KINGSTON, Ont. – To conclude the 2024 U SPORTS season, the #2-ranked Golden Hawks squared off with the #3 Laval Rouge et Or for the Vanier Cup. Despite the Golden Hawks' best efforts, they fell to Laval 22-17.
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With Laval in prime position at the Laurier 11-yard line just over four minutes into the game, a touchdown was almost inevitable. However,
Jessie Wilkins-Flaricee stopped Mathieu Roy right in his tracks to force the Rouge et Or into an 18-yard field goal.
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Laval's defence put a sea of red and white around
Taylor Elgersma as often as they could, resulting in five sacks worth 26-yards throughout the game, and were the main reason the nation's top offence was shut down.
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The Golden Hawks defence, on the other hand, did the majority of their work protecting the red zone, as 18 of Laval's 22 points came from field goals and never stepped foot past the Golden Hawks goal line.
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A team safety and a 35-yard field goal put the Rouge et Or up 11-0 midway through the second quarter. The three-pointer was the result of
Andre Bute bringing down Arnaud Desjardins deep in Golden Hawk territory.
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However, at 4:57, the Golden Hawks struck back, in large part due to
Tayshaun Jackson. The offensive line opened up a wide enough gap for Jackson to break through, and was able to dodge multiple tackles, winding up at Laval's 5-yard line on a 51-yard run.
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It was easy work then for Elgersma and
Ryan Hughes. Hughes took the flip pass all the way wide and into the endzone, bringing the score to 11-7.
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The Rouge et Or answered on their next drive, again with a 32-yard field goal as
Jayden Griffiths came up with the two-handed swat. Laval extended their lead to 14-7 with under three minutes remaining in the quarter.
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Laurier's chance at answering was cut short. Laval forced the fumble at the Golden Hawks 42-yard line, but again had to settle for three points from 42-yards out thanks to the purple and gold's defensive efforts. Laurier took a 17-7 deficit into halftime.
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However, the Golden Hawks refused to go down without a fight. On their opening drive of the third quarter after Elgersma and
Ethan Jordan teamed up for 82-yards on the play, Elgersma found Jaxson Stebbings wide-open in the end zone. Laval's lead was cut to 17-14.
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The teams remained in a stalemate for the remainder of the frame.
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But at 14:56 of the fourth quarter, Laval forced the Golden Hawks to concede their second safety of the game, putting the score at 19-14.
Dawson Hodge answered back with his own three-pointer from 34-yards at eight minutes and change.
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Both sides forced each other into two-and-outs, and at 2:31, the last Laval field goal of the season, Felipe Forteza's sixth of the game which set a new national championship record, sealed the deal as the Rouge et Or captured their 12th Vanier Cup.
Laurier All-Canadian receiver
Ethan Jordan, playing in his final game as a Golden Hawk, finished with a game-high 179 receiving yards on 11 catches.Â
Defensively, Golden Hawks linebacker Jesse Wilkins-Flaricee has a game-high 11 solo and 14.5 total tackles.Â
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"I'm so proud of them," manager of football operations and head coach
Michael Faulds said. "I told them it's okay to be hurting right now, and it's going to sting for 24-48 hours, but stay together, and after those 24-48 hours, you're going to look back fondly and be very proud of what you accomplished."
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