1999 - Laval 14, Saint Mary’s 10
In front of 12,595 fans at SkyDome, it was running back Stéphane Lefebvre who led the way for the Rouge et Or who were making their first appearance at the Vanier Cup, in only their fourth season in the CIS. Lefebvre finished with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard run in the second quarter that gave Laval a 14-7 halftime lead.
From the start it looked as if this one was going to be all Laval. Their opening drive was an impressive one, as they marched 55 yards on just seven plays for the touchdown and a 7-0 advantage.
The Huskies did settle down and tied the score on the first play of the second quarter, as Luis Perez plunged in from a yard out. However, Laval responded as Lefebvre’s rambled 41 yards for a major, putting the Rouge et Or ahead for good.
The second half was highlighted with some hard hitting defence and missed opportunities. On two key drives the Huskies watched as catchable passes slipped through their receivers fingertips. These were big plays that Laval did connect on, including a 50-yard strike by quarterback Mathieu Bertrand from his own end zone to Pascal Robitaille.
The war on defence featured the Bruce Coulter Award winner as defensive player of the game, Laval’s Francesco Pépé Esposito. Esposito had four tackles, a quaterback sack and a fumble recovery. But more importantly, he sealed the win for the Rouge et Or, forcing Saint Mary’s quarterback Ryan Jones to fumble on a late fourth quarter drive.
Jones was the offensive standout for the Huskies as he connected on 20 of 32 passes for 251 yards. Lefebvre was chosen the Ted Morris Memorial Tophy recepient as the game’s MVP.