London, ON – The 2022 Canada Life Vanier Cup was crowned in London for the first time in its 57-year history Saturday afternoon, as the Laval Rouge et Or topped Saskatchewan 30-24 at Western Alumni Stadium.
 
Saskatchewan booked their ticket to the National Championships after a 36-19 win over St. Francis Xavier last Saturday, while the Rouge et Or topped Western 27-20 at Western Alumni Stadium in the Mitchell Bowl to return to the Vanier.
 
Meeting for the third time in the Vanier Cup, with Laval winning the previous two in 2004 and 2006, the Saskatchewan Huskies and Laval Rouge et Or put on a hard-fought battle with Laval coming out victorious yet again in front of 8420 fans. The back-and-forth affair saw the two team's head into the half tied at 17, where a 13-point second half from Laval propelled them to their eventual victory.
 
Laval quarterback Arnaud Desjardins completed 27 of his 36 pass attempts for 397 yards, while Huskie's Mason Nyhus had 344 yards and 3 touchdowns to his name. Kevin Mital had 8 catches for 142 yards and 1 touchdown for the Rouge et Or, while teammate Antoine Dansereau-Leclerc followed with 8 catches for 119 yards. Saskatchewan's Caleb Morin had 7 receptions for 97 yards.
 
Laval kicker Vincent Blanchard tied the Vanier Cup record with five field goals, becoming only the fifth player in history to do so. The most recent was Boris Bede for Laval in 2013.
 
The Ted Morris trophy for game MVP was awarded post game to Kevin Mital, while Charles Alexandre Jacques took home the Bruce Coulter award for top defensive performance.
 
"I feel good," said Mital on the win. "I just want to go back home and celebrate with everyone from Quebec. It's a good day to be a Rouge et Or fan."
 
"This game is the same story as the last few," added Laval head coach Glen Constantin. "We trailed and weathered a storm and showed resilience and believed in ourselves. The kids performed well. We are a young team and accepted constructive criticism all year. The growth and maturity of this team was exponential."
 
The two sides exchanged field goals in the first quarter, keeping things close early on.
 
Saskatchewan was first to get on the board in the opening quarter, as running back Ryker Frank helped march the Huskies down the field. After an incomplete pass to Caleb Morin in the end-zone, last-year's Vanier's runners up eventually settled for a field goal, as David Solie converted from 20-yards out.
 
The Rouge et Or responded with three points of their own on their next possession.  

The second quarter was another back-and-forth affair.
 
Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus connected with Daniel Perry for 41-yards, and again for 17 to put Saskatchewan at first and goal to start the second.
 
Nyhus then found Kody Gutek three yards shy of the end-zone, with the Huskies deciding to go for it at third and goal. Nyhus then connected with Everett Iverson for the first touchdown of the game.
 
Laval responded with one of their own on their next possession.
 
Arnaud Desjardins completed a 30-yard pass to Hec Crighton award winner Kevin Mital, who finished the half with 93 yards on four receptions, to set up the Rouge et Or at Saskatchewan's 20.
 
"He's a cool customer," said Constantin on his quarterback. "He's a young quarterback, only in his second year. His future is bright. He's got this calmness, and he is a cool customer under pressure." 
 
Running back Kalenga Muganda finished off the drive to tie up the score at 10, before a following rouge put them ahead by one.
 
After Ted Kubongo rushed for 53-yards to put the Huskies in good position, Rhett Vavra soon found himself on the scoresheet with his first touchdown of the game, putting his team back in the lead.
 
Laval would get their second field goal of the game on their next possession, courtesy of an initial 48-yard pass to Mital wide open down the middle to kick-start the drive. 
 
Vincent Blanchard attempted another for Laval at 49-yards with six seconds on the clock, with the attempt being good to tie things up at 17 on the final play of the half. The field goal marked the second longest in the history of the Vanier Cup.
 
"I told them that we are moving the ball well on offense," said Constantin on his half-time message. "We made a couple tweaks on defense, and made some stops, and that gave us some wings."
 
The offense stifled to start the second half, as the trophy loomed in the periphery.
 
Laval took the lead with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, thanks to another field goal from Blanchard.
 
"The third quarter we didn't do enough," said Huskies head coach Scott Flory. "We started to get traction late, and this will be a point of emphasis for sure in our post-season analysis. The third quarter wasn't one of our best."
 
With victory in sight, Desjardins put up a big pass to Edouard Arsenault for 24-yards on the team's first drive of the fourth quarter. Saskatchewan was given a pass interference penalty on the ensuring play, setting up Laval on the 1-yard line.
 
A Rouge et Or trick play saw Mital, who had been receiving treatment and limping throughout the half, pass to David Dallaire to put Laval up by 10 with 13 minutes to play.
 
"He's very proud," said Constantin on Mital. "He'll back up what he says and forces everyone on the team to do it too. He's just a really good football player and competitor. When he came back from Syracuse he told me two things - I want #8 and to win the championship. He breathes confidence and it transcribes onto our team. He's a generational talent for us, probably the best receiver we've ever had." 
 
The Huskies offense came out responding, soon finding themselves 6-yards from the end-zone on a must-score drive. However, Nyhus' pass into the end-zone was intercepted by Felix Petit, electrifying the Rouge et Or bench while handing possession back over to the Quebec side.
 
"[That was] huge," said Constantin on the play. "It's better to be lucky than good. We had our fair share of luck. We had a couple of tipped balls and made great plays, so that stop in the end zone was huge. [It was] one of the critical stops we needed to make. It was huge for us."
 
After an unsuccessful Laval drive and after making a huge 35-yard return, a 26-yard pass fell into the hands of Vavra as the Huskies looked to fight back into this game after their turnover.

Saskatchewan would do just that, as Nyhus found Saskatoon native Daniel Wiebe in the end-zone for a 3-yard touchdown, with the Huskies only needing only a field goal to tie things up.
 
"We marched the field, had a turnover, and then marched it again," said Flory on his team's determination. "We competed, and it was a tough game. There's a finality [to sports], there is someone who wins and loses. Unfortunately, we are on the other end of it and its not easy." 
 
Desjardins responded with a huge 55-yard pass to fourth-year receiver Antoine Danserau-Leclerc, a big blow to the Saskatchewan defense. Laval added a field goal on the drive, keeping this a one score game with two minutes to play.
 
Despite their best efforts, Saskatchewan couldn't find their way back into this one, as Laval's defense stood strong to help the Rouge et Or claim their 11^th Vanier Cup in program history with a 30-24 final score. This marked Glen Constantin's 10^th Vanier Cup as a head coach with Laval.
 
"It doesn't get old for the simple reason that it's a different group, different story, different challenge and a different road," said Constantin on his 10^th win as head coach. "Every cup has its own stories."
 
"There's no way to take this away from us. We are the Vanier Cup champions of 2022," said Mital. "We've worked hard for this and now we go down in the history books as being the best team in Canada this year. Everything that I said this year and set up in terms of goals we did. It's a sweep. I said we are going to win the Dunsmore, the Mitchell and the Vanier Cup, and that's what we've done." 
 
Despite losing for the second consecutive year in the Vanier Cup, Saskatchewan head coach Scott Flory is proud of the way his team fought all year and in Saturday's game.
 
"These games always come down to a handful of plays," said Flory on the loss. "Credit to Laval, they made those plays. Their quarterback played a great game. They did some really good things. But you look at our side and I think that Mason was phenomenal out there. He's an elite caliber player and leader and he showed that here today. It's tough and will take time to digest. I'm really proud of our guys and the season and everything we had to overcome."
 
With Laval's win at Western this year coming after the Mustangs took home the Vanier on Rouge et Or turf last season, Constantin is already looking forward to next year, hoping to meet long-time friend and Western coach Greg Marshall's side once again in the semi-finals.
 
"We spoke earlier and said I think the next matchup is Ontario at Quebec," said Constantin on Marshall. "I love the guy, we go way back. He wants to beat me as much as I want to beat him. It's always a mixed feeling when we play each other. He's my #1 fan and I'm his. Next year I told him we'll play [in the semis], and lets circle it in our calendar."
 
And while Laval celebrate surrounded by purple and white, the team recognizes the hard work and dedication it took to get here, not only from a team perspective but also by those who helped put the Vanier together here in London.
 
"It's a tough feeling to lose and having to host," said Constantin on Western. "I want to thank Western for hosting this. To do it in a short time frame is a great challenge and not too many schools can do this. It was a great student athlete experience." 
 
And as the sun sets over Western Alumni Stadium bringing the 2022 football season to a close, the Vanier Cup will begin its journey back to Quebec, with the Mustangs undoubtedly already dreaming about bringing it back to Ontario next season.