Montreal and British Columbia will compete for the 51st Vanier Cup next Saturday in Quebec City, after the two visitors both emerged from the national university semifinal football games with victories Saturday.
In Guelph, the Quebec and defending Vanier Cup champion Carabins defeated the Ontario champion Guelph Gryphons 25-10 in the Mitchell Bowl, while in Antigonish, N.S., the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, champions of the Atlantic conference, were beaten 36-9 by the Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds in the Uteck Bowl.
Montreal broke open a close ball game with 17 points in the final seven minutes of the first half, to take a 23-0 advantage into the break.
B.C. led 9-1 late in the second quarter, before a pair of touchdowns by former Metro Toronto Wildcat Trivel Pinto, both on passes from quarterback Michael O’Connor—one three minutes before halftime, the other three minutes into the second half—broke the game open.
Both losing teams were betrayed by their inability to rush the football. Guelph gained just 65 yards along the ground, while St. F.X. ran for just 49. The X-Men were also betrayed by nine turnovers.
Defensive back Dylan Bell, the former Kingston Grenadier, made seven solo tackles for St. F.X., while Hayden Peters, the Sydenham High School grad, was involved in four tackles. Rob Carnegie, the former Frontenac Falcon, dressed as a backup for Guelph and was involved in one special teams tackle.