Courtesy of Ian Speers, for CIS
MONTREAL (CIS) – A field goal block by Mathieu Girard of Laval, Que., with 51 seconds remaining secured the Montreal Carabins their first CIS football national title with a come-from-behind 20-19 victory over the McMaster Marauders in the 50th TELUS Vanier Cup at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium before a crowd of 22,649.
Montreal, appearing in its first Vanier Cup final, trailed for much of the game, not taking the lead until a Louis-Philippe Simoneau (La Presentation, Que.) field goal with 2:45 left in the contest. A strong McMaster defence contained the Carabins's offensive output, limiting the victors to 221 yards of net offence, compared to 337 yards by the Marauder offence.
Montreal receiver Regis Cibasu (Kinshasa, Congo) garnered the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game MVP, reeling in six passes for a team-high 90 yards.
Carabins defensive back Anthony Coady (Montreal) took the Bruce Coulter Award as the defensive MVP after snagging two interceptions.
Montreal head coach Danny Maciocia becomes the first person to lead a team to both Grey Cup and Vanier Cup titles as a head coach, having earned a Grey Cup ring in 2005 as the bench boss of the Edmonton Eskimos.
"This is an amazing and exciting group of players. Winning in front of our fans here in Montreal is phenomenal. It's huge. I can't even put into words how it feels to share this with our families and friends," said Maciocia, whose team capped a thrilling playoff run that included a 12-9 overtime win over Laval in the Quebec final and a 29-26 victory over Manitoba in the Uteck Bowl.
"It was a total team effort. I was fortunate to be the one to make that play," said Girard. "We believe all year that we could win. I can leave the Carabins program in peace. When I chose to play at the University of Montreal, I was asked if I wanted to be part of history."
For the Carabins, quarterback Gabriel Cousineau (Montreal) made good on 17 of 33 passes, amassing 196 yards and throwing one touchdown. Along with Cibasu, his favourite target was Mikhaïl Davidson (Montreal), who caught eight passes for 81 yards.
The Carabins become just the third team in history to win a Vanier Cup title in their home town, joining the Toronto Varsity Blues (1965, 1993) and Laval Rouge et Or (2010, 2013). McMaster was appearing in its third Vanier Cup in four years, having claimed the 2011 championship, and now has a 1-3 record overall in Vanier Cup appearances.
In the losing effort, McMaster place kicker Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.) accounted for 13 of McMaster's 19 points, booting four field goals, which was one shy of matching a Vanier Cup single-game record. Wayne Moore (Etobicoke, Ont.) led the ground attack with 111 yards on 11 carries, and scored the loan Marauder touchdown. Quarterback Marshall Ferguson (Kingston, Ont.) connected on 27 of 41 passes for 195 yards, throwing a pair of interceptions. On defence, lineman Mark Mackie (London, Ont.) dominated with two sacks, in addition to four solo tackles.
"It's disappointing for sure. Anytime you come this close, it's gonna sting," said McMaster coach Stefan Ptaszek.
A 22-yard Crapigna field goal on McMaster's opening drive gave the Marauders an early lead. The McMaster defence shut down Montreal in the early going, holding the Carabins to 24 yards of net offence and two first downs in the opening quarter. A second Crapigna field goal, from 35 yards, gave McMaster a 6-0 advantage going into the first intermission.
Montreal got on the score sheet on their first drive of the second quarter, tallying three points on a 9-yard field goal by Simoneau. McMaster responded on the ensuing possession, capping a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 50-yard touchdown run by Wayne Moore, and leaving the tally 13-3 at halftime.
Montreal opened the second half by recovering a McMaster fumble on the opening kickoff return, and Philip Enchill (Montreal) latter claimed its first major of the contest with a nine-yard pass from Cousineau. Crapigna added a pair of field goals to boost McMaster's lead to 19-10 entering the final quarter.
The Carabins chipped away at McMaster's lead with a three-yard touchdown run by Sean Thomas Erlington (Montreal). Montreal finally took a 20-19 lead – its first of the game – with Simoneau kicking a 13-yard field goal with 2:45 remaining. McMaster drove the ball to the Montreal 24 yard line and Crapigna set up a straight-on field goal from 31 yards out, which Girard blocked.
SCORING SUMMARY
Ted Morris Memorial Trophy (Game MVP):
Régis Cibasu, Montreal
Bruce Coulter Award: Anthony Coady, Montreal
MTL 0-3-7-10: 20
MAC 6-7-6-0: 19
FIRST QUARTER
MAC - FIELD GOAL Tyler Crapigna 22yds 03:58 (MAC 3-0)
MAC - FIELD GOAL Tyler Crapigna 35yds 12:42 (MAC 6-0)
SECOND QUARTER
MTL - FIELD GOAL Louis-Philippe Simoneau 9yds 03:25 (MAC
6-3)
MAC - TOUCHDOWN Wayne Moore 35yds run 05:38 (convert Tyler
Crapigna) (MAC 13-3)
THIRD QUARTER
MTL - TOUCHDOWN Philip Enchill 9yds pass from Gabriel
Cousineau 02:15 (convert Louis-Philippe Simoneau) (MAC 13-10)
MAC - FIELD GOAL Tyler Crapigna 43yds 09:54 (MAC 16-10)
MAC - FIELD GOAL Tyler Crapigna 29yds 14:07 (MAC 19-10)
FOURTH QUARTER
MTL - TOUCHDOWN Sean Thomas-Erlington 3yds run 04:12
(convert Louis-Philippe Simoneau) (MAC 19-17)
MTL - FIELD GOAL Louis-Philippe Simoneau 13yds 12:15 (MTL
20-19)
Attendance: 22,649