The “Rouge et Or” didn’t play along [qu’il] is playable”, and by the end of the week there will certainly be a change of tone.
• Also read: Intense at will
The words come from defender Francis Bouchard. He wasn’t exactly talking about a change in tone, but we could tell from his words. The sophomore is confident he and his teammates can play “more intensely”.
“I’m confident things will settle this week with the start of the playoffs,” said Bouchard, who missed much of the season after suffering a hamstring injury in training camp.
On October 16, his birthday, he returned to the field in the second game against Montreal.
Gladly in the field
“It definitely feels good [d’être de retour]. I’ve been waiting for this since I signed with Laval in early 2020. We had the COVID year, I didn’t play. Then, in 2021, I was injured for most of the season. At the end of the season I came back to play on special teams. This year I arrive and miss seven to eight weeks,” he recalls.
“I’m happy to be on the pitch. There is no lack of motivation. I will play hard on the pitch. »
Last Saturday, the 23-year-old athlete caught the eye at the end of the third quarter with an interception at the expense of Olivier Roy. A great game that has certainly “done well”.
“Our coaches do a good job of making the right decisions and it’s my job to execute them. That’s why I was in the field. I could make a big game. […] When I’m on the field, I have to play games,” he continues.
A great trio to watch
The Notre-Dame-de-Foy Campus product does not hide it: special attention must be paid to the great trio of Stingers recipients, made up of Jeremy Murphy, Jaylan Greaves and Jacob Salvail.
Together they flew 230 meters through the air last week. The Stingers ended the duel with 325 net rushing yards.
“I think all three are great recipients. Jeremy Murphy is a very, very good receiver and I think we can still do good things against him and stop him. You have to be there, mentally and physically. It’s a very explosive trio. »
The knife between the teeth
“It is the actual season that begins. We don’t want it to end this week and we will put all our effort into that. »
At the line, head coach Brad Collinson is aware of the challenge that awaits his team. Crashing the Rouge et Or on their home turf to secure a spot in the final promises to be anything but a walk in the park. The Stingers have lost their last 12 playoff games to Université Laval, conceding them 97 points this season, a high among Rouge et Or’s four rivals.
Because of this, players must approach this game with a knife between their teeth if they are to hope to be victorious. “It’s not easy playing back-to-back against a team. On the other hand, they are well trained. I know they will be ready. »
Not here to participate
Brad Collinson looks at his team’s last two games for inspiration. A 37-30 win over the McGill Redbirds and a 37-24 loss to the Rouge et Or. In the case of that last game, the Stingers were in the game for a good chunk of the game.
But even if his players were able to sow doubt in the minds of their future opponents, Collinson had nothing to do with it. “Challenging Laval was not the plan at all. We play this game to win, not to doubt others, not to participate. »
There was still a lot of positive things to report for the last duel of the season. The Stingers pilot knows it well and doesn’t hesitate to list them: energy, competitiveness and good winning games, he says. But in the end it’s another defeat in the general classification.
“It was good but at the end of the day it’s a loss. We don’t celebrate defeats. Frankly, we will not celebrate moral victories. The players work too hard for it [se satisfaire] a moral victory. »
eliminate an error
It will also be necessary to find a way to slow down Arnaud Desjardins. Last Saturday he completed 29 of 41 passes for 450 yards.
“We have to fix things. They still had a lot of yards on offense. You need to tighten the screw a little to safely get rid of the mistakes you made. We had a few misattributions. The guys wanted to do too much, they didn’t do their job. But it happens in a match when you roll 60-70 games. To beat a team like Laval you have to be perfect,” said the Stingers head coach.