Laurier faces Laval for a berth in the 52nd Vanier Cup

The Laval Rouge et Or are the crown jewel University football program of Canada.

Since 1999, they have claimed a record eight Vanier Cups but haven’t made it to the final since 2013.

The Laurier Golden Hawks have re-tooled their program since then with Head Coach Michael Faulds at the helm.

Faulds tells us his team is ready to answer the bell in the Uteck Bowl Saturday afternoon.

“We won’t be intimidated,” says Faulds, “obviously we have the utmost respect for our opponent and their coaching staff and we know it’s not going to be an easy task by any means, but what you won’t have out there is an intimidated, scared football team.”

Golden Hawks Linebacker Nakas Onyeka says the message is simple.

“Play our hearts out,” says Onyeka, “we feel like we don’t really have anything to lose. Nobody really expects us to win, but internally we know the kind of guys that we have and the kind of systems that we run. We feel like if we execute the way that we’ve executed all season, then this game is just like all the others.”

Coach Faulds knows that his opponent has not made it to the Vanier Cup since 2013 and expects to face a hungry Laval team.

“Laval really doesn’t have any weaknesses,” says Faulds, “Laval is the standard of Canadian University football and that’s why they have won so many Vanier Cups. Having lost to Montreal the last two years and not having an opportunity to get to this point, you can tell it’s a really hungry football team.”

Faulds knows how well this Laval team is coached.

“Obviously, Coach Constantin is one of the best coaches ever in Canadian football,” says Faulds, “PEPS Stadium in Quebec City is going to be crazy loud. Obviously, they have good players and good schemes but the other side of it is the mental component. Having our guys ready to be able to handle those adverse conditions and just play our game.”

Defensive End for the Golden Hawks Kwaku Boateng is the number one ranked U Sports prospect for the 2017 CFL draft and Boateng echoes Coach Faulds’ feelings about this program.

“For the past 15 years, they’ve been just a phenomenal team,” says Boateng, “they’ve been to Uteck Bowls and Vanier Cups but at the same time, our offense has been able to put up points this year, and our defense has been able to make big stops when we needed it.”

You can catch all the action right here on 570 News Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., with Justin Fauteux and Dan Polischuk.

The winner of the Uteck Bowl will face the winner of the Mitchell Bowl between the Calgary Dinos and the St. Francis Xavier X-Men.

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