50TH VANIER CUP INTERVIEW SERIES: Larry Haylor, Western Ontario (1994)

50^TH VANIER CUP INTERVIEW SERIES: 1994

A conversation with...

Larry Haylor, head coach, University of Western Ontario Mustangs

In Vanier Cup XXX, in front of a crowd of 28,652 at Toronto’s SkyDome, the Western Ontario Mustangs captured their sixth national title thanks to a spectacular 50-40 overtime win over the Saskatchewan Huskies. It was the first CIAU final to be decided in extra time and remains the highest-scoring game in Vanier Cup annals. It also marked the second triumph as a head coach and the fourth overall for Larry Haylor, who earlier this year was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder and who was the winningest bench boss in CIS football history when he stepped down from his post following the 2006 season.   

What is your major memory of the entire Vanier Cup week and the overall experience in 1994?

Over the years, I have found Vanier Cup weeks extraordinarily busy because of the celebrations and events taking place throughout the week. The memories of the week are basically memories of our opponent’s team and the players we are preparing for. In 1994, I remember we had an exciting, positive and focused week of preparations.

What is your one major lasting memory of the actual game?

There are two lasting memories, maybe three. 

First, the Frank Jagas field goal from the 42 with four seconds remaining to tie the score. Second, the electrifying punt return for a touchdown in overtime by Anthony Lane. And perhaps three, my decision to concede a safety inside two minutes at the end of regulation; it left us ahead by four points and, I felt, forced Saskatchewan to drive the field and score the TD to go ahead. I felt our field position would be far superior following the kick after the safety than if we had punted on the third down. How wrong I was. Saskatchewan scored with a minute to go to take a three-point lead. Cue Jagas’ field goal and the punt return TD in overtime; these saved me from being a huge goat.

(Note: Trailing 34-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan stormed back with 23 unanswered points in a span of 5:17 to take a 37-34 lead. After Western conceded the safety with 1:34 remaining in regulation, the Huskies needed only 30 seconds to cover 74 yards on three completions by game MVP Brent Schneider, including a 34-yard TD strike to David Blackburn with 64 seconds left on the clock. The Mustangs responded with a quick seven-play, 45-yard drive to set up Jagas’ game-tying field goal. Jagas would split the uprights twice more in OT to tie the single-game Vanier Cup record of five field goals)

What was your personal favourite moment?

The absolute exhaustion of our players at the end of overtime and their excitement following Lane's punt return TD. Pure joy!

(Note: Lane, a defensive back from Hamilton, finished the game with 131 yards on seven punt returns, none bigger than his 77-yard run-back – the last scoring play of the game - that gave Western a 10-point cushion with 3:25 left in the second OT period)

Did anything unusual or out of the ordinary happen during the game or during Vanier week?

Overtime was unique. It was the first one in Vanier Cup history and at the time we didn't have a shootout format to settle the matter. We had to play two 10-minute halves.

(Note: After both teams kicked a field goal in the first OT period, Western scored the only points in the last 10 minutes on a 33-yard Jagas FG and Lane’s spectacular return)

Did the coaches do anything different from normal routine in the preparation for the game?

We tried, as best we could to maintain our normal routine. However, thanks to Paul Beeston -- a Western grad and great supporter -- we did get to use the Blue Jays locker room throughout the week and that was special, as was meeting Paul Molitor in the locker room. Then on game day, I went to meet with our ‘Mustangs Mom’ group at their pre-game gathering. There were over 300 parents and family members present and it was VERY emotional; I had to get out so as to not get too wrapped up in their excitement.

(Note: Beeston was president and CEO of the Blue Jays from 1989 to 1997. He returned to both positions in 2008)

How did you or the team react to the stadium and the crowd?

Well for us, it was a little like a home crowd. The excitement of the game, the big plays and back and forth, certainly kept the crowd entertained. And, no question, the crowd noise and enthusiasm in the last quarter and through overtime was unmatched. It lifted our team.

(Note: Haylor won his first Vanier Cup as a head coach came in 1989, the first year the event was staged at SkyDome, in front of a crowd of 32,847, a game record that held until 2012. The attendance of 28,652 in 1994 still ranks fifth in Vanier Cup history)

What are your memories of the post-game celebrations on the field and/or in the dressing room?

The crowd spilled onto the field and surrounded our team. It was very exciting. There was the amazing energy of the post-game celebrations. We filled our locker room with parents and supporters and then had some very special moments of sharing the achievement between our players and coaches. 

What are your memories of the trip back home?

We had a fairly short trip back to London but I remember our team taking the Vanier Cup trophy to center field of J.W. Little Stadium, surrounding it, and singing the Mustang fight song. There was a great, collective sense of high achievement by all.

What was the reaction on campus when the team returned?

We came home on a Sunday quite early and were met by press and TV. Two days later, a pep rally was held at the Student Center and the mood was electric. There’s great pride in our place.

At the time, how did winning those Vanier Cups change your everyday life?

I think winning a Vanier Cup serves to motivate one to strive to return and repeat. Day to day, I tried not to let it change me. 

How often do you reminisce about that 1994 Vanier Cup win?

Whenever we gather as a team. Our ‘94 team was just inducted into the Western ‘Wall of Champions’ and we had 60 players return from as far away as Geneva and Hong Kong to celebrate and reminisce.  Between us, the memories will last forever.

You participated in Vanier Cups as both a head coach and an assistant coach. How different is the experience as an assistant?

As an assistant I was focused on my specific coaching responsibilities, which was our offence. It had my total, complete focus. As a head coach I was focused on a whole lot more: the entire, big picture of our team, coaches, players and game strategy and tactics. It’s a much, much broader responsibility.

Which of your four Vanier Cup wins meant the most, and why?

Tough question, they're all special. But, forced to answer, it is my first in 1976, when I realized I could coach at high levels with success, and my first as a head coach in 1989, because I had lost as a head coach in ‘85 and ‘86. So, first win as an assistant and first win as a head coach, but truly, they ALL are special.

MORE ABOUT LARRY HAYLOR:

Larry Haylor was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder in 2014.

The native of Prince Albert, Sask., got his first taste of CIS football as a quarterback with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 1966 and 1967. He started his coaching career at the university level as an assistant with the Huskies from 1971 to 1973, became offensive coordinator of the Dalhousie Tigers in 1974, before joining the Western coaching staff in the same capacity in 1975.

Haylor took over as the Mustangs head coach in 1984 and the rest, as they say, is history. When his reign ended on Nov. 4, 2006, he was the winningest head coach in CIS football annals. He now sits in second place behind current Saskatchewan coach Brian Towriss.

A seven-time OUA coach of the year and a two-time recipient of the Frank Tindall Trophy as CIS coach of the year (1990, 1998), Haylor led the Mustangs to 22 consecutive campaigns with a record of .500 or better. During his tenure, the ‘Stangs reached five national finals, claiming the Vanier Cup in 1989 and 1994, and played in 13 OUA title games, returning home with the Yates Cup on eight occasions.

In 2009, CIS honoured him with the Jean-Marie De Koninck Coaching Excellence Award, presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to university sport as demonstrated by long-term commitment and leadership as a coach at the local, provincial national and/or international levels of Canadian university sport. The same year, he joined Western University’s Wall of Champions.