The Calgary Dinos are looking to take home their first Vanier Cup since 1995 this Saturday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Standing in their way is a powerhouse Laval Rouge et Or team that topped the Dinos in the 2013 and 2010 finals.
Laval punched their ticket to the Vanier Cup with a dominant 36-6 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks in the Uteck Bowl. Calgary pulled away from the St. FX X-Men for a 50-24 win in the Mitchell Bowl, and both teams enter Saturday’s final with potent, diverse offensive attacks.
Here are the offensive skill players to watch:
Calgary Dinos
RB | Jeshrun Antwi | 6’0″, 192 lbs
Antwi has stepped up for the Dinos in the absence of Bryce Harper and Quentin Chown, and the Calgary native could be in line for the bulk of carries on Saturday. The X-Men kept Antwi to 39 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the Mitchell Bowl, but Antwi’s big-play ability led him to a per-carry average of 7.3 yards over 50 regular season carries.
Calgary’s rushing attack looked much stronger in their 46-43 Hardy Cup win over UBC with Antwi scoring twice and racking up 96 yards. He also added two receiving touchdowns in the regular season as Calgary looked to get him the ball in open spaces.
WR | Whitman Tomusiak | 6’1″, 195 lbs
Injuries haven’t been kind to Calgary’s wide receiver position either, as top wideout Austen Hartley also sat out the Mitchell Bowl with an injury. Tomusiak broke through with seven catches and 139 yards, leading the Dinos offence in both categories. The senior has been held to one touchdown this year, but Tomusiak should have every opportunity to add to that total as a top target for quarterbacks Adam Sinagra and Jimmy Underdahl on Saturday.
WR | Hunter Karl | 6’1″, 165 lbs
Karl was Calgary’s second-most productive receiver in the regular season behind Tomusiak and put up another very strong game versus St. FX. Jimmy Underdahl connected with Karl for a 41-yard touchdown two minutes into the second half, part of a five-catch, 118-yard game.
WR | Dallas Boath | 5’9″, 185 pounds
Boath, another Calgary native, had a very strong game in the Hardy Cup with four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. After posting 11 receptions for 210 yards over seven regular season games, Boath is another testament to the Dinos’ productive depth. He followed that Hardy Cup performance up with another four catches for 80 yards in the Mitchell Bowl, and his quickness will be a weapon for Calgary.
Laval Rouge et Or
RB | Vincent Alarie-Tardif | 6’0″, 200 lbs
Alarie-Tardif is coming off a 95-yard performance in the Uteck Bowl and led all Laval running backs with 11 rushes for 46 yards in the Rouge et Or’s 20-17 win over Montreal in the Dunsmore Cup. With three touchdowns in the regular season and an average of 7.2 yards-per-carry, Alarie-Tardif will be a central piece of the Laval attack. Expect to see Sebastien Serre and Laval’s regular season rushing leader Christopher Amoah involved their dangerous ground game, as well.
WR/TE | Antony Auclair | 6’6″, 254 lbs
Auclair is a physical specimen in the Rouge et Or offence and has already generated interest from six NFL teams ahead of the 2017 draft. He chipped in three catches for 22 yards in the Uteck Bowl and scored twice on 17 receptions in the regular season. Laval likes to move Auclair around in formations to create matchup advantages, and his size could play a big role in the red zone.
WR | Félix Faubert-Lussier | 6’0″, 215 lbs
Faubert-Lussier had great chemistry with star quarterback Hugo Richard this year, catching 30 regular season passes for a team-leading 440 yards and three touchdowns. He added four catches for 80 yards and a score against St. FX and remains one of Richard’s primary targets out wide.
WR | Jonathan Breton-Robert | 5’10”, 175 lbs
Breton-Robert had Laval’s other receiving touchdown in the Uteck Bowl, part of a five-catch, 51-yard day. He averaged 13.1 yards-per-reception on his 20 catches in the regular season but really burst onto the scene in the Dunsmore Cup win over Montreal. Breton-Robert had 10 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown that game, and even threw a three-yard touchdown of his own.