Recap: Ontario rolls to first Football Canada Cup in 10 years

REGINA (July 13) – Team Ontario may have found a second home in Saskatchewan. The Ontarians defeated Quebec 45-7 at Mosaic Stadium to win their first Football Canada Cup since 2014. Ontario’s last title was, coincidentally, the last time the event was held in Saskatchewan, making them a combined 6-0 in the province in the last decade.

Earlier in the day, Alberta shut out the hosts from Saskatchewan, 35-0, to take the bronze medal. New Brunswick edged Manitoba 12-7 for fifth place in a game that came down to the final play and B.C. finished its tournament on a high note with a 25-5 win over Nova Scotia.

Alberta running back Seth Poelzer was named the tournament’s offensive MVP, Ontario’s Carter Gooden took defensive honors while his teammate Matthew Stam was named the special teams MVP.

The 2025 Football Canada Cup will be hosted by Football Nova Scotia at StFX University in Antigonish.

Recaps of all four games follow:

7th place: British Columbia 25 Nova Scotia 5

Jack Roberts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as B.C. scored a 25-5 win over Nova Scotia in the “Sea-to-Sea Bowl”. Two of Roberts’ majors turned the game around, transforming a 5-1 late second-quarter deficit into a 15-5 halftime lead. First, Roberts found Brady Doucette in the end zone on a 24-yard score with 2:36 to go in the half and he followed that up with a one-yard scoring plunge on their next possession.

Nova Scotia had taken their early lead thanks to a Thatcher Manuel field goal and a safety touch.

The other BC touchdown came in the fourth quarter, as Roberst found Logan Rubel in the end zone for a four-yard score. Four singles from Hudson Jones rounded out the scoring.

Roberts earned offensive player-of-the-game honors for B.C. He split quarterbacking duty with Matthew Chapman and completed eight of 15 passes for 73 yards and had five carries for 11 yards, as well as a 22-yard missed field goal return.

Nova Scotia’s offensive MVP was Jesse Allison, who threw for 258 yards on 18-for-34 passing. His favorite receiver was Mark MacLean, who had five catches for 78 yards.

Defensive honors for Nova Scotia went to Josiah Brown, who had 2.5 tackles and a pass knockdown. B.C. ‘s Samson Sachter earned defensive honors with 4.5 tackles and an interception.

FIFTH PLACE: New Brunswick 12 Manitoba 7

New Brunswick held on to defeat Manitoba 12-7 in a game that came down to the last play of the game. Down five with a minute to go, Manitoba took possession on the New Brunswick 45. Six plays later, Manitoba had the ball on the NB 1-yard line with one second to go. But that was as close as the westerners got, as an illegal procedure penalty pushed the final play back to the six-yard line, and then Rogan Vergata’s pass fell incomplete in the end zone, allowing NB to head east with fifth place.

The victors opened the scoring with a 53-yard Hazen Rossiter touchdown pass to Leo Foster in the first quarter, and a blocked extra point left them leading 6-0 after 12 minutes. Santiago Vincent extended NB’s lead with a 32-yard field goal early in the second before Manitoba got on the board with a 16-yard pass from Vergata to Nathan Esch midway through the period, but NB still held a 9-7 halftime lead.

Vincent’s second field goal of the day, a 19-yarder in the third quarter, was the only event to trouble the scorers in the second half, as the defences took over.

Esch was Manitoba’s offensive MVP with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Vergata, meanwhile, also contributed with 13 completions on 29 attempts for 151 yards and five carries for 26 yards.

Foster took offensive honours for NB, with four catches for 94 yards, including his 53-yard bomb. Rossiter went 11-for-20 for 129 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Sam Opanubi took the honors for Manitoba with 3.5 total tackles, while Vincent took the prize for New Brunswick with an interception to go with the two field goals he made.

BRONZE MEDAL: Alberta 35 Saskatchewan 0

Alberta came out strongly in the “Prairie Bowl” against Saskatchewan, as they rebounded from Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to Quebec in the semifinals to notch a 35-0 shutout. Kohen Bohnet, who was Alberta’s offensive player of the game, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as they cruised to the win.

Bohnet’s run opened the scoring midway through the first quarter, and he put the game away with a pair of scoring passes late in the second, a 20-yarder to Seth Poelzer and a 63-yard bomb to Liam Piccinin, giving his side a 21-0 halftime lead.

Alberta’s other touchdowns came in the third quarter on a seven-yard Ethan Grannum rush and in the fourth when Aldin Bilalbegovic caught a nine-yard pass from Kohen Bohnet to bring the final score to 35-0.

The highlight for Saskatchewan was the performance of their defensive player of the game, Jarret Hayward, who had six tackles (five solo and two assists) and a 14-yard interception. Saskatchewan’s offensive player of the game, Ben Blackburn, had 73 total yards, including 46 yards in kick and punt returns.

Eda Otoro took defensive MVP honors for Alberta as he made four total tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble.

GOLD MEDAL: Ontario 45 Quebec 7

Ontario scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to break the game open as they downed their neighbours 45-7 to win their first championship since 2014. After a Zachary Aubin field goal, one of his two on the day, opened the scoring, Kymarri Smith put Ontario up 10-0 with a 52-yard run. An eight-yard pass from Riley Chalmers extended Ontario’s lead, and a late single by Aubin gave them an 18-0 at the break.

In the second half, turnovers began to plague Quebec, who finished the day with seven to Ontario’s one. Dylan Tharby, Ontario’s defensive MVP, extended the margin to 25 points when he ran an interception back 52 yards for a score midway through the third quarter. After Ontario extended their lead to 31-0 after three quarters on a safety touch, Aubin’s second field goal and a single, Ontario’s second pick-six – this time by Paolo Grossi – put the game well beyond doubt at 38-0. Tyler Mercier and Benjamin Kingston added touchdowns in the fourth quarter to round out the Ontario scoring.

Louis Fortier connected with Tyler Mercier for Quebec’s only touchdown of the day. Mercier finished with five catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Quebec’s offensive player of the game was Maxime Latendresse, who had three catches for 85 yards to lead his side. Defensive honors went to Sasha Durand, who had three total tackles, including one for a loss.

For the gold medallists, Chambers took offensive MVP honors, as he went 10-for-15 for 146 yards with a touchdown and posted an efficiency rating of 170.4 on the day. Tharby was named defensive MVP for his 3.5 total tackles and pair of interceptions.