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Stingers Round-up 

Coach Lawton marks 25th year

When Les Lawton took his place behind the bench Oct. 12, he marked a quarter-century as head coach of the Stingers women’s hockey team.

“I just turned 50, so that’s half my life,” he said. “But I really haven’t thought about it much. It feels like the start to any other year.”

Only one of his players – Valerie Lepage-Barrette – was born when Lawton first took over the Stingers. There was no world championship for women, no Olympics and not much in the way of organized hockey for girls or women.

Lawton expects to ice a very competitive squad this season. “We’d like to win our share of games, and finish with a .600 to .700 record.”

Celebrations are being planned for early January when the Stingers will also host their 40th annual Theresa Humes women's hockey tournament.

Stingers win Shrine Bowl

Despite a cold drizzle in the Concordia Stadium on Oct. 13, more than $30,000 was raised to support the exceptional work of the Shriners Hospital, as the Stingers football team beat the winless McGill Redmen 13-8 to capture the 21st annual Shrine Bowl.

Quarterback Liam Mahoney rushed 19 times for 181 yards for the Stringers. Mahoney, a six-foot-one, 180-pound rookie from Lachine, also completed eight of 13 passes for 102 yards. He was named the outstanding offensive player in the game.

Led by Mahoney, the Stingers put together a masterful running game, rolling up 365 yards on the ground. Third-year running back Cedric Ferdinand, of Ottawa, also broke the 100-yard mark. He carried 25 times for 148 yards.

The Redmen had a 7-3 lead at halftime, thanks to a five-yard touchdown pass from Matt Connell to Erik Galas 12:09 into the second quarter. Concordia’s Rene Paredes opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal at 14:57 of the first quarter.

The Stingers held McGill to a single off a Connell punt in the second half. Concordia’s points came on a seven-yard run from rookie Curtis Cates at 6:09 of the third quarter and another Paredes field goal – 16 yards – with 5:51 left to play.

Overall, Concordia posted 447 yards of offence and 29 first downs. McGill had 251 yards and 21 first downs.

Clinch football playoff spot

The Concordia Stingers clinched a Quebec conference playoff spot with a 58-30 win over the McGill Redmen in the Shaughnessy Cup game at Molson Stadium Oct. 20.

With one game remaining, the Stingers have a 5-2 win-loss record and can finish no lower than third place in the six-team conference. Concordia quarterback Liam Mahoney, a rookie in just his third start, masterminded an offence that rolled up 644 yards of offence and 58 points.

It was the first time in the history of the Concordia-McGill series that the Stingers have scored 58 points. Their previous high was 46 points versus the Redmen, a 46-1 victory on Sept. 27, 2003.