Western Mustangs trounce Acadia Axemen 81-3 in Uteck Bowl

There was a play late in the second half of the UteckBowl between the Western Mustangs and Acadia Axementhatsummed up how things went forthe two teams today.

After the Mustangs scored a touchdown to go up 55-0, they attempted a point-after-touchdown. However, a botched play turned that into a successful two-point conversion for the Mustangs.

It was just that kind of day for the Axemen, who went on to lose 81-3 in a game where theMustangs had more touchdowns (11) than the Axemen had first downs(10).

"It wasn't how we expected it would turn out.We thought we were going to play a better game than that. They just out-performed us in all three phases of the game. It'sjust how it happens sometimes," said Acadia University quarterback CodyCluett.

Homefield advantage didn't help

The game was held in Wolfville, N.S., and while Acadia had homefield advantage, they were going up against the second-ranked team in the country. Western led the nation in scoring this season and gave up the second fewest points, according to U Sports, the national governing body for university sport in Canada.

The Mustangs'81 points set a new record for points scored in a UteckBowl beating the previous record of 60.

While the Axemen's strength is their rushing attack, which ranked fourth in the nation, it was completely shut down by the Mustangs. Acadia was only able to muster 33 yards of total rushing, a fraction of the 451 yards that the Mustangs picked up on the ground.

Western advances to VanierCup

In total, Western had 689 yards of total offence, while Acadia cobbled together 214 yards.

The game was 57-0 at the half and for most of the second half, Western sat many of its starters.

With the win, Western advances to next week's Vanier Cup in Hamilton.

Complicated lead up

Acadia's trip to the UteckBowl was a complicated one.

While the team was supposed to play the Saint Mary's Huskies on Nov. 11, Atlantic University Sport stepped in and cancelled the game just days before it was scheduled to take place over concerns about the eligibility of a Saint Mary's player.

A legal battle ensued anda Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge orderedthe game take place.

'More to life than football'

Cluett said he doesn't think the amount of rest time about four days between the Loney Bowl and the Uteck Bowl made much of a difference in his team's performance.

He said playing for Acadia has been "a dream come true."

"I've been wanting to come here since Grade 7, Grade 8. It's been pretty awesome. I wish it could have ended better but we had a good season and there's more to life than football," said Cluett.

Acadia defence tackle Adam Melanson said he's proud of his team.

"I had a good career and I had a lot of fun playing," he said Melanson.

CBCreporter Emma Davie live tweetedfrom today's game.