As a prelude to a possible RSEQ semifinal, Laval University Rouge et Or and Concordia Stingers will cross swords for the second time in the last three weeks at PEPS on Sunday.
Looking ahead to the possible semi-final, do the Rouge et Or want to keep things quiet or send a message to their opponents? “We don’t want to give everything away, but we want to play football and use the strategies we need to win because it’s the most important game,” concluded head coach Glen Constantin. We’ve played the Stingers a lot in the playoffs and they go out of their way to rely on rigged games.
With a 31-14 win in the Concordia game despite a slow start, Rouge et Or will be looking for better results for Sunday’s reunion. “Every time we compete against an opponent for the second time, the motto is to deliver a better performance,” emphasized the Laval driver. Movies are great, but there’s no better way to measure speed, strength and athleticism than competing on the field. The lessons learned in the first game are worth money.”
A good start is desired
Constantin hopes his herd gets off to as good a start as they did last Saturday at McGill. “The motto at McGill has been to get off to a good start and we want to continue that momentum. We made some changes to training by focusing on 12v12 at the start of training and that seems to have helped.
Despite only scoring seven points in the first quarter, the Stingers were able to move the ball well, taking advantage of the short side of the field and missing a long play against Tristan Mancini, who was completely open in the middle of the field. They controlled the ball 10:43 into the first quarter.
“The defense has to be patient against Concordia,” Cosntantin said. If you try to cover it all up by being too aggressive, it becomes dangerous.”
The experience of defensive backs Félix Petit and Maxym Lavallée can be helpful in these situations. “It often happens that we get fooled by a double feint against Concordia, and we talked to Marc Fortier (defensive coordinator) about it this week,” Petit said. We have to trust our eyes and finish our games. If we let ourselves fall asleep, it can become a major weakness if the opposing team takes advantage of it.”
Revived ground attack
Against a McGill defensive front that suffered multiple injuries, the Rouge et Or had their best game, rushing for 187 yards. “Our chemistry on the offensive front is improving and we have better cohesion,” said Constantin. The presence of a central defender is a sign of our attack and a credit to Alexis Forest, who improvised as a central defender.”
►More than 13,700 tickets were sold this afternoon.