Laval Rouge et Or Maxime Boutin rushes against the Mount Allison Mounties in Uteck Bowl university football action at MacAulay Field in Sackville, N.B. on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013. Laval won 48-21 and advances to the Vanier Cup in Quebec City.ANDREW VAUGHAN/The Canadian Press
Pascal Lochard carried the Laval Rouge et Or to their fourth-straight Vanier Cup.
Lochard scored three touchdowns and rushed for 107 yards as Laval downed the Mount Allison Mounties 48-21 on Saturday to win the Uteck Bowl, Eastern Canada's university football championship.
Lochard's first two TDs gave Laval a 14-0 lead. The Rouge et Or would add to that, building a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
"It wasn't our best performance of the season. After a great start, we made way too many mental mistakes, especially in the third quarter," said Laval head coach Glen Constantin, who felt the need to address his team on the sidelines early in the fourth quarter. "We went back to the basics in the fourth and had a few good drives. We'll have to play better next week."
Laval won Quebec's football championship, while the Mounties were the Atlantic conference's title holders. The Rouge-et-Or are the first team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport history to advance to four straight Vanier Cups.
Alex Skinner completed 18-of-26 passes including two touchdown strikes to Maxime Boutin and Guillaume Rioux for Laval. Boutin was dominant, receiving for a total of 105 yards and rushing for another 163.
"We're very happy with the win, especially since this was the first Bowl victory in the Maritimes in three tries for our program," said Rioux. "We're excited to go back to the show and defend our title at home."
Rioux also scored on a punt return and the Rouge et Or had three team safeties. Kicker Boris Bede was six for six on conversions.
Laval's dominance overshadowed a strong performance by Mount Allison QB Brandon Leyh, who completed 22-of-36 passes and had three touchdowns and 260 yards.
Leyh connected with receivers Troy Trentham, Josh Blanchard and Stu Moore for the Mounties TDs. Kyle McLean converted all three extra points.