Saint Foy, QC – The nationally number-two ranked Golden Hawks and 18,235 fans at PEPS Stadium watched as the reigning Vanier Cup champions, the Laval Rouge et Or defeated Laurier 30-11.

The Hawks coming off of an impressive 10-0 run in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and their first Yates Cup in 13 years, faced Laval for the first time in the schools history and met the strongest defense in the country.

"They were too much for us today," said fourth year Laurier quarterback Ryan Pyear (Belleville, ON). "We couldn't adjust as quickly as we wanted to."

The Laurier offense had trouble in the first half, only able to put a single point on the board – as a result of Brian Devlin's (Sarnia, ON) wide-left 34-yard field goal. Pyear only connected once for a major – on the eight-play, 75 yard drive in the third quarter. The one-yard catch by Mike Maurice (Waterloo, ON) wasn't able to change the momentum of the game as Laval responded with another TD only three-minutes later. Devlin finished off the Laurier scoring with a 26-yard field goal in the fourth.

The WLU offense finished with 289 yards – only 68 on the ground. Pyear completed 17 of 30 for 221 yards. Pyear also threw three interceptions. The number-one Laval defense broke up eight of Pyear's passes while also holding the rushers to an average of 2.8 yards a carry.

Laval's Jeronimo Huerta-Flores was named the Uteck Bowl MVP for his second consecutive season. The Mexican native carried 22 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns. The Rouge et Or offense was effective, moving the ball 404 yards. QB William Lelerc was 7 of 19 for 115 yards and a TD. He also carried for 40 yards.

It was about twenty-seven minutes, that the Golden Hawk defense was on the field. The group led by Jeff Smeaton (Brantford, ON) - seven tackles, five assisted and a fumble recovery as well as Jesse Alexander (Waterloo, ON) – five tackes, seven assisted were consistently trying to hold Laval.

"We had a great season. No one will take it away from us," said Manager of Football Operations and Head Coach Gary Jeffries. "The game put the other leagues into perspective for the future, and will allow us to build on what we had this season."

Five players at this point will be graduating this season including, defensive back Steven Frake (Etobicoke, ON), linebackers Lee Maggiacomo (Cambridge, ON) and Brian Sloot (Waterloo, ON), Offensive linemen Ryan Jeffrey (Lyn, ON) and Stephen Braun (Toronto, ON).

Although losing the five-defensive players, Coach Jeffries was quite optimistic for next season. "We'll be back next year… You can count on the Hawks to be a threat again."