SHERBROOKE (CFL.ca wire) — The Quebec U17 team earned themselves a berth in the Canada Football Cup gold medal game by defeating Western Ontario 12-6 in front of over 525 fans at the Universite de Sherbrooke Stadium.
Quebec, coached by David Lessard, got on the board first thanks to a field goal by Eric Marraopdi-Andrade. Running back Mendy Cardichon of Mount St. Louis would add to the lead in the second quarter with an 11 yard touchdown run.
Quebec’s defence did a good job of stifling West Ontario’s offence, which did not advance past midfield until late in the second quarter. Although West Ontario did get good field position late in the half, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and headed into halftime trailing 12-0.
It was a different story in the second half, as Quebec was unable to gain any offensive momentum.
Ontario cut Quebec’s lead in half in the third quarter after an Adrian Dolley touchdown made the score 12-6. While Ontario had several more scoring chances late in the game, Quebec’s defence came up with several impressive goal-line stands to preserve the win.
“Our defence played great all game,” said Lessard. “It’s because of them that we are going to the final.”
Lessard also believed that the win would give his team a boost heading into Friday’s gold medal game against Manitoba.
“I watched Manitoba play and they are a team that reminds me a lot of us. It will certainly be a good match up.”
The offensive player of the game for Quebec was running back Jerome Stewart who credited his defensive teammates for the win.
“They kept us in the game,” said Stewart “I think that we showed a lot of perseverance today.”
For West Ontario, head coach Ed Hewiston was proud of the hard work his team had put in over the past several weeks.
“We played well and we played hard right until the end. We were beaten by a team which will be very tough to beat on Friday,” said Hewiston.
The stat sheets for this game underscored just how close the contest was with Quebec finishing with 212 yards of total offence and Western Ontario finishing with 211 total yards.
Quebec will now face Manitoba in the gold medal game for the U17 category. The gold medal game is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Universite de Sherbrooke.
Manitoba defeated Eastern Ontario 11-10 earlier in the day to earn themselves a berth in the gold medal game and a shot at a third straight U17 title.
West Ontario’s next game is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Bishop’s University’s Coulter Field. West Ontario remains in contention for the bronze medal.
Third place will be determined by which of the four remaining teams finishes the tournament with the most wins.
Scoring Summary:
1st 05:58 Quebec – Andrade E 20 yd field goal
Ontario 0 – Quebec 3
2nd 00:58 Quebec – Team safety
Ontario 0 – Quebec 5
04:36 Quebec – Cardichon M 11 yd run (Andrade E kick)
Ontario 0 – Quebec 12
4th 01:45 Ontario – Dolley A 5 yd run (Loveday T kick failed)
Ontario 6 – Quebec 12
Players of the Game:
West Ontario
Offensive: Ryley Wright
Defensive: Kyle Karczynski
Quebec
Offensive: Jerome Stewart
Defensive: Antoine Valle
