Laval takes home Vanier Cup
The Rouge et Or reign as kings again
CAMERON HOULE THE SHEAF (UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN)
The Laval Rogue et Or were able to outlast the University of Saskatchewan Huskies by a score of 13-8, securing Laval their third Vanier Cup win in four years including a win over the Huskies in 2004.
As the final whistle blew and the referee waved his flag, Laval players began the long process of celebration while the Huskies fell to their knees in anguish at having let another Vanier slip through their frigid fingers.
It was, in true championship style, a defensive battle through and through with little offensive production and even less scoring to be witnessed by the sell-out crowd of just under 13,000 football fans at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
Regardless of the fact that there was little scoring and a lack of big plays, one of the greatest Vanier Cup games in history gave every fan something to cheer about and nothing, not even the -30 degrees Celsius weather, could put a damper on the mood in the stands. Rookie Huskies linebacker Oliver Burns wanted to send a message to the fans.“
To all the Huskies fans out there, you guys were great today, and I’m sorry that we couldn’t pull it out,” said Burns, a student from Australia who made huge leaps this season to learn the game and earn the love of Huskies fans.
Leading up to the game, the weather was given a lot of attention and many people wondered how the Rouge et Or would handle the sub-zero temperatures, but Coach Constantin was quick to dismiss any doubt.
“We cannot make an issue of it . . . You are playing in the National Championship, you can’t hide behind the weather,” Constantin said in a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 22. “We’ve got to prepare properly, and dress properly to go out there and make this the best football game possible.”
And what a game it was.
The Huskies were held to 285 yards of offence, while the Rouge et Or only managed to gain 164 yards from the line of scrimmage. Both pivots threw for 10 completions out of 23 attempted passes, but Brett Thompson was able to accrue 40 additional yards compared to Groulx, as he finished with 146 on the day. Thompson was able to hook up with third-year FB Dan Houle for a 58-yard catchand- rumble that put the Huskies on Laval’s doorstep. On the next play, second-year RB Tyler O’Gorman would happily kick that door down and march in for the Huskies’ first and only major of the day.
With starting RB Scott Stevens out due to injury, all eyes turned to O’Gorman as the main cog in the Huskies running game. Houle had faith that O’Gorman could get the job done in place of Stevens.
“It’s always good to have two running backs, and Scott is more of a power runner, but Tyler can hit people, too,” Houle said.
O’Gorman was able to scamper for 81 yards, nearly twice the amount recorded by his Rouge et Or counterpart, Allard-Caméus, who had 49 yards on the ground, but much less than the last few games that he has headlined in place of Stevens. The second-year tailback totalled 140 yards on the ground against the Manitoba Bisons in the Hardy Cup, and then exploded for 162 yards and three touchdowns against the Ottawa Gee Gees in the Mitchell Bowl.
The Huskies’ last-ditch effort at a comeback, with less than two minutes and needing only one touchdown to take the lead, was ended abruptly when Bret Thompson’s pass was intercepted by Rouge et Or linebacker Éric Maranda. Maranda stepped in front of the Huskies’ receiver, took the pass and squashed the hopes of all the 12,000-odd Huskies fans with that one play. Marana received the Ted Morris Trophy as Vanier Cup MVP.
