McMaster captures first Vanier Cup

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[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/vanierwin.jpg” caption=”The McMaster Marauders celebrate with their first Vanier Cup at BC Place in Vancouver.”]VANCOUVER – Canadian football fans could not have asked for a better game.

McMaster football fans could not have asked for a sweeter outcome.

In a playoff final so dramatic that even CFL veterans were shaking their heads in astonishment, the No. 4 ranked Marauders pulled out a win Friday against No. 1 ranked Laval to become Vanier Cup champions for the first time ever.

Laval had never lost a championship in its six previous Vanier Cup appearances.

Watch highlights on TSN

The 41-38 decision followed a game that had stretched through two overtime periods, with the lead see-sawing back and forth before the score finally settled at 31-31 at the end of regulation time.

“We’re not here because were perfect. We’re not here because we haven’t been knocked down,” said coach Stefan Ptaszek after the Cup presentation. ”We’re here because we’ve gotten up every single time. This game is a microcosm of life.”

McMaster and Laval traded touchdowns to remain tied after the first overtime shootout, in a game that went until nearly 1 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday for fans watching on TV back home. During the exciting back and forth, TSN analyst Duane Forde said what many viewers were thinking, that this might be the “best game ever”.

McMaster had built up a comfortable 23-0 lead in the first half, only to see the Rouge et Or tear it away in a wild second half that by turns drew screams of delight, groans of disappointment and roars of outrage from the crowd of 24,935 at BC Place.

The game-winning field goal came, poetically, from the foot of Tyler Crapigna, who had hit three field goals in the first half only narrowly to miss what would have been the game winner at the closing of regulation time.

“I wanted another shot,” he said after the game. “Anyone would after missing that kick. It felt good to finally get that.”

After Marauders defender Steven Ventresca picked off a Laval pass in the second overtime period, he and his teammates pitched it rugby style nearly all the way back down the field.

McMaster’s offence then managed the ball carefully back into field-goal range to give their kicker another chance to win.

Before the game, Crapigna had said he had felt it would come down to a dramatic kick, a vision that would come true more than once.

“I had a feeling coming down here that it would come down to a field goal. Obviously, it came down to two field goals,” he said.

After the game, team members posed with the Vanier Cup, and embraced one another and their supporters.

Quarterback Kyle Quinlan, named the game’s top offensive player after throwing for 482 yards and rushing for 106 more, saluted his mother in the stands as he accepted the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy.

Quinlan’s versatile performance in the game saw him leaping over a defender at one point, as he used every means at his disposal to get the ball downfield.

Maroon and grey jerseys and signs were visible throughout the stadium, with players’ families and other McMaster fans dominating the area behind the teams bench.

In the university’s box above the end zone, many prominent figures came to cheer the Marauders, including President Patrick Deane, president emeritus Peter George, McMaster benefactor and former Marauder Senator David Braley, Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina, CFL legend and former McMaster star Russ Jackson, former CFL star and Marauders mentor Michael “Pinball” Clemons, and former McMaster and CFL star Jesse Lumsden.

Leading up to the game, one of the team’s most pumped-up fans had been Keith Johnston, who played for the McMaster Marauders in 1971, when he was named the teams first ever all-Canadian.

“I couldn’t be more excited about it,” said the Canadian-born former offensive guard, who had developed his skills while playing high-school ball in Texas.

Exactly 40 years after his single season as a Marauder, the McMaster MBA, now a business consultant, was heading back onto the field, this time as a photographer, an avocation that has seen him shoot for Referee magazine among other publications.

He and his wife Sylvia were among about 200 guests to attend a pre-game reception hosted by the McMaster Alumni Association, an enthusiastic though somewhat anxious crowd composed of alumni, McMaster leaders, friends of the university, players’ families and dignitaries.

Senator Braley was there in a BC Lions jacket as he basked in double-barreled football glory. Not only is one of the two CFL teams he owns – the Lions – playing in the Grey Cup on their home field on Sunday, but McMaster, where he played football and where he continues to attend home games, was about to play for the Vanier Cup on the very same field.

“It’s a very nice feeling,” he said.”The enthusiasm of everybody in this community is really high, and we’re all having a great time. I’m looking forward to it, and I want Mac to win.”

In addition to their scholastic work – which has continued despite the football excitement – McMaster football players had an additional homework assignment to do in Vancouver. Coach Ptaszek told the players they must each perform at least one act of kindness for a person in Vancouver.

McMaster’s Director of Athletics and Recreation Jeff Giles said the coach had given the players a similar assignment in Moncton during the run-up to the Uteck Bowl.

Giles said that consciously reminding themselves of who they’re representing helps foster team and school spirit among the players, while fostering a good impression of McMaster well beyond campus.

Though a handful of team members are planning to extend their visits to Vancouver, most of the team was to fly back to Ontario late Saturday, with their arrival scheduled for just before midnight.

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