Revenge of the Powerhouse
The 2017 season was a great one for the Laval Rouge et Or but it didn’t end the way they were hoping for it to end.
For a team used to winning the biggest games and taking home titles losing in the Vanier Cup is not something that they are used to at all.
That is what happened in 2017 though as they went into the Vanier Cup looking to prove that defence truly does win championships.
The Western Mustangs were the country’s best offence with a group that regularly put up over 5 points a game.
Nobody could stop them throughout the season but the Rouge et Or were bringing one of the best defences in the league to the championship game.
If there was a team that could at least slow the Mustangs down it was going to be Laval and they did that in the game.
The Mustangs could only manage to 39 points in the game, far less than their season average, but sowing them down that much was not good enough.
For Laval, the defence did a great job and although they still didn’t slow them down as much they gave their team a chance against a prolific attack,
The offence for Laval was the issue as they were unable to truly find their groove and couldn’t keep up with the output of the Mustangs.
It led to the loss, only their second loss in the biggest game ever as they finished the season in an unexpected way.
The Mustang walked away with the win and closed in on the record wins while going one win ahead of .500 in the biggest game.
Entering the new season in 2018 the Rouge et Or felt like they had some unfinished business as the Vanier Cup loss didn’t sit well.
For Western, the 2018 season was a chance to begin a dynasty by winning their second straight title.
Both teams looked like they had a shot as the season moved on with seasons ending and no losses had by either.
That dominance throughout the season carried through into the playoffs as neither team experienced much of a challenge at any level.
It was clear that the two best teams had been determined as neither team were challenged and now they had their shot at each other in a rematch.
It was a familiar story for the two teams as the Mustangs came into the game with the high-flying offence while Laval was the better defence.
It was going to be another test for the Laval defence as they were going to have to prove that they could stop the Mustangs’ attack.
Only a year ago they couldn’t entirely solve that problem and when the offence couldn’t help them out they walked away empty-handed after a great year.
With a number of senior players coming into their last chance to take home a Vanier Cup tings were going to have to be different.
This time around the defence did a better job of limiting the Mustangs as they were able to hold that powerful attack to only 20 points throughout the game.
Meanwhile, the offence had something to prove in a big way and thanks to their quarterback things turned out differently.
Hugo Richard was entering his final game but was never considered among the best quarterbacks in the league.
He wanted to go out proving that his name should be among the conversation looking to show what he brought to the table.
Richard did it all for the Rouge et Or as he threw for 348 yards on the day while adding 60 yards on the ground.
He was both the leading passer and the leading rusher for Laval as he put this team on his back.
After a full year of hearing the doubts about whether or not his offence was good enough, Richard was determined to prove everyone wrong.
He led the Rouge et Or to an impressive output in the Uteck Bowl getting 63 points and it was a sign of what was to come.
Richard and the Laval offence put up 34 points against the Mustangs proving that they were the better offence this time around.
The doubts were there as both teams looked improved this season giving Western the inside track on taking home another title.
It wasn’t to be though as the Rouge et Or took home the win and their 10th Vanier Cup title remaining the best program in the country.
It was sweet revenge for the Rouge et Or as their second chance to shut down, the Mustangs came out the right way leaving the end of their 2018 season a much happier one.
The Sport Addiction 