September 29, 2009 Sports

X-men leave Stingers powerless

Homecoming comeback thwarted by missed opportunities

by Sebastien Cadieux

The Stingers came back in the second half

Cory Watson and Rene Paredes drive one into the ground

2,101 spectators saw this fantastic catch. PHOTOS ION ETXEBARRIA

X-Men 19
Stingers 17

The first half of Concordia’s homecoming game didn’t look good for the winless Stingers.
Despite the efforts of players like running back Cedric Ferdinand, ConU had trouble holding onto any ground it gained from the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. The Stingers were plagued with flags and missed opportunities.

With about a minute left in the second quarter, the X-Men scored a touchdown from struggling Concordia’s one-yard line. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the kick was good.
As the teams walked off the field for the halftime celebration with the score sitting at 19-3 for the X-Men, it seemed clear that this wasn’t going to be much of a homecoming for Concordia.
The Stingers came out strong in the third quarter, fighting the X-Men back from their 52-yard line. There was then a seismic shift when slotback Cory Watson received a bombing pass that put Concordia within one yard of their first touchdown of the game. The Stingers managed to push through the St. F.X. defence and complete their kick to get themselves back into the game.

With renewed energy, the team worked hard to earn the ball back from their opponents but their efforts didn’t pay off in what had become a tough defensive battle.

Concordia missed out on a number of good chances. Half-back Christian Walcott had no idea the ball was headed his way on a play in the third quarter, as he ran up the field before stopping as the ball bounced past him. He was not the only one at fault as slotbacks Eli Aramouni and Corey Greenaway each let important passes slip through their fingers.
X-Men linebacker Henoc Muamba managed a diving quarterback sack late in the fourth quarter, which lost the Stingers seven yards and ultimately resulted in a turnover, putting the over-worked defensive team back on the field.

One of the Stingers’ saviours was wide receiver Arian Francois, who ran for 154 yards on 10 catches, including one near the end of the fourth quarter which put his team within two yards of a touchdown. That’s when quarterback Rob Mackay, who threw for 360 yards, took matters into his own hands and managed to make the touchdown with only 32.6 seconds left in the game. With another good kick, Concordia brought their score within two points of the X-Men’s 19.

Despite the difficult odds and only seconds left on the clock, Concordia still mounted a valiant effort to regain possession of the ball off the onside kick, but the X-Men’s coverage was too good for the attempt to work.