53rd Vanier Cup

{{short description|Canadian university gridiron football championship}}

{{Infobox Canadian football game

|number=53

|type=Vanier Cup

|image=53rd Vanier Cup Logo.jpg

|image_caption=

|date=November 25, 2017

|stadium=Tim Hortons Field

|city=Hamilton, ON

|visitor name=Laval Rouge et Or

|home name=Western Mustangs

|visitor coach=Glen Constantin

|home coach=Greg Marshall

|visitor record=10–1

|home record=11–0

|visitor1=0

|visitor2=7

|visitor3=3

|visitor4=7

|home1=8

|home2=8

|home3=9

|home4=14

|MVP=Chris Merchant, Western

|MV2=Fraser Sopik, Western

|anthem=Sienna Kocsis

|referee=G MacLean

|coin toss=

|kick-off=1:00 PM EST

|halftime=The Trews

|attendance=10,754

|network= Sportsnet,
TVA Sports

|announcers=Tim Micallef (play-by-play)
Mike Morreale (analyst)

|ratings=

}}

The 53rd Vanier Cup (branded as the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup for sponsorship reasons), the 2017 edition of the U Sports football championship, was held on November 25, 2017, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.[http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/vc16 CIS football: Hamilton to host Vanier Cup in 2016 and 2017] from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, January 18, 2015, retrieved 2016-01-18.[http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20170123jotmah Bishop’s Gaiters sign deal to compete in 2017 AUS football season] The defending champion Laval Rouge et Or made their 11th Vanier Cup appearance while the Western Mustangs made their nation-leading 13th appearance. This was a rematch of the 44th Vanier Cup which was won by Laval and also played in Hamilton. Western defeated Laval, 39–17, to win its first national championship since 1994.

Hamilton was awarded both the 2016 and 2017 Vanier Cup games; it marked the fifth time that the Vanier Cup had been hosted by Hamilton.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2016/01/18/vanier-cup-returns-to-hamilton-in-2016/|title=Vanier Cup returns to Hamilton in 2016|date=2016-01-18|work=CFL.ca|access-date=2017-11-05|language=en-US}}

Semi-finals

The Vanier Cup is played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2017, according to the rotating schedule, the Canada West Hardy Trophy championship team, the Calgary Dinos hosted the Québec conference Dunsmore Cup championship team, the Rouge et Or, for the Mitchell Bowl. The Acadia Axemen, winners of the Atlantic conference's Loney Bowl,{{Cite news|url=http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/aus-hands-loney-bowl-title-to-acadia-following-eligibility-controversy-with-smu-1.3670942|title=AUS hands Loney Bowl title to Acadia following eligibility controversy with SMU|date=2017-11-09|work=Atlantic|access-date=2017-11-09|language=en-CA}} hosted the Yates Cup Ontario championship team, the Mustangs, for the Uteck Bowl.{{cite web|url=http://en.usports.ca/championships/160812_Championship_Calendar_D2.pdf|title=CIS 5-year Championship Schedule|publisher=U Sports|access-date=2017-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221212158/http://en.usports.ca/championships/160812_Championship_Calendar_D2.pdf|archive-date=2017-02-21|url-status=dead}}

Scoring

{{Americanfootballbox

|bg=#fff

|bg2=#eee

|titlestyle=background-color:#000; color:#fff

|state=uncollapsed

|title=53rd Vanier Cup

|date=November 25

|time=1:00 p.m. EST

|road=Laval

|R1=0 |R2=7 |R3=3 |R4=7

|home=Western

|H1=8 |H2=8 |H3=9 |H4=14

|stadium=Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario

|attendance=10,754

|weather={{convert|9|°C|°F}}

|referee=G. MacLean

|TV=Sportsnet, TVA Sports

|TVAnnouncers=

|reference=[http://presto-en.usports.ca/sports/fball/championship/2017/champ-boxscores/20171125_8pmq.xml Box Score]

|scoring=

1 11:28 Western - Chris Merchant 13–yd run (Marc Liegghio kick) Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards in 3:32
1 1:45 Western - Marc Liegghio single
2 5:49 Western - Cedric Joseph 12–yd run (Marc Liegghio kick) Drive: 9 plays, 82 yards in 3:28
2 2:14 Laval - Benoit Gagnon-B 28–yd pass from Hugo Richard (David Côté kick) Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards in 3:30
2 0:00 Western - Marc Liegghio single
3 11:08 Western - Cedric Joseph 6–yd run (Marc Liegghio kick) Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards in 2:13
3 7:00 Western - Safety
3 1:53 Laval - David Côté 34–yd field goal Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards in 3:29
4 14:08 Western - Cole Majoros 32–yd pass from Chris Merchant (Marc Liegghio kick) Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:45
4 7:08 Western - Chris Merchant 10–yd run (Marc Liegghio kick) Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards in 4:54
4 00:07 Laval - Vincent Alarie-Tardif 1–yd run (David Côté kick) Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards in 1:20