Western University hosted this year’s Vanier Cup between Laval Rouge et Or and the Saskatchewan Huskies. Unfortunately, Western was eliminated in the semi-finals and was unable to defend their championship on home soil. A local Western student told us that “It would’ve been awesome seeing the Mustangs play at home for the Cup. I feel like we missed a big opportunity here.”
However, hundreds of people still showed up from all over the country to witness this year’s Vanier Cup. The pregame fan fest was packed with fun activities, great food and passionate fans. Former Saskatchewan player Josh Hagerty was excited to watch his old teammates compete for a championship. “I’m pumped for the guys, I spent four years playing for Saskatchewan so these are some of my boys on the team. I want to see them win the Cup.” Hagerty now plays for the Toronto Argonauts, and recently won the Grey Cup. The CFL star made sure that he wasn’t going to miss this game. “I drove two hours from Toronto to be here. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
On the flip side, after defeating Western in the Mitchell Bowl, Laval fans were ready to take home the Cup. “I’m so excited to be here, it’s going to be a great game because I know we’re going to win,” a passionate Laval fan told us. “We came too far to lose now, it’s our time.”
Fans that were in attendance got their money’s worth as it was an exhilarating game. It looked like Saskatchewan was going to enter half time with the lead before Laval made a clutch 49 yard field goal to tie the game at 17. The second half was dominated by Laval. The Rouge et Or scored 10 unanswered points to begin the second half. The Huskies answered back with a touchdown of their own, cutting the lead to 3. Unfortunately for the Huskies, it was too little too late. Laval would hit one more field goal late in the fourth to give them a 30-24 victory. The Laval Rouge et Or are the 2022 Vanier Cup champions.
