Men’s Football
Perfection Personified: Julian Hanlon and the long road to a pair of Vanier Cups
Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, linebacker Kean Harelimana, and receiver Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau are the U SPORTS Football Players of the Week, for the period ending Nov. 18, 2018.
? CHAMPIONS! #CoupeUteck #GoLaval #Objectif10 pic.twitter.com/bMcCQmp3pw
— Rouge et Or (@rougeetor) November 17, 2018
Richard had a great afternoon in the U SPORTS national semifinal. In the 63-0 win over the StFX X-Men, the fifth-year delighted the crowd at TELUS-UL Stadium with no less than five touchdown passes in the first half. When he left the game midway through the third quarter, Richard was 22 for 27, with 327 yards, five majors and one interception to take home Uteck Bowl MVP Honours.
Harelimana gave headaches to the StFX X-Men attack in the Uteck Bowl, leading his team with 6.5 tackles, including five solo. The Kigali, Rwanda, native also forced and recovered a fumble, a turnaround that resulted in three more points on the board for Laval.
? @gagnon_benoit bloque un botté de dégagement et MARQUE UN TOUCHÉ! Sur la 5e passe de touché du match de @Hugo_Richard_4 C'est 39-0 #rougeetor sur @StFXAthletics #CoupeUteck #GoLaval #Objectif10 pic.twitter.com/yN5fo7aJE1
— Rouge et Or (@rougeetor) November 17, 2018
Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau made the play of the game on special teams. Towards the end of the third quarter, the fifth-year receiver blocked an X-Men punt, and the Rouge et Or recovered the ball on the visitors’ 29-yard line.
Two plays later, Gagnon-Brousseau took advantage, catching a 24-yard pass from Hugo Richard for a major to extend the lead to 39-0 Laval. Gagnon-Brousseau helped the Rouge et Or capture the Uteck Bowl with four catches for 46 yards.
Offensive nominees:
- OUA: Chris Merchant, quarterback, Western
- RSEQ: Hugo Richard, quarterback, Laval
Defensive nominees:
- OUA: Fraser Sopik, linebacker, Western
- RSEQ: Kean Harelimana, linebacker, Laval
Special teams nominees:
- OUA: Marc Liegghio, kicker, Western
- RSEQ: Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau, receiver, Laval
Kickoff for the 54th Vanier Cup Presented By Promutuel Insurance between the Laval Rouge et Or and the Western Mustangs is set for 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on Saturday at TELUS-UL Stadium in Quebec City. Television coverage on Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One and TVA Sports gets underway with pre-game shows at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT. The broadcast is also available online through Sportsnet NOW and TVASports.ca.
You can also follow the game behind the scenes on U SPORTS social media channels @USPORTSca and @USPORTS_fb on Twitter, @USPORTSca on Instagram and @USPORTSCanada on Facebook.