Coach Danny Maciocia spoke throughout the post-season of the mental toughness of his University of Montreal Carabins.
That big game attitude was evident once again as the Carabins used a fourth-quarter comeback and Louis-Philippe Simoneau's game-winning field goal to defeat the McMaster Marauders 20-19 in the Vanier Cup game on Saturday.
It gave the Carabins the title in their first appearance in the national university football championship game.
"Once again we came up big in the big moment," said quarterback Gabriel Cousineau. "I'm so thankful to have such a great team. We made it."
Cousineau threw a third-quarter touchdown pass to Philip Enchill and saw Sean Erlington run one in in the fourth before Simoneau's winning boot, his second field goal of the game, with 2:45 remaining.
But the game was far from over, as McMaster pivot Marshall Ferguson took the Marauders to the Montreal 24 in the final minute, only to see Tyler Crapigna's attempt at a fifth field goal of the day blocked by defensive lineman Mathieu Girard and recovered by linebacker Jonathan Boissineault-Glaou to secure the victory.
"I blocked the kick, but it wasn't me who won the game for the team," said Girard. "We won this together."
McMaster got off to strong start
Wayne Moore scored on a 50-yard run for McMaster in the first half, when the Marauders took a 13-3 lead and looked to be dominating.
But five McMaster turnovers, including two interceptions by Anthony Coady and three lost fumbles, helped keep Montreal in the game.
"Us not finishing, that's been the story of our year," said Ferguson. "There are too many throws that I want back.
"And when you're a fifth-year senior and you lose your final game, you don't get any throws back unless you want to play catch with your kids in 10 years."
Montreal's depth evident
The McMaster defence took away the Carabins' running game from the outset, holding them to 57 yards, and Cousineau was limited to 196 yards on 17 completions. But Montreal's defence tightened when it counted, holding McMaster to field goals four times and allowing only one touchdown.
The Carabins first showed their mettle when they ended Laval's 11-year run as Quebec conference champions, stopping the Rouge et Or's 70-game home winning streak with a 12-9 overtime win.
Last week, they held on for a 29-26 win over Manitoba when Coady forced a fumble with the Bison's threatening to score from the Montreal 12 in the final minute.
Then Girard comes up with the blocked kick to give them the Vanier Cup.
"We practised a way to block kicks, but even if we gave up the three points and took the ball on the 35, there were still 50 seconds to get another field goal," said Maciocia. "Once we blocked it, we just wanted to end the game in possession of the ball. With the work of our O-line, we were able to do that."
Maciocia won a pair of Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimos, first as offensive co-ordinator and later as coach and general manager. Now he has a Vanier Cup as well.
"I don't think it gets better than this," said the Montreal native who is in his fourth year with the Carabins. "To do it in front of family and friends, in a packed house at Molson Stadium. . . it was always a goal of mine to win a championship in my own back yard. I don't think the Grey Cups topped this."
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