By Tim Cook,
The Canadian Press
SASKATOON – Payback was sweet for the Laval Rouge et Or. A year after they were bounced from the playoffs by the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl, they returned to Saskatoon on Saturday afternoon and handed their Prairie rivals a homefield Vanier Cup loss.
For Laval, the 13-8 victory gave them a third Canadian university football championship in four years. For Saskatchewan it was their third straight loss in the final.
“That was good revenge,” said Laval linebacker and game MVP Eric Maranda, who was sidelined for last year’s 29-27 loss because of an injury, but still remembered the bitter feeling.
“Last year, when we quit on the field here, we said we would come back here one year later. We came here to win, which is what we did.”
Running back Guillaume Allard-Cameus’ one-yard touchdown run at 13:49 of the second quarter provided the difference for the No. 2 Rouge et Or, who gathered at midfield after the game and chanted, “All the way, All the way.” Cameron Takacs added a pair of field goals for Laval.
The Rouge et Or led 10-2 at the half and maintained that edge through an uneventful third quarter. Tyler O’Gorman’s four-yard touchdown run at 4:10 of the fourth quarter pulled the Huskies within 10-8 after a two-point conversion attempt failed, but it wasn’t enough.
Saskatchewan tried to drive late in the final quarter but Maranda intercepted a Bret Thompson pass on third down, setting up Takacs’ 14-yard field goal that sealed the deal at 14:16.
“It just didn’t happen our way again,” said long-time Huskies head coach Brian Towriss. “We tried our hearts out. We couldn’t battle any harder, I don’t think.”
Maranda’s pick was another form of revenge for the linebacker. In the first half, he was levelled on a block by Huskies receiver Leighton Heron, a player 60 pounds lighter, and remained on the turf for several minutes while the 12,567 hometown fans cheered and marvelled at the hit on the big screen.
Saturday’s game marked the first time the Vanier Cup game was held outside Ontario. The temperatures, which hovered at around -20C, helped turn the game into a defensive struggle reminiscent of the teams’ meeting in the 2004 Vanier Cup, won 7-1 by Laval at Hamilton.
“If you look at both teams trying to run the football, there wasn’t much success from either team,” O’Gorman said. “Definitely the ground played an effect on the game.”
It was a game where the stats didn’t tell the story.
Saskatchewan bested their Quebec counterparts in most offensive categories. They had 151 yards on the ground to Laval’s 81; 134 yards through the air to Laval’s 83; and 16 first downs to Laval’s nine.
Laval’s normally accurate quarterback, Benoit Groulx, was only good on 5-of-14 attempts for 64 yards in the first half and 10-for-23 overall.
It came down to special teams and defence, Groulx said.
“Our special teams played well,” he said. “In big games you always have to have good defence and good special teams.”
Groulx’s counterpart, Bret Thompson was good on 4-of-7 attempts for only 28 yards in the first half and 10-for-24 overall.
“It’s frustrating definitely,” he said. “We got a couple big plays, but we just couldn’t consistently move the ball 10 yards. Hats off to those guys. They did a great job on defence. They stopped our run and forced us to pass.”
Laval receiver Samuel Gregoire-Champagne was named the game’s top offensive player with five receptions for 87 yards, including a second-quarter 42 yarder that setup the Rouge et Or’s first field goal.
“It’s nice but I didn’t expect it at all – I didn’t think it was a one guy show,” said Gregoire-Champagne. “I guess they didn’t have anybody to give it to, so they gave it to me.”
Laval is the second team in history to win three Vanier Cups in four years. The other was the Western Mustangs in 1974, ’76 and ’77. The Huskies are the first team to lose in three straight finals.
“I told the kids: ‘One play at a time, no turnovers, no penalties and no big plays,’ ” said Laval head coach Glen Constantin. “They really abided to our game plan.”
