McMaster Marauders muddle by Mount Allison Mounties in messy Mitchell Bowl

McMaster, which never does anything the easy way, is heading to the 50th Vanier Cup without its leading rusher.

Very little ever seems to faze the Marauders, who outlasted the rugged and resourceful Mount Allison Mounties 24-12 in the Mitchell Bowl on Saturday at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton. The prevailing thought, though, emanating out of the defensively dominated Canadian university football semifinal is whether Mac can keep up with Vanier foe Montreal next Saturday without tailback Chris Pezzetta. The fourth-year running back, who lost the previous two seasons to a knee injury, reinjured his ACL on his first carry of the day at rain-soaked Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton.

Sportsnet 360 cameras captured a tearful Pezzetta embracing backfield mate Wayne Moore, whom he split duties with 50/50 during the regular season. In his platoon mate's absence, Moore rushed 30 times for 146 yards and capped off a 10-play, 71-yard drive at the start of the second half with a six-yard scamper behind a crucial block from H-back Declan Cross. The Marauders defence, meantime, performed up to their billing, with Mark Mackie accounting for three of their nine sacks of quarterback Brandon Leyh. Mount Allison's national rookie-of-the-year award nominee Chris Reid was held to 11 rushes for 53 yards, fewer than half of his regular-season average. In all, the Mounties netted only 156 yards.

The win puts the No. 3-ranked Marauders into their third Vanier Cup in four seasons. Montreal, ranked No. 2 in the final poll, will have the benefit of a hometown atmosphere next week at Molson Stadium (Sportsnet 360/Radio-Canada, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT).

The Moore major was the lone touchdown for the Marauders, who also needed to get in the end zone only once while shading Guelph in the Yates Cup on Nov. 15. That score loomed larger as the second half played out on a rainy afternoon, as the Mounties pass protection was unable to create a stable pocket for Leyh (13-of-29, 171 yards, one touchdown, one interception). The veteran quarterback was knocked down a good 20 times on the day. Defensive back Andrew Surya also had two sacks, while safety Allan Dicks essentially sealed the win with an end-zone pickoff with 1:45 to play.

Coach Stefan Ptaszek's Marauders got their other points by playing the field-position game, getting three field goals from Calgary Stampeders-drafted kicker Tyler Crapigna and forcing Mount Allison to concede four safeties. Quarterback Marshall Ferguson was 18-of-32 for 154 yards with one pick. The Marauders rolled up 211 rushing yards, while sophomore Danny Vandervoort has 12 receptions for 102 yards, mostly on high-percentage, low-risk passes underneath the Mounties coverage.

Mount Allison, which entered as the country's lone unbeaten team after repeating as Atlantic conference champions, went deep into coach Kelly Jeffrey's playbook in order to hang in with the bigger Marauders. Fifth-year receiver Josh Blanchard (nine catches, 115 yards), sprung by blocks from took a bubble screen 48 yards to the end zone to keep Mount Allison close, 12-7, at halftime.

The Mounties, who had a bye week after winning the Loney Bowl on Nov. 8, also tried a throwback to Blanchard on a first-half punt return. McMaster reacted fast and kept Blanchard to a short return.

After the Moore score in third third, Mount Allison had a chance to get back to a one-possession game after defensive back Michael Bohan ran for 19 yards on an end-around out of field-goal formation. Moments later, Leyh missed fullback Brandon Maj on a seam route in the end zone and Mount A settled for a 23-yard Ryan Lambert field goal.

The result marks the fifth time in seven seasons that the OUA champion has advanced to the Vanier Cup. The 12-point final margin was the closest for any national semifinal involving an AUS team since the 2007 Saint Mary's became the last Maritimes team to reach the Vanier Cup.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.