A spot in the 53rd Vanier Cup is on the line as the Western Mustangs head to Wolfville, Nova Scotia to face the Acadia Axemen in the Uteck Bowl on Saturday afternoon.
 
Western earned its spot in the national semifinal with a dominant 75-32 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks in the 110th Yates Cup this past Saturday. The Mustangs controlled all three phases of the game in the win, and set a record for points scored in the Yates Cup, eclipsing the previous mark of 65 set by Windsor in 1975.
 
Cedric Joseph led Western's offensive onslaught on Saturday, making three trips to the end zone and racking up 250 yards rushing on only 21 carries. The Champlain College product now has an astounding seven touchdowns in the Mustangs two playoff games, nearly matching the 10 rushing touchdowns he put up during the regular season to lead the OUA. For his efforts, Joseph was awarded the Dalt White Trophy as Yates Cup MVP.
 
Along with Joseph's eye-popping numbers, quarterback Chris Merchant had one of his best games in a Mustang uniform, completing 13 of 18 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns. He was also second on the Mustangs rushing leaderboard with 66 yards on nine carries with one major.
 
The Mustangs nation leading offence and defence will head up against an Acadia team that will be playing on just a few days rest after winning the Loney Bowl 45-38 in double overtime on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Acadia comes into Saturday's game as the 14th-ranked offence in Canada, averaging 28.3 points and 447.9 yards per game. The Axemen's offence has been led by the duo of quarterback Cody Cluett and running back Dale Wright during the 2017 campaign. Cluett completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,8189 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions, while Wright racked up 1,030 yards, good for first in AUS and third in the nation. Although Wright suffered an injury during the AUS final, the Axemen didn't miss a beat with senior running back Cameron Davidson stepping in to pick up 152 yards in the win.
 
Defensively, the Axemen boast a top 10 squad, allowing 24.1 points-per-game – good for eighth in the country. Second-year linebacker Bailey Feltmate leads the defence with 58.5 tackles through eight regular season contests. Western will also need to keep an eye out for third-year defensive back Jadin White Frayne, who leads the country with six interceptions.
 
Saturday's matchup will be the Mustangs first appearance in the national semifinal since the team's 2013 loss to Calgary, and is Western's 21st bowl game since 1967, with the purple and white holding a 12-8 record. The game will be the sixth-ever contest between the two sides, with Western boasting a 4-1 advantage, including taking the last meeting 55-45 in the 1995 Atlantic Bowl in Halifax.
 
Game time for the Uteck Bowl is set for 12:30 p.m. EST (1:30 p.m. AST) at Raymond Field in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Fans can tune in to all the action live on Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet Now, Radio Western 94.9 FM, and Newstalk 1290 CJBK.
 
Coach Marshall on the Axemen
 
"We had watched a lot of film on Acadia on Sunday morning, and then Sunday night when that ruling came down we kind of started looking at Saint Mary's. We've been kind of splitting up [our time] but Acadia's a well-coached team. They play solid defence, they like to run the football and throw some play-action passes, but they're a good overall football team."