On the one hand, the Carabineers want to keep their throne. On the other hand, Rouge et Or is ready to do everything to steal the title of Quebec champion. One thing is certain, everything is in place for another epic showdown between the two great rivals.
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The Dunsmore Cup kicks off at 2pm on Saturday at TELUS-UL Stadium. The Quebec college soccer grand final will pit these two great rivals against each other for the ninth time.
Photo Didier Debusschere
Coaches Glen Constantin and Marco Ladeluca.
Although it has almost become a tradition, it is difficult to predict who will emerge victorious from this confrontation. Many summarize this duel as being the attack of the Rouge et Or against the defense of the Carabineers. But the head coaches Glen Constantin and Marco Iadeluca do not think so, who have praised their rivals’ team.
Similar visions
“They have had an attack that has been strong since the start of the season, but I also think they have a very good defense. It is a complete team. We will have to control the game on both sides of the ball, not just focus on their attack,” said Iadeluca.
Constantin drew the same conclusion. It would be reckless to see the Carabin defense only as a strike force.
“I think it requires a good balance on both sides. As our friend Pierre Vercheval says, you have to play complementary football. We have to protect our offense with our defense and so on. »
According to him, we will have to “play a game without mistakes as much as possible and take our opportunities when they are there. »
A more complete workforce
Marco Iadeluca has seen several of his players visit the hospital during the season. This afternoon, however, he will have a more complete squad on hand, especially in the offense with the return of wide receiver Hassane Dosso and Carl Chabot.
“Hassane, yes, brings a lot, but there are many players who were not there in the last game here and they will all be here tomorrow. [samedi]. We are definitely more confident when all our players are there. »
“The key to any offense is to have different weapons so you can do a little bit of everything. We’re very happy to have our number one receiver back. But I think we can distribute the ball to different weapons, to have all our guys back.”
Glen Constantin is well aware of these returns to the game: “I think they will have the workforce almost at full speed. They have a good receiving group and a very, very good quarterback. »
Forecast
After taking advantage of a mild autumn purely in terms of temperature, the two teams may be faced with rain and wind. Elements that could influence the match.
Constantin took the liberty of recalling a phrase that he often repeats during his weekly press briefings.
“As I often say here on Thursday, it’s never a bad day to run the ball, so we have to be able to do that,” he said wisely, adding in passing that he will have to “secure the ball” at all costs to avoid expensive turnovers.
His counterpart also stressed the importance of running well with the ball in case of rain, warning that this is a facet of the Carabin game which is on point.
“Our last three games, I think those are our best three that we’ve had on the floor. We didn’t have big numbers because we didn’t run the ball much. But in the last game, Bertrand [Beaulieu] has an average per carry of 9.5 yards. I think our ground game is much better than it was at the start of the season. We have an offense that comes with confidence here,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether Mother Nature will also have an influence on the outcome of the game.
►By Friday afternoon, well over 12,000 tickets had been sold for the match, the organization of Rouge et Or announced.
A defeat that brought the Carabines closer
The Carabiniers’ last visit to the Rouge et Or’s den ended in an unequivocal defeat to the Montrealers. “A slap in the face” that the team needed, says Nicky Farinaccio.
Undefeated until then, the Blues had left the old capital after being beaten. A 22 to 3 loss, hard to digest. For the second time this season against Laval University, the team had not scored any offensive touchdowns.
Several rookies got to know the raucous crowd at TELUS-UL Stadium back then, and just over 18,000 fans attended the game.
“Obviously it had a shock on some guys who hadn’t played here. When you’re a rookie and you come here for the first time, it’s the biggest crowd you’ve ever seen in your life. It obviously had a shock effect, but that’s what we needed. We needed a little slap in the face, I’m not going to lie to you,” the sophomore star said.
Even worse, the Carabines would lose the following week in Sherbrooke. But instead of being defeated, Farinaccio says he saw his teammates bond very closely.
“It really brought us closer as a team. […] Of course, I will never experience that feeling again. I want to win this trophy and bring it home. »
“Knife between the teeth”
Kevin Mital expects to see Montrealers land in Quebec “with a knife between their teeth”.
The Rouge et Or star recipient proudly wore his team’s colors in his beard, which he dyed red for the occasion.
Archive photo
Kevin Mital tries to get rid of Bruno Lagacé during the match on October 16 at TELUS-UL Stadium.
“The week in the final we bleach, colored red. I had done it in 2018. It had turned out well for the rest of us, so I said to myself, why not this year too,” he laughed.
The former Phénix du Collège André-Grasset recalled how decisive the victory for the Rouge et Or against the Carabiners on October 16 was. It ended a streak of five consecutive defeats against the sworn enemy.
“It definitely broke a five-loss curse. It’s one less weight for sure. […] There will be doing it again. They have teams that are back, it will be a good game. »
It’s going to talk
On the field, he will meet several of his former Phénix teammates from André Grasset college.
Renowned for not keeping his tongue in his pocket during matches, Mital does not intend to make an exception for the Dunsmore Cup.
“There must be gossip. But within the limits of art, as usual. »
time for revenge
The blocker Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay recalled on Friday the defeats of the Rouge et Or at the hands of the Carabineers during the last two Dunsmore Cups as a source of motivation.
The second-year player hopes to turn the tide and allow his people to regain the title of Quebec champion.
“Tomorrow is a very big game. [samedi]. I think we are ready. We are very feverish. We lost the last two so we have a bit of a sense of revenge. We are going to be fast physical and I think we are very ready for this game. »
