QUEBEC CITY - The Western Mustangs defence held the Laval Rouge et Or without a touchdown but fell 13-11 on Nov. 20 at PEPS Stadium in the Uteck Bowl national football semifinal in front of 11,547 fans.
With the win, Laval advances to the Vanier Cup on Saturday Nov. 27.
Western's defence was brilliant with David Lee, John Surla, Mike Van Praet, Zander Robinson and Brent Wheeler and graduating linebackers Jason Kosec and Adrian Kaiser making things difficult for the Laval offence. The high-octane Rouge et Or were held to just 325 yards.
Surla led the Mustangs with seven tackles including one for a loss, while Lee had two sacks and 5.5 tackles, including three for a loss along with at least five quarterback hurries.
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Laval's defence was also terrific, holding the visitors to 224 total yards and just 13 first downs.
“We struggled to do anything on offence today. When you play a good football team, you have to be able to score when you have your opportunities,” said Mustangs’ head coach Greg Marshall. “Our defence played very well today, and their defence played great.”
It was a physical contest with Western banging and bashing all over the field ,but in the end, Christopher Milo, named the CIS Blackberry player of the game, provided the game-winning heroics for the host Rouge et Or, booting four field goals and adding a rouge for all of Laval's 13 points.
Lirm Hajrullahu had a chance to win the game for the Mustangs for the second straight week, but his 45-yard field goal attempt into the wind fell just short at the final whistle.
"The way the defence played today, we should have won,” said an emotional Donnie Marshall, the junior quarterback who finished with 75 yards rushing and was 8-for-19 passing for 61 yards and four interceptions. “I should have played better. I felt responsible. It's just something that comes with the position.”
Laval's defensive pressure, especially from the ends, made life difficult for the Mustangs, especially in the second half when they rarely gave Western's quarterback time to throw.
Laval quarterback Bruno Prud’homme completed 17 of 33 passes for 207 yards with one interception. The Lasalle, Que., native was injured on Laval’s next to last possession, however, and did not return.
Jerimy Hipperson of St. Catharines, Ont., had 85 yards on 18 carries for Western.
Sébastien Lévesque led the Rouge et Or running attack with 102 yards on 18 carries, despite playing banged up most of the day.
The win gives Laval its sixth Vanier Cup appearance in 11 years. They’ve won the last five Vanier Cups they have appeared in and have never lost a playoff game at PEPS Stadium.
Hajrullahu kicked one field goal and added a rouge on the opening kickoff and had a strong game. So did his kicking teammate #Darryl Wheeler who was demonstrated great punting including one punt recovery and several great tackles.
The Mustangs struggled to move the ball in the second half against an all-star-laden Rouge et Or defence.
Hajrullahu opened the scoring before any time had clicked off the clock to give Western a 1-0 lead.
Milo missed a 35-yard field goal attempt into the wind after a great first drive.
Milo eventually booted a 25-yard field goal with 5:24 left in the first quarter to lead 3-1.
Another Milo field goal from six yards out 12:38 left in the second quarter extended Laval's lead to 6-1.
It was a disappointing start for Laval considering they dominated the opening 20 minutes of ball possession.
Western's defence was playing well to keep them in the game especially the front seven led by Kosec, Surla and Lee.
After a Wheeler recovered punt and an offside penalty against Laval in the redzone, back-up quarterback and short-yardage specialist Ian Noble crowd-surfed into the endzone with 15.7 seconds left in the first half to give the lead back to the Mustangs at 8-6.
The Mustangs rebounded from a slow start to lead by two points at the half and had silenced the Laval crowd.
To start the second half, Mustangs freshman receiver Andrew Thibaudeau had a step behind one of Laval's talented defensive backs but with the wind, Donnie Marshall's bomb fell one step out of the reach of his receiver's hands in what could have been the game's second touchdown.
A Hajrullahu field goal from 47 yards out with 3:22 left in third quarter extended Western's lead to 11-6.
Milo cut the lead to two points at 11-9 with a 34-yard field goal with 5:26 left in the game. He added the game-winning points with just under two minutes remaining, booting a 29-yard field goal with 1:46 left with the wind at his back. Milo punted the ball through the endzone to score a rouge 32 seconds later to make the final score 13-11 for Laval, converting after a Donnie Marshall interception.
“As a kicker, you always want to be put in a position to make a difference,” Milo said. “I missed one early in the game (from 35 yards) and that could have been the difference the other way. I’m just so happy we came out on top.”
The Mustangs, now 0-2 all-time against Laval, last played the Rouge et Or in the Vanier Cup in 2008 against in Hamilton, Ont., losing 44-21.
This was Western's first playoff loss to a Quebec team in a bowl game. The Mustangs were without the services of strong-blocking fullback Dan Duff through most of the game (due to an ankle injury and for one series a broken helmet) and receiver Zach Bull who has been struggling through a hamstring injury.
“We knew going in it would be quite a battle, and they gave us all we could handle. We expected nothing less of Western, they are an outstanding football program,” said Laval head coach Glen Constantin, who next week could become the first head coach in CIS history to lead his troops to five Vanier Cup titles.
The Mustangs finish their season with a 9-2 record, with their only losses come in a two-point loss today to Laval and a one-point loss to Ottawa on Sept. 6.
BOXSCORE
Western: 1-7-3-0: 11
Laval: 3-3-0-7: 13
First Quarter
UWO-ROUGE Lirim Hajrullahu 0:00
LAV-FG Christopher Milo 25 9:36
Second Quarter
LAV-FG Christopher Milo 11 2:22
UWO-TD Ian Noble 1 run (Lirim Hajrullahu kick) 14:44
Third Quarter
UWO-FG Lirim Hajrullahu 47 11:38
Fourth Quarter
LAV-FG Christopher Milo 34 9:34
LAV-FG Christopher Milo 29 13:14
LAV-ROUGE Christopher Milo 13:56
Attendance: 11,547
