Laval beats Montreal in sold-out clash of U Sports football titans

QUEBEC CITY — The Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Montreal Carabins 24-12 in a sold-out U Sports football game at Stade Telus on Saturday.

"It's the best game you can watch, here at Stade Telus, against Montreal," said Pascal Soucy, a longtime Rouge et Or season ticket holder. "The real moment of truth, that's the Carabins. It's always been like that. That's why it's sold out."

Montreal struck first when quarterback Pepe Gonzalez connected with receiver Enrique Jaimes Leclair for a 62-yard touchdown just over two minutes into the game. Jaimes Leclair finished with 14 receptions for 185 yards.

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"It's a big game, and a big show," said Gonzalez, who completed 30 of 45 pass attempts for 415 yards, one touchdown and one interception. "We want to keep attacking, every time, and never give up."

Laval rallied with 17 unanswered points, taking a 24-12 lead into halftime after quarterback Victor Charland found receiver Guillaume Cauchon for a touchdown.

The game was a matchup of the top two teams in U Sports football, with Montreal entering as the top-ranked Vanier Cup champions and Laval ranked second. Officials expected a standing-room-only crowd of at least 20,000.

The rivalry is the most intense in Canadian university football. Laval has won 11 national titles this century, while Montreal has qualified for five championship games, winning three. Of the last 15 Vanier Cup games, 14 have featured either Laval or Montreal.

"There's only three blue-bloods in Canada: Montreal, Laval and Western," said football analyst Alex McComb, who runs The Pressure Package newsletter and Double Major podcast.

McComb, who played at Western University, said CEGEP talent has helped Laval and Montreal distance themselves from other programs. "It's always going to be those two, until someone breaks through with a few good recruits."

The relationship between the schools and Quebec's CEGEP system is a key factor in their sustained success. Players in Quebec often attend a CEGEP to play high-level football that doesn't count against their U Sports eligibility before entering university.

"There's nowhere else in the country, from age 18 to 21, where you could be playing a level of football preparing you for U Sports football without already being in U Sports," said Pierre Arseneault, U Sports' chief executive officer. "They're playing three years of really instrumental and valuable football to prepare them. That is a huge factor."

Montreal's roster on Saturday featured one NCAA transfer and two players who finished high school in the U.S., with the rest coming from CEGEPs. Laval's team was composed of two university transfers and three players from outside Quebec, with the remainder also being CEGEP products.

The rivalry has included off-field drama, such as the defacement of the Vanier Cup trophy last November. The letters "F T F," the acronym for Laval's motto of Force, Travail, Fidelité, were found scrawled on the trophy's base after Montreal's championship win. Investigations have not determined who was responsible.

Laval started its football program in 1996 and won its first national title three years later. The Rouge et Or have appeared in 15 Vanier Cup games, winning 12. Montreal revived its long-dormant program in 2002 and won its first Vanier Cup in 2014.

The teams are scheduled to meet again in the regular season finale on Oct. 26 in Montreal.

With files from CBC News