All Quinn van Gylswyk wanted was a second chance.
With less than two minutes to go and the Vanier Cup championship tied 23-23 between the UBC Thunderbirds and Montreal Carabins, the former Westshore Rebels kicker and Spectrum graduate was staring at a 42-yard field goal for a possible win.
The opportunity never came as the snap from centre was low and bobbled by the holder.
But a big interception by Anthony Blackwell, and tremendous poise from UBC quarterback Michael O’Connor, and the offence gave van Gylswyk the second opportunity to play hero, this time from just 20 yards out with one second left, after marching down field.
Van Gylswyk crushed it through the uprights and began a victory gallop up the turf, his arm windmilling in excitement as his T-Birds teammates chased him down to begin celebrating the 2015 Canadian Interuniversity Sport football championship at the University of Laval.
“Honestly, my heart sank and I was almost in tears when the bad snap happened,” said van Gylswyk, whose emotions flipped within minutes. “I had dreamt that I would have a last-second field goal for the win and that I would have this Michigan State-like celebration down the field.
“We drove down the field and they made it real easy for me. Words can’t explain what we’re feeling right now,” said van Gylswyk, adding there were 100 bottles of champagne waiting for the team back at the hotel afterward. “This is the best feeling I’ve ever had.”
Earlier, van Gylswyk kicked three other field goals from 45, 33 and 43 yards as the team took a 16-0 lead, before it evaporated to a 16-10 score at the half.
The 26-23 win capped a Cinderella season for a team that finished 2-6 last season and nearly folded two years ago. It’s the first Vanier Cup for UBC since 1997 and fourth overall.
The T-Birds’ lineup featured numerous Vancouver Island athletes, including Van Gylswyk, brothers Marcus and Terrell Davis of Mount Douglas, Tristen Fourish and Edgar Nelson of Belmont, former V.I. Raiders Dylan Chapdelaine and Marshall Cook, and Ballenas grad Nick Cessford of Parksville.
Former Rebels head coaches Paul Orazietti and John Cardilicchia are on the T-Birds coaching staff.
Marcus Davis finished with nine catches for 98 yards, including a six-yard touchdown, and added 80 yards on four kick returns and 35 yards on five punt returns. Terrell Davis had four solo tackles and seven assists for 7.5 total tackles. Chapdelaine added five total tackles, a key interception and a quarterback sack.
Brandon Deschamps, of Prince George, added a 44-yard TD romp for the T-Birds and O’Connor passed for 389 yards to earn the offensive player of the game award. UBC’s Stavros Katsantonis was named best defensive player.
Gabriel Cousineau threw TD strikes to Guillaume Paquet and Nadeau-Piuze for Montreal and David Deschamps had three field goals in the losing cause as the Carabins clawed back and dictated most of the second half.
“We played much better in the second half, but we ran out of time. In order to win a championship game, you need to play for 60 minutes,” said Montreal head coach Danny Maciocia, who was looking to win a second straight title with the Carabins.
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com
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