-side LB
Maxime Rouyer were each credited with six total tackles... Also receiving credit for a sack was DL
Ousmane Guindo... Rookie DB
Vincent Dethier registered his second interception of the season.. The last time the Redmen made the playoffs, was in 2012 with a 3-6 record.... Mcgill is now 38-41 in 79 lifetime meetings with the Stingers.
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012
