CIS Pre-season: Gaels lose late to Stingers

MONTREAL (August 23, 2015) – The Gaels had a win in their sights holding the lead for the majority of the game but Concordia was able to claw their way back and scored a fourth quarter touchdown to defeat Queen’s 21-18 in non-conference exhibition play from Montreal.

The game marked the second straight year that Queen’s opened up their season with an exhibition against Concordia. The Gaels fell last year at Richardson Stadium as well by a score of 25-18.

GAME FLOW
The game started off with a rough patch for the Gaels as they turned the ball over due to a fumble on their opening possession. The Stingers wasted no time and kicker Keegan Treloar hit a 42-yard field goal for the first points on the board. After conceding a safety in the second quarter quarterback Nate Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont.) went to work. The second-year pivot looked sharp hitting Peter Hannon (Toronto) for 19 yards, Justin Gleben (Barrie, Ont.) for nine yards to go along with a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Concordia. On second and six from the Concordia 25 yard line Hobbs zipped a pass into the hands of Matteo Del Brocco (Kingsville, Ont.) for the score.

The defence stepped up for Queen’s when Concordia took their next two possessions. Zac Sauer (Ayr, Ont.) was hot off the line and nabbed sacks during each possession the first going for seven and six yards to keep Concordia sputtering. Sauer finished the day with three total tackles.

Dillon Wamsley (London, Ont.) put up seven straight points for Queen’s by way of a rough and a pair of field goals (41yd and 46yd) to give the Gaels some breathing room.

Concordia found their footing offensively late in the third quarter as they marched 75 yards finishing off with a Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren 1-yard rush to make it 16-11. Concordia kept the pressure early in the fourth and looked like they may score as they started inside the Queen’s 20 after a fumble. Penalties to the Stingers pushed them back and they settled for a field goal. Late in the fourth quarter Concordia put together another long march going 85 yards resulting in James Ohayon grabbing an eight yard touchdown making it 21-18.

Hobbs re-entered the game looking to orchestrate a comeback drive during the final minutes. The Gaels were able to push to just about mid-field thanks in part to a Hobbs 15-yard rush but on third down the Gaels could not keep the offence on the field turning the ball over to Concordia who then ran down the clock for the win.

Final say?
“Overall I think as a team it felt good to get out there and play, but there are a lot of things we need to work on and we’re eager to get after it. Now it’s all about correcting our mistakes so that we’re ready for Carleton.” – Quarterback Nate Hobbs

By the Numbers
148 – Number of yards through the air for Hobbs who finished 11-19 with one touchdown while rushing three times for 29 yards
6.7 – Average per attempt on the ground for Brad Innis who ran seven times for 44 yards
9 – Receptions to lead all receivers in the game. Concordia’s Daniel Skube finished with 107 yards which topped all receivers as well
2 – Straight wins for the Concordia over the past two seasons in exhibition play
8vs7 – Gaels led the game with eight tackles for losses compared to seven for the Stingers, Sauer and Trevor McGarrity each had a pair for Queen’s
19.7 – Number of yards on average that Wamsley bested his counterpart on kickoffs
224 – Penalty yards accumulated by Concordia in the game, 143 more than Queen’s
1st – Touchdown catch by Del Brocco who will look to make them count when the season starts next week
8/30/2015 – The Gaels next game at home against Carleton

Up Next
The Gaels are back in action in one week’s time as they open up their OUA regular season schedule at home on Sunday August 30 against the Carleton Ravens at Richardson Stadium. Kick-off is set for 1pm and tickets are available online at www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets.