Winnipegger headed to the Grey Cup 'just flat-out earned it,' says U of M football coach

It won't be the Blue Bombers hitting the turf for the 104th Grey Cup in Toronto on Sunday, but a Winnipeg export will be suiting up for the big game.

Ottawa Redblacks' running back Kienan Lafrance who came off the bench on the East Division final against Edmonton last Sunday for a 157-yard run and a crucial touchdown in Redblacks'35-23 win started his football career as a Husky atWinnipeg's Sturgeon Heights Collegiate before becoming a Bison at the University of Manitoba.

He'll be in Toronto for the team's second Grey Cup game in as many years.

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U of M coach Brian Dobie said he "couldn't be more proud" to see Lafrance lacing up for the Grey Cup.

"I think he epitomizes, kind of, I think, what a lot of us feel proud of in Winnipeg you know, a hard-working cityand people that really grinded out to move forward in their lives. And that's Kienan," Dobie said. "He's a kid that just persevered."

"He never got handed a silver spoon. In his years with us, he worked for it, he earned it, and has done the same thing in his very early career here in the CFL."

Lafrance started on the Bisonsas a running back alongside established talentAnthony Coombs, now playing for theToronto Argonauts, and Nik Demski, now aSaskatchewan Roughrider. Both were two or three-time All-Canadians withCanadian Interuniversity Sport football.

"They were big in quotation marks big superstars, but he knew he was a superstar too," Dobie said.

"He just flat-out earned it. He was pure work ethic. He never gave up. He's a great story. I hope when he's done playing one day, that he'll become a coach, because anybody that's gone down that path will be a great mentor for kids as they approach the same path."

The Redblacks are up against the heavy favourites Calgary Stampeders, and Dobie said the team will have their work cut out for them to clinch a win.

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"It's going to be tough for Ottawa for sure, but it's one game, and they're all professional athletes," he said.

The Grey Cup starts at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday at the BMO Field in Toronto.