Last week's CIS conference championships set up two interesting national semi-finals Saturday. We'll again borrow the Monday's Point After format to break them down.
Uteck Bowl: Laval 13, Western 11: The top-ranked Rouge et Or had been dominant all season and were expected by many to roll to an easy victory here. However, the Mustangs put up an incredible fight, particularly on defence. They held Laval out of the end zone all game despite some lousy field position, forcing the Rouge et Or to rely on a solid performance from kicker Christopher Milo, who was named player of the game. Milo hit four out of five field goals and scored all of Laval's points.
The Rouge et Or turned in a strong defensive performance of their own, however. They kept Western's top-ranked rushing offence reasonably in check, with Nathan Riva only picking up 17 yards on three carries and Jerimy Hipperson held to 85 yards on 18 carries. Mustangs' quarterback Donnie Marshall hurt them with his feet, rushing 12 times for 75 yards, but wasn't terribly effective through the air, completing only nine of 19 passes for 61 yards and throwing four interceptions.
The anemic offences made this a game of punts and field position. In the end, it once again came down to the foot of Western kicker Lirim Hajrullahu. Last week, he nailed a 34-yard field goal to give Western the Yates Cup. This week, though, he was put in a tougher spot. He barely hit a 47-yard field goal with the considerable wind at Stade PEPS early in the game, and the Mustangs were driving against the wind in the final quarter. They tried to get him into field-goal range, but their offence was shut down once again, forcing him to try a desperation 46-yarder into the wind as time ran out. Not surprisingly, it fell short.
It was a bit of a disappointing end to a magical season for the Mustangs. With the graduation of all-time CIS leading passer Michael Faulds (now the offensive coordinator at York), they were widely expected to take a step back from last season's Yates Cup finalist form. They went on to turn in even better results, though, focusing on a solid rushing attack and a tremendous defence, and they came very close to knocking off the nation's top team on the road. If any of a number of factors had changed slightly, it might be Western heading to next week's Vanier.
It's a very deserved win for the powerhouse Rouge et Or, though. They were the top team in Canada all year and ran roughshod over their Quebec competition. They hit some unexpected speed bumps in the playoffs with close games against Sherbrooke and Western, but still found ways to win. After hoisting the Uteck Bowl (pictured above), they now get to play in a Vanier Cup at home, which should be a special reward for their fans.
Mitchell Bowl: Calgary 35, Saint Mary's 8: For the second straight season, Calgary head coach Blake Nill and quarterback Erik Glavic met their former team in a national semi-final, and for the second straight season, they thumped them. They won 38-14 on the road in Halifax last season, and put up an even more impressive victory this year at home in the snow and ice at McMahon Stadium.
This one was all Calgary. Glavic completed 16 of 25 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Seven of his passes went to star receiver Anthony Parker for 119 yards and a touchdown, and Nathan Coehoorn caught five more for 127 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Steven Lumbala, brother of B.C. Lions' fullback Rolly, turned in a great showing with 14 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Saint Mary's struggled to get much going offensively. Micah Brown went 10-for-25 for 135 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown, but hurt his ankle in the second quarter and was briefly replaced by backup Mack Blewett. Blewett really struggled, completing five of 10 passes with three interceptions that put the game out of reach. After a slow start to this season, the Huskies proved they were still the AUS team to be reckoned with, but they again struggled in a national semi-final. They've got a ways to go to get back to Vanier-contending form.
The Dinos are appearing in their second-straight Vanier, but they'll be hoping for a better ending this time. They narrowly lost 33-31 to Queen's last season. The matchup doesn't get any easier this year, with them facing the top-ranked Rouge et Or on their home turf in Quebec City, but Calgary will be eager to avenge last season's Vanier defeat. We'll see if that motivation's enough to carry them to victory this coming Saturday.
Denise Richards Jennifer Sky Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton Grace Park
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