QUICKLY
The Laval Rouge et Or drove for a late touchdown to take a 17-14 win over the University of Regina Rams on Saturday afternoon in the 2024 Mitchell Bowl at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a scoreless first quarter, Isaac Wegner got the Rams on the board with a 20-yard field goal on the first play of the second. Wegner missed a 33-yard single for a rouge on the next drive, but Laval's offence broke through on the very next play when Arnaud Desjardins connected with Olivier Cool for a 75-yard touchdown which put Laval into the lead.
• The Rams tied it up late in the second quarter. Noah Pelletier hit Marshall Erichsen for a 61-yard gain on a screen pass to get inside Laval's 10-yard line. Pelletier tried to hit D'Sean Mimbs in the end zone for the major, but it fell incomplete and the Rams settled for a 14-yard field goal by Wegner to make the score 7-7 at the half.
• In the third quarter, Laval began to move the ball but some huge plays by Regina's defence kept the Rouge et Or off the scoreboard. Michael Jourdan picked off Desjardins in the end zone midway through the third, and on Laval's next drive Jacob Tkachuk jarred the ball loose from William Tremblay and Jourdan was able to jump on the ball deep in Regina territory.
• After taking over on their own eight-yard line, the Rams got two first downs on completions to Renzel Arinaza and Emmett Steadman but Pelletier was then intercepted by Jordan Lessard near midfield. Lessard ran it back 26 yards, setting up a 32-yard Felipe Forteza field goal which put the Rouge et Or up 10-7.
• The Rams replied immediately with what would be their only touchdown of the game. After an illegal block penalty put them in a 1st-and-20 situation to start the drive, Pelletier hit Arinaza for 11-yard and 12-yard completions for the first down and a Laval pass interference penalty moved the ball into Rouge et Or territory. Erichsen than busted a 36-yard rushing touchdown right up the middle, putting the Rams up 14-10 with just 3:45 remaining on the clock.
• But Laval's Desjardins responded by orchestrating the game-winning touchdown drive. The Rouge et Or twice converted on 2nd-and-10 situations during an 11-play, 85-yard drive which was finished off by a 5-yard pass from Desjardins to Isaac Gaillardetz for the touchdown.
• The Rams had one last chance to drive for the tie or win, but Laval's defence stopped Regina on a 3rd-and-1 near midfield to seal the victory and a trip to Kingston, Ont. for next weekend's Vanier Cup.

QUOTABLE
"I couldn't be more proud of this team right now. At 2-5, everyone was counting them out but these guys put their heads down, continued to come back to work, and good things started to happen. (Laval) is probably the best team in U SPORTS over the past two decades and we were right there with them." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey

NOTES

• Besides Jourdan's interception and fumble recovery, Regina's defence also had two pass knockdowns by defensive end Tarick Polius. Tkachuk had two tackles for loss in addition to his forced fumble.
• Pelletier completed 28 of his 44 pass attempts and threw for 356 yards.
• Erichsen led the Rams with 106 all-purpose yards, nearly all of which came on his 36-yard rushing touchdown and the 61-yard catch-and-run.
• Steadman had a team-high 8 catches for 82 yards while Arinaza caught 7 passes for a team-leading total of 86 yards. D'Sean Mimbs added 6 catches for 67 yards and Nicholas Sirleaf caught 4 passes for 53 yards.
• Laval's Desjardins was 26-for-34 and finished with 281 passing yards. Cool led all players with 10 catches for 147 yards, while Mathieu Roy had 13 carries for 67 yards. Laval's defence was led by Lessard, who also had a pair of pass breakups in addition to the interception which set the table for Laval's field goal early in the fourth.
• Regina held a 22-20 advantage in first downs and a 424-369 advantage in yards. Laval was penalized 9 times for 105 yards while the Rams were flagged 5 times for a total of 42 yards.

NEXT SEASON

• The Rams expect to return a strong majority of their contributors for next season as the University of Regina prepares to host the 2025 Vanier Cup at Mosaic Stadium.
• Only three fifth-year players were on the Rams' roster this season. All three of them started on Saturday as right guard Parker Hodel, mac linebacker Cameron Mah, and halfback Jackson Sombach all played in their final games in a U of R uniform.