The York University Lions football team will play the final game of their season on Saturday when they make a short trip south to battle their cross-town rivals the Toronto Varsity Blues in the 49^th edition of the Red & Blue Bowl.
 
Kick-off is set for 1pm at U of T's Varsity Stadium and the game can also be seen online at OUA.tv.
 
York will be looking to bounce back after a home loss to the Carleton Ravens last week. After falling behind 18-0 early in the game, the Lions made a spirited comeback effort in the second half, but it was not enough as they fell to the Ravens by a score of 35-20. After a rough start, the Lions defence held strong against the Ravens and the team pulled within three points to make the score 20-17 after three quarters. The Ravens had a bit more left in the tank though and pulled away in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. The loss eliminated the Lions from the OUA playoff picture and they head into Week 9 with a 2-5 record on the season.
 
The Lions Toronto counterparts come into the game looking to avenge their loss last season in the Red & Blue Bowl, as the Varsity Blues fell to the Lions by a score of 41-16. The Blues are also in search of their first win on the 2018 season as they have an 0-7 record and find themselves in 11^th place in the OUA standings. Despite their record, Toronto has played some good football in close games this season, losing 38-26 to the Ravens in Week 5 and 26-24 to the Windsor Lancers in Week 6. The Lions will need to be on their game this week as the Blues are hungry for a win and will be game to try and wrestle the Argo Cup back from their city rivals.
 
"U of T has been in a lot of great football games this year," said Lions head coach Warren Craney on his team's Week 9 matchup. "Greg Marshall's a really good head coach and he's going to have his team ready. As far as our guys are concerned, we have to channel our anger from the loss last week into winning the battle of Toronto. We're currently holding onto the Argo Cup from last year and we want to keep it, so we're going to do everything we can to ensure that happens."
 
One of the Lions bright spots over the last few weeks has been running back Kayden Johnson, who seems to be getting stronger as the season progresses. York's reigning male athlete of the year has put up his two best rushing games of the year over the last two games, racking up a season-high 90 yards on 11 carries in Week 6 and 64 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown last week. On the season, Johnson has rushed 80 times for 346 yards and three touchdowns and has also set a career-high with 14 receptions for 141 yards.
 
For the last two games the Varsity Blues offence has been led by junior quarterback Vince Luccisano who took over mid-way through their Week 7 game against the Ottawa Gee-Gee's. Luccisano started his first career game last week against the Guelph Gryphons and completed 20 of 32 passes for 262 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Luccisano is the Blues third starting quarterback this season as they search for a solution on an offence that has scored a league-low 107 points on the season.
 
The season finale will mark the final game in uniform for York's 12 graduating players this season, as wide receivers Eric Kimmerly, Chris Mote, Vincent Reale, Joey Ricottone, and Nicholas Voci, tight end Nikola Kalinic, full back Gautham Rajendra, offensive lineman Anthony Dinardo, linebacker Ian Lawrence, and defensive backs Brett Colangelo, Malik Langston and Rees Paterson will all be wearing York red for the last time. The players were honoured in a pre-game ceremony prior to the Lions Homecoming game, which ended in a thrilling 34-32 victory over the Waterloo Warriors in Week 6.
 
The Varsity Blues hold the edge over the Lions all-time with a 31-17 record in the Red & Blue Bowl. The Lions most successful stretch in the rivalry was from 1996-2007 when they held the Argo Cup for 12 straight seasons.
 
The Red & Blue Bowl will also double as York's first Ride Subway Series Event of the year. All students are welcome to attend, and all attendees will receive free food, gifts, and TTC tokens! There is limited space available and those interested must sign up at yorkulions.ca/subwayseries or at the client services desk at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
RB Kayden Johnson – Leads Lions with 80 rushes for 346 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Had a season-high 90 yards in the team's last victory in Week 6 against the Waterloo Warriors.
 
DE Rossini Sandjong-Djabome – The defensive end leads the Lions with three sacks on the season, which ranks ninth in the OUA. He also 21 total tackles and eight tackles for a loss on the season.  
 
LB Ian Lawrence – The Lions fifth-year linebacker will play his last game in a Lions uniform on Saturday and comes into the game with 16.5 tackles and two pass breakups in seven games this year. Lawrence ranks fourth all-time in York history with 134.5 tackles in his career since they started being tracked in the 2002 season.
 
Toronto
 
QB Vince Luccisano – Started his first career game last week against the Guelph Gryphons and completed 20 of 32 passes for 262 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
 
RB Adam Williams – Freshman running back has rushed 45 times for 152 yards on the season and scored the first touchdown of his career in Week 7 against Ottawa.
 
LB Lamar Foyle – Ranks sixth in the OUA with 45 tackles on the season and has broken up three passes.