Back-to-back
Laval Rouge et Or wins second straight Vanier Cup.
QUEBEC (CP) — The Laval Rouge et Or football machine keeps rumbling along like an unstoppable tank.
Pascal Lochard led a running game that piled up 449 net rushing yards as the Rouge et Or wore down the young Calgary Dinos for a 25-14 victory in the Vanier Cup game on Saturday afternoon.
It was Laval’s second Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in a row, their third in four years and their record eighth overall in only 17 years since its well-financed football program started.
“It’s incredible to go back to back and win it here in front of our fans,” said Laval quarterback Alex Skinner, who got nowhere trying to throw the ball against a tough Calgary defensive secondary and just ran it on nearly every play in the second half.
Among Laval’s trio of running backs, the 2012 Vanier Cup MVP Maxime Boutin got 190 yards, Lochard had 198 and Guillaume Bourassa had 30, while graduating receiver Guillaume Rioux had a 31-yard run.
The team set Vanier Cup records for rushing yards — breaking their own mark of 373 set last year — and rushing first downs with 26.
Lochard had Laval’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter. Boris Bede, despite struggling with his kicking all afternoon, managed to tie a Vanier Cup record with five field goals.
The win on a chilly, windy day in front of a raucous, overflow crowd of 18,543 at 12,000-seat Telus Stadium kept Laval undefeated at 12-0 this season. Calgary fell to 11-1.
Jake Harty and Chris Dopko scored touchdowns for the Dinos, who were looking to avenge a 29-2 loss at Laval in the 2010 Vanier Cup game.
Calgary has not won a Vanier Cup since 1995 and was not expected to reach the title game this year after losing 19 starters, including 11 on defence, from last year’s squad.