QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – The No. 1-ranked Laval Rouge et Or (11-0) are off to the 2008 Desjardins Vanier Cup.
BOX SCORE
The six-time reigning Quebec conference champions scored early and often en route to a 59-10 win over the visiting, No. 6 Calgary Dinos (7-4) in the first CIS football semi-final, the Uteck Bowl, Sunday afternoon in front of standing-room only crowd of 12,137 at PEPS Stadium.
Laval scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and on four of its first five drives against Canada West champion Calgary to build a 29-0 lead after the opening quarter and a 49-0 advantage at the half.
Benoit Groulx, named the QUFL MVP for the second time in three years, connected with Mathieu Bouvette on 80 yards on the first Laval play from scrimmage, then scored on a five-yard run two plays later to send the Rouge et Or ahead 7-0 one minute and 33 seconds into the game.
Groulx found Bouvette in the end zone from 16 yards out on Laval' next possession and connected with Julian Feoli-Gudino for a six-yard score on their third drive. After 8:23 of play, the locals were up 21-0.
Following a Christopher Milo kickoff single, Groulx once again connected with Bouvette for a 16-yard touchdown on Laval's fifth drive with 53 seconds remaining in the first frame.
A pair of Milo field goals and short TD runs by backup quarterback Cesar Sanchez Hernandez and running back Guillaume Allard-Caméus followed in the second quarter as Laval retreated to the locker room up by 49.
Laval played mostly second-string players in the second half.
In the third frame, Milo added a third field goal and Maxime Béland scored the Rouge et Or's last major on an eight-yard run, while Anthony Woodson, on a six-yard pass from Deke Junior, and Aaron Ifield, on a kickoff single, finally put Calgary on the board.
Laval conceded a safety to Calgary for the only points of the fourth period.
Groulx, who set a CIS record in the regular season completing 75.2 percent of his passes, was named Uteck Bowl MVP after going 12 of 14 for 254 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His favourite targets were Bouvette, who finished with four catches, 120 yards and two scores, and Feoli-Gudino, who caught seven balls for 123 yards and a TD.
Béland was the game's top rusher with 116 yards and a score on 12 carries.
Tackle Étienne Légaré, the down lineman of the year in the QUFL, led the way on defence with 5.5 tackles and two of Laval's six sacks.
Junior was 16-of-28 for 159 yards, one TD and one interception in the losing effort.
Laval out-gained Calgary 534-236, including 250 yards to 78 on the ground, and racked up 31 first downs compared to 14 for the Dinos.
The game marked the final contest for four fifth-year Dinos players, each of whom leaves the program after its most successful season since the 1995 Vanier Cup title. Defensive linemen Patrick Callan and Josh MacDonald, fullback/linebacker David Gruninger, and defensive back Jon Waldie played their final games for the University of Calgary.
GAME NOTES: Laval (4-0) is one of two teams to show unblemished records in Vanier Cup finals. Guelph beat Mount Allison 22-13 in its lone Vanier Cup appearance in 1984… Laval improved to 5-3 in CIS Bowl games and 4-0 at home… The Rouge et Or prevailed in Quebec City in the 2006 Uteck Bowl (57-10 vs. Acadia), in the 2004 Uteck Bowl (30-11 vs. Laurier) and in the 1999 Churchill Bowl (27-21 vs. Saskatchewan)… Calgary was playing in its first Bowl game since 1995 when the Dinos defeated Ottawa 37-7 in the Churchill Bowl en route to claiming their fourth Vanier Cup title…
SCORING SUMMARY
No. 1 Laval 59, No. 6 Calgary 10
(At PEPS Stadium, Quebec City)
Scoring by quarter
LAV 29-20-10-0: 59
CAL 0-0-8-2: 10
First Quarter
1:33 LAV Benoit Groulx 5-yard run (Christopher Milo convert), 7-0
4:24 LAV Mathieu Bouvette 16-yard pass from Benoit Groulx (Christopher Milo convert), 14-0
8:23 LAV Julian Feoli-Gudino 6-yard pass from Benoit Groulx (Christopher Milo convert), 21-0
8:23 LAV Christopher Milo kickoff single, 22-0
14:07 LAV Mathieu Bouvette 16-yard pass from Benoit Groulx (Christopher Milo convert), 29-0
Second Quarter
3:00 LAV Christopher Milo 33-yard field goal, 32-0
6:31 LAV Cesar Sanchez Hernandez 1-yard run (Christopher Milo convert), 39-0
10:30 LAV Guillaume Allard-Caméus 3-yard run (Christopher Milo convert), 46-0
14:44 LAV Christopher Milo 16-yard field goal, 49-0
Third Quarter
2:29 LAV Christopher Milo 25-yard field goal, 52-0
9:24 CAL Anthony Woodson 6-yard pass from Deke Junior (Aaron Ifield convert), 52-7
9:24 CAL Aaron Ifield kickoff single, 52-8
12:42 LAV Maxime Béland 8-yard run (Christopher Milo convert), 59-8
Fourth Quarter
7:46 CAL Safety conceded, 59-10
Attendance: 12,137
CIS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Sunday, Nov. 16
CIS semi-final: Uteck Bowl
No. 1 Laval 59, No. 6 Calgary 10
CIS semi-final: Mitchell Bowl
No. 5 Saint Mary's (8-1) at No. 3 Western Ontario (9-1), 3:30 pm
Saturday, Nov. 22
CIS final: Desjardins Vanier Cup, hosted by OUA
2 p.m., Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton, Ont., The Score / RDS (webcast: SSN Canada)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For further information, visit MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "206.191.28.195" claiming to be www.universitysport.ca.
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