53rd Vanier Cup matchup set for next Saturday
By: USports.ca
The 53rd edition of the Vanier Cup is set for next Saturday as the Laval and Western will duke it out for Canadian University Football supremacy following the 2017 Mitchell and Uteck Bowls.
Mitchell Bowl: Laval 35, Calgary 23
It’s become an annual right of passage for the Laval Rouge et Or – a trip to the Vanier Cup.
And for the 11th time in program history, the Canadian university football powerhouse is headed to the U SPORTS football national championship game, after downing the Calgary Dinos 35-23 in Saturday’s U SPORTS Mitchell Bowl at McMahon Stadium.
Laval will now meet the undefeated Western Mustangs on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field in the 53rd ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup, after Western’s decisive 81-3 victory over the Acadia Axemen in the Uteck Bowl Saturday in Wolfville, N.S.
Laval’s win marked the second consecutive year Calgary’s season ended in heartbreak to the Rouge et Or, after the Quebec champions earned a 31-26 win over the Dinos in last year’s Vanier Cup. Saturday’s result also marked the sixth time in as many national playoff matchups that Laval emerged victorious over Calgary, and the second time the Rouge et Or managed a win in the Stampede City after Laval’s 41-10 win over Calgary in the 2011 Mitchell Bowl.
“We’ve seen adversity, and I hate to do this, but you have to give a little bit of credit to the University of Montreal,” said Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, who was named the game’s MVP and helped lead Laval to a 25-22 win over Montreal in last week’s Dunsmore Cup. “They’re a tough opponent and we face them three times a year, so it keeps us prepared for adversity in big games like this.”
Just like last year’s Vanier Cup, Calgary headed into the half with a 17-10 lead, intent on ending their winless skid against the nation’s top team. But as was the case in 2016 when Laval used 21 second half points to claim their ninth national title, the Dinos couldn’t find a way to close it out.
Sparked by a penalty-aided drive in the third quarter, which ended in a two-yard TD pass from Richard to Simon Gingras-Gagnon, Laval made it 20-18 and took their first lead of the game with just under six minutes to go in the quarter.
Down by a pair heading into the final 15 minutes, the Dinos were set to get the ball back on the opening play of the fourth quarter when disaster struck. Rookie Deane Leonard’s miscue on a Rouge et Or punt at Calgary’s 42-yard line led to six quick points for Laval, as Leonard had the ball pop directly into the outstretched arms of Gabriel Ouellet, who ran the fumble into the end zone.
That score stretched Laval’s lead to 27-18 and proved to be the game’s winning score.
“I don’t want to focus on the reffing, I want to focus on the fact that Laval and Calgary are two great football programs that really battled well today and that’s what this is about. My hat is off to them. They came out here and played the type of game that they needed to win. That special teams touchdown made the big difference and put us behind the ball at the end there, and we weren’t able to come back from that one.”
Despite getting 318 yards of passing from quarterback Adam Sinagra and another 50 on the ground from the third-year pivot, the Dinos offence stalled in the second half, as the Rouge et Or defence ramped up at the right time, holding Calgary to 124 total yards in the final 30 minutes.
On the other side, Richard ended the day with 258 yards passing on 21 completions, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Laval will now meet Western in next weekend’s Vanier Cup, where the Rouge et Or and Mustangs will meet for a national title for just the second time, after Laval earned a 44-21 win in the 2008 edition of the game at Hamilton’s Ivor Wynne Stadium.
“They’re a high powered offence. They’re a bit of an old school (team),” said Richard of next week’s matchup. “They pound the rock a lot, so we’re going to have to study them well. On defence, I really haven’t seen what they can do, but if they’ve made it this far I know they’re a really good team.”
Uteck Bowl: Western 81, Acadia 3
The Western Mustangs put on a record-setting performance on Saturday, beating the host Acadia Axemen 81-3 in the 2017 U SPORTS Uteck Bowl.
The win was the second straight dominant performance for the Mustangs, who eliminated the defending OUA champion Laurier Golden Hawks 75-32 last weekend in the Yates Cup.
Prior to Saturday’s game, the most points scored by one team in a U SPORTS national semifinal was 60 points in 2003 by the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
Chris Merchant, named the Uteck Bowl Most Valuable Player, delivered the knock-out punch with 200 yards in the air, while teammates Trey Humes and Cedric Joseph wore the Acadia defence down with 272 yards combined on the ground. Humes led the way with 172 yards and Joseph added 100 yards to the Mustang running game.
Joseph finished the day with 13 carries for 100 yards and three majors. Humes posted 15 carries for 172 yards and one touchdown. Yannick Harou and Merchant added significant yardage with 98 and 54 respectively and two touchdowns each.
Merchant completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brett Ellerman on Western’s first possession to give the Mustangs a quick 7-0 lead. On the next drive that followed a quick three and out by the Axemen, Joseph posted his first of three first-half touchdowns.
The Mustangs scored on all of their first half possessions except their final drive at the end of the first half, where they opted to take a knee as the clock wound down, ending the streak at eight touchdowns and a 57-0 halftime lead.
The Axemen opened the second half with a nine-play, 50-yard drive that was capped with a missed 33-yard field goal by rookie kicker Jarett Saumure.
Western went back to work, pushing the lead to 67-0 on a Trey Humes touchdown rush from six yards out and a 20-yard field goal by Marc Liegghio.
A Cody Cluett pass intercepted by MacKenzie Ferguson for a 30-yard return and the major, plus two-yard run by Harou for the major were the last points posted by the Mustangs. A Saumure 27-yard field goal broke the goose egg for the Axemen prior to Harou’s touchdown.
Western’s Harry McMaster led all receivers on the day with 135 yards on five receptions and one touchdown. Acadia’s Eugene McMinns pulled in three passes for 48 yards and teammate Glodin Mulali and Cordell Hastings had 33 and 31 respectively.
Western posted 689 yards of offense that included 451 yards rushing, surpassing their regular season average of 309.
The Mustangs will face the winner of Saturday’s Mitchell Bowl between Calgary and Laval for the 53rd ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup in Hamilton, Ont., on Saturday, Nov. 25.
