Big plays by Laval spoil Western’s bid for Vanier Cup

HAMILTON, Ont. - Like a well-oiled machine, the Laval Rouge et Or won their fifth Vanier Cup in team history, winning 44-21 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ont., on Nov. 22 in the 2008 Vanier Cup.

Over 13,873 fans attended the game despite poor weather in Southwestern Ontario, in a record 12th Vanier Cup appearance for Western.

It was the final game for Mustangs Richard Zulys (Toronto) Matt Carapella (London, Ont.), Corey McNair (London, Ont.), Andrew Bain (Sarnia, Ont.) and transfer Jonathan Hood (Mississauga, Ont.) - many fourth-year players also have the chance to graduate.

However, the future looks bright for Western, with many young players gaining valuable Vanier Cup experience.

Big plays in the opening half and early in the second hurt the Mustangs.

"We couldn't give them big plays like that," said head coach Greg Marshall. "We knew going in we couldn't."

"Our guys worked hard, they battled hard," Marshall added. "But we lost some physical matchups."

Mustangs' fourth-year quarterback Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) threw career highs in passing attempts and completions, going 37/65 for 403 yards and three touchdowns.

Julian Feoli-Gudino was named player of the game, scoring two touchdowns.

Although he got off to a slow start, Laval's quarterback Benoit Groulx was 17/27 for 383 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His offensive line was good but the Western defensive line gave them all they could handle.

"Their offensive line did a good job picking up the blitz," Marshall said. "We came with pressure but (Benoit Groulx) managed to get rid of the ball quickly. He handled it well and he really played a great game."

Laval led 27-7 at the half, scoring 24 second-quarter points.

The pressure forced by Laval's defensive line coupled with injury woes for Western hurt the Mustangs early on, as did a lackluster running game. Western ran the ball three times for no yards in the opening half.

The Mustangs started the game with great field position but couldn't convert.

"We need to be on the short field in order to have chances, and we gave ourselves opportunities," said Marshall. "They (Laval) beat us soundly. We battled hard, but they made some very good plays on special teams."

"We lost to a better football team."

Western ran for just 30 yards on the ground, with Faulds leading the way with 18 yards on three attempts.

Western lost just twice in 2008 and was undefeated at home.

Ryan Tremblay (London, Ont.) returned the opening kickoff 36 yards to give Western the ball at their own 43-yard line to start the game. He was brilliant returning the ball in the opening half.

Jesse Bellamy (Guelph, Ont.) was Faulds' first target of the game getting the Mustangs their opening first down on their first possession.

Zach Bull (Port Colborne, Ont.) went down on the first drive and after failing to convert on a three-yard run on second down, Western was forced to punt.

Bull did not return, tearing his knee ligaments, and former three-point shooting Western basketball star Jason Milliquet (Sarnia, Ont.) took over at wide receiver in his first year playing collegiate football.

On Bull, Marshall said it was a major factor in the outcome and affected the Western game-plan.

"Zach tore the same knee as he did in last year's Yates Cup," Marshall said. "After that, we struggled, as we don't have a lot of depth at wide receiver."

"We started throwing to Trevail and Bellamy and they figured that out pretty quickly."

After Laval advanced the ball inside Western's half of the field, Western forced a Laval field goal attempt from 35 yards and Craig Butler (London, Ont.) ran it out of the endzone to avoid conceding the single.

The teams traded possessions before Faulds threw an interception on a flea flicker, started on a lateral to John Leckie (Georgetown, Ont.) which was intended for freshman receiver Nick Trevail (London, Ont.).

Trevail led Western in the playoffs with 27 catches - and tied for a team-high nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Bellamy also finished with nine catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Carapella's physical play gave Western's defence momentum on back-to-back bone-crushing hits, but Groulx found running back Guillaume Allard Cameus open to complete a first down pass to advance the ball for a first down and get the ball inside the 30.

Christopher Milo's 33-yard field goal opened the scoring with 2:35 left in the first quarter.

Lineman of the year Etienne Legare proved his worth on the next Western possession with a crushing sack, and Western was forced to punt.

The Rouge et Or led 3-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Laval's drive led to another Milo field goal, this one from the 27-yard line, making the score 6-0 for Laval with 11:42 remaining.

Another Faulds' interception, this one picked off by Alex Suprennant after defensive pressure from Laval, stopped the Western drive.

Cesar-Roberto Hernandez Sanchez ran in from the two yard line to score the game's first touchdown with 7:43 left in the second quarter to give Laval the 13-0 lead.

Feoli-Gudino returned a Darryl Wheeler (Hamilton, Ont.) punt 74 yards, the third longest in Vanier Cup history, giving Laval the 20-0 lead with 6:10 remaining in the first half.

Tremblay gave Western life again, continuing his strong play and again giving Western excellent field position. He ran this kick back 62 yards to put Western inside Laval territory - the longest kick return in Vanier Cup history.

In the opening half, he had four kick returns for 144 yards. He finished with six kickoff returns for 204 yards.

Freshman David Bonasia (London, Ont.) got the ball inside the 20 but not long enough for a first down and Western was forced to attempt a 32-yard Wheeler field goal. Although the kick was successful, an offside call against Laval gave Western new life and the first down inside the 20.

The fresh set of downs resulted in a 14-yard Trevail touchdown to make it 20-7 Rouge et Or with 3:24 left at the half, capping off a seven-play 48 yard drive lasting under three minutes.

Trevail caught 20 passes in the playoffs - and has only been playing football for two years.

The touchdown gave Western hope.

But Laval responded immediately.

Feoli-Gudino's 82-yard touchdown catch in behind London, Ont., native Josh Foster on a Groulx pass gave Laval a 27-7 cushion. The sophomore had a great first half, and did a great job to connect with his receiver, despite getting smashed by Vaughn Martin (London, Ont.) as the ball left his hand.

A 38-yard field goal attempt by Milo was wide, returned out by Butler, giving Western the ball with under a minute left.

Dan Duff (Barrie, Ont.) caught the ball for over 30 yards but fumbled it in Laval territory and a late-half effort was foiled.

In the second half, Western started their possession with the ball on the Laval 40-yard line after another strong Butler punt return.

Kenny Mwangi (London, Ont.) missed a tackle on Laval's Mathieu Bouvette at midfield, as the receiver took the ball on a screen pass, allowing the receiver to bring the ball in for a score, making it 34-7 and setting another Vanier Cup record with just under 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

Western's first run for decent yardage did not come until the third quarter, with Nathan Riva (LaSalle, Ont.) picking up seven yards.

In the hurry-up offence, Bellamy caught a Faulds' pass for 22 yards and a touchdown, helped in big part to a block from Zach Pollari near the line of scrimmage to protect Faulds, capping off a ten-play, 72-yard drive lasting under three minutes.

Western pulled within 20 points, making it a three-score game.

A great defensive stance in the third quarter with about six minutes remaining, forced Laval to punt. Western pulled into Laval territory but Milliquet could not catch up to a Faulds' bomb to the endzone and Western turned the ball over on downs later in the drive.

Sebastien Levesque scored on a 63-yard dash despite a great effort from the Mustangs defence to pull him down late on his run, and Laval put the nail in the coffin at 41-14 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, gambling on third and nine, Riva took a screen pass from nine-yards out to pull Western within 20 points.

The major completed another impressive Western drive, 11 plays for 71 yards lasting just over three minutes.

Bain recovered a Wheeler kickoff that bounced off the Laval returner but Riva's third-and-two gamble was just inches short and another turnover on downs for Western gave Laval the ball in their own half of the field.

Milo added a 37-yard field goal to make the final 44-21.

The Mustangs defeated Saint Mary's 28-12 in the Mitchell Bowl on Nov. 16 to qualify for the Vanier Cup. Laval smoked Calgary 59-10 in the Uteck Bowl.

Marshall is confident his team is going to be hungry to come back to the Vanier Cup again in 2009, with many players including Faulds coming back.

"We know where we need to be. If our guys leave today thinking they should have won, they're wrong, we're not there yet. But we have a good foundation."

 

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Andy Watson
Sports Information and Media Relations Coordinator
Western Mustangs
The University of Western Ontario
Room 3170 F, Thames Hall
London, ON N6A 3K7
C: 519-709-1858
W: 519-661-3089
awatso47@uwo.ca
www.westernmustangs.ca