The route to the 50th Vanier Cup has been one filled with surprises. Many expected a 2014 Uteck Bowl this Saturday with a Calgary vs. Laval match-up, a rematch of the 2013 Vanier Cup. But this year’s Uteck Bowl and Vanier Cup will showcase very different teams from the ones people – including myself – expected.
Both the Dunsmore Cup and the Hardy Cup were played this past Saturday in Quebec and Alberta respectively. The Carabins de Montreal, the #2 ranked team in the country, made their second trip of the season to Telus Stadium in Quebec just two weeks; the last time they met, the Carabins hosted the Rouge et Or and handed them their first loss in three years. Meanwhile, the surprise of the playoffs, the Manitoba Bisons, playing their second straight road game after an upset in Saskatchewan against the Huskies, were up against a tough Dinos squad at McMahon Stadium.
Dunsmore Cup
In front of nearly 14,000 rowdy fans in Quebec’s capital, the game was set to be an attacking affair between quarterbacks Hugo Richard of Laval and Gabriel Cousineau of Montreal. However, neither offence was able to generate much in the cold; instead, the game showcase two of the country’s best defences. There were three turnovers all game: Richard fumbled in the second quarter, and the two others made the game exciting in the fourth. At the end of the first half, Carabins’ kicker Louis-Philippe Simoneau split the uprights twice and the Carabins went up 6-0.
The third was another stagnant quarter, with no drive exceeding 7 plays but Laval was able to put six points up on the board thanks to fifth year kicker Boris Bede.
Things warmed up in the final ten minutes, starting with a Hugo Richard pass intercepted by defensive back Nicolas Gauthier at midfield. With the Carabins charging late in the fourth with about four minutes to go, Cousineau failed to find the end zone once again on a pass to Mikael Davidson, setting up Simoneau for three more points.
Laval was almost done and out with 1:35 left when Montreal took possession of the ball, forced a fumble on running back Sean Thomas-Erlington, and took control at the Montreal 39. Richard stormed down the field and air-mailed the ball to the end zone twice but found no one, so Bede stepped in and tied the game with 1:01 to go.
Heading into overtime, everything was on the line at this point, including a wager between the two city’s mayors, Denis Coderre of Montreal and Regis Labeaume of Quebec. The loser of the bet would mount the winning university’s flag at city hall. It’s not every day you see a bet between mayors for CIS football.
The Carabins took the ball first, moving it from the 35 to the 15 on five plays and the end result was Simoneau nailing his fourth field goal of the afternoon. With Laval trying to score right after, in Bede’s field goal range, Richard was sacked for a seven-yard loss by Byron Archambault and Bede then missed from 47 yards out. Montreal took the game in a massive 12-9 upset. After 11 years of being Dunsmore Cup champions, ten years without a home loss and two straight Vanier Cups, the Laval Rouge et Or were finally knocked off.
Hardy Cup
After the Bisons defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 47-39 in the semi-final they went to Calgary, a team that has won six straight Hardy Cups. Odds were fully in the 6-2 Dinos’ favour, the 4-4 Bisons had nothing going for them. On the opening play of the night, Dinos running back Mercer Timmis took the ball 81 yards to the house, and the game seemed headed for an absolute demolition.
But the tide turned on the Dinos on their next drive when quarterback Andrew Buckley – who was the conference’s top player this season – threw an interception right to Jonathan Jones, who found a clear path to the end zone just 20 yards in front of him.
Buckley was visibly rattled with that pick-six and didn’t complete a pass until six drives later, with five straight 2-and-outs that included three incomplete passes, two rushes for no yards, and a sack. By the time he finally found a receiver in the second quarter, the Bisons were already up 14-7 thanks to a 40-yard run by Kienan LaFrance during a three-play, 75-yard drive.
The Dinos did find the endzone on their eighth drive, when they looked like the normal Dinos, going 90 yards in just five plays, ending in a 42-yard touchdown reception by Rashaun Simonise. After a second interception thrown by Buckley, it took QB Jordan Yantz just three passes in 20 seconds to find Zach Regert in the endzone.
At the half, the Bisons led 24-14 and Buckley had already been picked three times. With his confidence down the drain, his offence scored a single point in the second half and he was pulled from the game after finding a Bisons defender for the fourth time of the night. To everyone’s surprise, the Bisons came out victorious with an upset of the ages – David and Goliath material.
The Uteck Bowl
The 2014 Uteck Bowl will be an amazing one to watch this year and extremely tough to predict. The Carabins went 9-1 in the regular season and will be the Bisons’ toughest opponent in the playoffs, but after winning two road games, the Bisons can never be counted out. Yantz and Cousineau will battle it out behind center. Davidson and Nic Demski will show scouts what they’re all about. It could go either way, but one thing is for certain, with an upset already under each of their belts, each team will be begging for more.
Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter @LWOSNick.
Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” ourFacebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
