52nd Vanier Cup Review
It was a major matchup for the university sports in Canada as the two biggest programs in the country faced off for the third time in the Vanier Cup.
The familiar match-up with plenty of new faces as neither of these teams had been in the running over the last two years.
That period was not something usual for the two programs as they were used to winning and used to being in the hunt for the Vanier Cup.
They figured things out and they entered the national playoffs once again they found themselves in the Vanier Cup facing each other for something a lot more than just the best team of the year.
It was a match-up of programs where more than just the players on the team this year needing a win.
The Dinos had yet to beat the Rouge et Or in the Vanier Cup and in the list of the great programs in CIS history they always take a backseat to Laval.
They got another chance this year and all of the alumni from the past decade of being great were watching closely hoping that this was the year.
They started off well enough as the Dinos got the ball first and took one play to launch the ball down the field and go ahead 7-0.
It was a start that nobody thought they were going to see as Laval had made this a great season because of their stifling defence.
Calgary took a chance though and it paid off in a big way with the first touchdown of the game.
They continued their great play on defence shutting down the potent Laval offence on their first drive.
Calgary didn’t let up scoring on their second drive and earning a rouge just after to go ahead 14-0 in the first quarter.
It seemed like they were ready to pile on and that Laval was going to be in tough to stop a highly motivated Calgary team.
Laval started to fight back though scoring their own touchdown to cut the lead in half and the game was one.
Both teams went back and forth throughout the game with the Dinos leading by seven at halftime and on track to beat Laval for the first time.
Unfortunately for the Dinos they had lost their starting quarterback after Jimmy Underdahl started the game with an apparent torn ACL and he tweaked it in the first quarter.
Calgary had seen this before as Adam Sinagra had played six games this year and outduelled Michael O’Connor for the CanWest championship.
Sinagra took over and played well as Calgary continued to battle with Laval but when the second half started the Rouge et Or began to take over.
They took advantage of a fumble by Sinagra to get within three points of the Dinos and on their next drive they scored another to go ahead.
It seemed like Calgary might be out of luck as the Rouge et Or were just about to take over and win the game.
The Dinos continued to fight though kicking two more field goals in the fourth quarter to go ahead of Laval with time running out.
The Dinos set up to punt in what would have been an important drive for Laval who needed anything to get ahead.
They came up big on the punt though as the Rouge et Or broke through the line on the punt and blocked the kick setting them up for an easy drive.
They took advantage and scored a go-ahead touchdown giving Calgary a limited amount of time to get the lead back.
The Dinos took the ball more than once inside the three-minute warning but they simply couldn’t get the job done.
Key drops hurt them the most as they had a number of chances to extend the game but the receivers couldn’t hang on to the ball.
They came up just short on the day and for the fifth time, the Dinos took a loss to the Rouge et Or in the national playoffs.
The Dinos still can’t get by them as they came up just short for another year with their drought continuing.
Meanwhile, the Rouge et Or took another title and after concern grew in Quebec City after two straight seasons without a championship they are back on top.
They continue to be the best program in the country and the epic match-up of the two best in the country came out much like it has in years before.
The Sport Addiction 