Kris Bastien delivers in Stingers opener
All-star receiver Kris Bastien put the RSEQ football conference on notice in the Concordia Stingers' 42-36 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters at Concordia Stadium in Montreal on Saturday afternoon.
The third-year receiver from St. Lambert, Que. caught six passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Stingers. Bastien opened the scoring with a 19-yard TD reception at 1:56 of the first quarter. At the start of the second frame, he scored on a 103-yard pass-and run play.
"Kris is an unbelievable player," said Concordia quarterback Reid Quest of his favorite target. "All I have to do is put it up there and he's going to get it. He made unbelievable catches today."
Quest controlled an attack that rolled up 25 first downs and 450 yards of offence. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 339 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Mike Donnelly was the Stingers' top rusher with 13 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
While the Stingers were dominant in the first half, taking a 31-11 lead into the locker room at halftime, it was the Gaiters who looked good in the last 30 minutes.
Led by receiver David Haddrall, Bishop's was relentless. Haddrall scored three touchdowns in the last 30 minutes, keeping his team close. He caught 10 passes for 159 yards and three majors on the day.
While they were knocking on the door, pulling within three points of the Stingers with less than two minutes to play, the Gaiters failed to complete the comeback.
Quarterback Jordan Heather struggled late in the game, throwing three interceptions in the fourth quarter. He threw four in the game. Otherwise he had good numbers, completing 29 of 54 passes for 387 yards and four TDs. He orchestrated an offence that rolled up 36 first downs and 590 yards.
There were some tense moments for the Stingers, especially late in the game, but Quest saw a lot of positives.
"I like the way we stuck together," he said. "When Bishop's was driving we had to stand together and come through in the clutch. I've said it before, we are a band of brothers and today the band of brothers stuck together and won this game."
Next week, Concordia will travel across town to play the Montréal Carabins on Friday night, while Bishop's hosts the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday.
