Laval, Calgary both blow out opponents to set up Vanier Cup showdown
Rouge defeats Laurier 36-6, Dinos take down St.FX 50-24
Hugo Richard threw touchdown passes to Felix Faubert-Lussier and Jonathan Breton-Robert in the first quarter as the Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 36-6 in the Uteck Bowl on Saturday afternoon.
Richard and Sebastien Serre ran in TDs and Faubert-Lussier added two field goals for the Rouge et Or in front of 13,256 spectators at Telus Stadium.
Laval advanced to the Vanier Cup game Nov. 26 in Hamilton. The Rouge et Or will be seeking a ninth national university football title and a first since 2013.
The Golden Hawks avoided being shut out when quarterback Michael Knevel found Brentyn Hall in the end zone with 27 seconds left in the game. A two-point convert attempt failed.
The Rouge et Or, who upset the top-ranked Montreal Carabins in the Dunsmore Cup last week, dominated from the outset against a Laurier squad that was coming off a rousing comeback win over favoured Western in the Yates Cup game last week.
Only 8:30 into the game, Richard hit Faubert-Lussier with a 23-yard TD pass. On Laval's next possession, he found Breton-Robert for a six-yard catch and run.
Faubert-Lussier, who took over placekicking duties from the struggling Dominic Levesque, kicked field goals of 27 and 34 yards while Serre ran in a TD from the three-yard line for a 29-0 halftime lead.
The Laurier attack came out strong in the second half, but a promising drive ended when Osayi Iginuan fumbled and Laval recovered. The Golden Hawks answered by forcing Vincent Alarie-Tardif to fumble at the Laurier six, but they couldn't move the ball and a short punt gave Laval the ball back at the 37.
That led to Richard's two-yard TD run at 13:03 of the third quarter.
Laurier lost star running back Levondre Gordon early in the second quarter with an injury.
Calgary Dinos take Mitchell Bowl
Quarterback Jimmy Underdahl returned from injury in the second half to throw two touchdowns and lead the Calgary Dinos to a 50-24 victory over the St.FX X-Men on Saturday in the Mitchell Bowl.
Calgary will face the Laval Rouge et Or in the 52nd Vanier Cup next Saturday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Laval beat the Laurier Golden Hawks 36-6 in the Uteck Bowl earlier in the day.
Underdahl has been sidelined for the past five weeks with a knee injury but came back to complete 11-of-16 passes for 217 yards and an interception. The senior QB also earned Mitchell Bowl MVP honours.
"I said it when I first injured myself that I'm not going to let this end my career and I'm happy that I was able to get back," Underdahl said. "I think I played pretty well and the whole team played great."
Adam Sinagra started the game in place of Underdahl and was 17-of-27, for 234 yards and one TD. Sinagra connected with defensive lineman Joel Van Pelt for a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
"I didn't even have a celebration ready because I never thought it was going to happen, so it was pretty awesome," Van Velt said while grinning ear-to-ear.
It didn't take Underdahl long to knock off the rust after entering the game. The Calgary native led the Dinos down the field on a one minute 52 second, 85-yard drive, capping it off with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Karl.
"We knew we wanted to play Jimmy at some point during the game it was just a matter of when we were going to do that," Dinos head coach Wayne Harris Jr. said. "We talked about bringing him mid-second quarter to get his feet wet then we discussed it again at halftime and made the decision to get him into some game action."
Harris Jr. said that he was happy with how both his quarterbacks played and that he'd likely wait until a day or so before the Vanier Cup to name his starting quarterback.
Calgary also entered the game without leading rusher Bryce Harper and top receiver Austen Hartley. But Harris Jr. isn't using his team's injury woes to paint his squad as an underdog against a powerhouse Laval squad.
"I don't believe in that [underdog role] a whole lot. I think that you can fall into bad thoughts that way," Harris Jr. said. "I think we just got to go in knowing that if we play, we can compete and in a national championship anything can happen.
"I don't know how many personnel we've lost throughout the season, but it's got to be the most in my coaching career."
Jack McDonald caught the other TD while Jeshrun Antwi and Cole Kussmann ran in touchdowns for the No. 6 Dinos.
Calgary kicker Niko DiFonte added field goals of 41, 41 and 25 yards.
X-Men quarterback Tivon Cook connected with Dejaun Martin for two TDs. Cook finished the game 23 for 43 for 254 yards and an interception.
Jonathan Heidebrecht had three field goals from 15, 16 and 37 yards for No. 10 St.FX.