THE CANADIAN PRESS
HAMILTON – The top-ranked Laval Rouge et Or became the 12th team to complete a perfect season in Canadian university football, and their victory in the Vanier Cup on Saturday was never for a moment in doubt.
Receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino scored two of the longest touchdowns in the game’s history to lead the six-time Quebec champions in a near total dissection of the No. 3 Western Mustangs, 44-21 on a snowy afternoon at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Laval, winner of four Vanier Cup titles in the past six years, was in control nearly start to finish, overcoming a sloppy start when Western looked like it might punch above its weight to dominate play and expose its overmatched opponent.
Touchdowns 1:33 apart midway through the second quarter – backup QB Ceaser Hernandez-Sanchez on a two-yard sneak at 7:17 and Feoli-Gudino on a 74-yard punt return, the third longest in Vanier history, at 8:50 – put the Rouge et Or up 20-0.
The Mustangs (10-2) briefly picked up some life when Ryan Tremblay responded with the longest kickoff return in the game’s history at 62 yards, eventually resulting in Nick Trevail’s 14-yard TD catch from Michael Faulds helped by a Laval offside.
But Feoli-Gudino, the game MVP, struck again 51 seconds later, taking a pass from Hec Crighton Trophy winner Benoit Groulx 82 yards for the fourth-longest TD catch in game history, to make it 27-7 and effectively decide things.
Mathieu Bouvette made the longest touchdown reception ever in a Vanier Cup early in the third quarter, going 92 yards in light snow after another great pass from Groulx to make it 34-7 Laval at 4:05 and the rout was on.
Sebastien Levesque ran 63 yards for a TD while Christopher Milo added field goals of 37, 33 and 27 yards for the Rouge et Or (12-0), who are now second overall with five Vanier Cup championships, all of them since 1999.
Four of them have come under the guidance of Glen Constantin, who tied the record set by Calgary’s Peter Connellan for most championships as a head coach. Constantin was defensive co-ordinator for 1999 team that won it all.
Faulds also threw TDs to Jesse Bellamy and Nathan Riva for the Mustangs (10-2), whose record of six Vanier Cup wins is likely to be challenged by the perennially strong Rouge et Or next season. Western was playing in its first national championship since 1995 and the team’s youth showed.
The Vanier Cup was back on its own after pairing up with the Grey Cup last year and the return to Ivor Wynne Stadium was attended by 13,873. A crowd of 26,787 took in Manitoba’s 28-14 win over Saint Mary’s last year in Toronto while a sell-out of 12,567 watched Laval beat Saskatchewan 13-8 at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium in 2006.
Laurier’s 24-23 win over Saskatchewan was watched by 16,827 in the last game at Ivor Wynne Stadium, back in 2005.
The Vanier Cup’s future is up in the air, as no one bid to host the next two games. Canadian Interuniversity Sport will discuss the matter next month and one idea is for the organization to stage the event itself, perhaps in Montreal next year.
Fans from both schools rode buses to the game and braved the minus-4 C and light snow to watch a one-sided game that was filled with exciting big plays.
Levesque’s touchdown at 12:01 of the third quarter was the second longest touchdown run ever in the Vanier and the biggest rushing play of the day. It made the score 41-14, stopping Western from building any momentum after Bellamy’s touchdown five minutes earlier.
Riva caught a nine-yard touchdown pass 17 seconds into the fourth quarter and Laval fumbled the ensuing kickoff as the snow intensified. But Western gave up the ball on downs and the teams basically traded possessions from there.
Milo kicked a 37-yard field goal with three minutes left to make it 44-21.
Marc Antoine L. Fortin earned top defensive player honours.
Notes: The teams met in the pre-season in Quebec City, with Laval winning 37-9. … Milo missed field goals of 35 yards five minutes in and 38 yards with a minute left in second quarter. … Guelph’s Parri Ceci held the previous record for longest touchdown catch in the Vanier Cup, with an 89 reception in 1984. … Western scored the most points Laval had allowed all season, improving on the 17 Concordia picked up in the Quebec final.
