Acadia quarterback Kyle Graves rushed for three touchdowns Saturday as the Axemen downed the Saint Mary's Huskies 39-20 to win the Loney Bowl.
The AUS player of the year from Barrie, Ont., finished with 78 yards on 10 carries. Graves was also 12-of-16 passing for 170 yards.
Zack Skibin added 147 yards on 21 carries and a TD for the Axemen, who will face the McMaster Marauders in next week's Uteck Bowl in Moncton, N.B. The winner of that game will play for the Vanier Cup in Vancouver.
Stu Clow led the way through the air for the Axemen with four catches for 96 yards, while Ryan Begin was 3 of 4 on field goals.
"We have played the Huskies four times this season and we have got to know each other pretty well," said Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins. "They are a good team and we took advantage of some opportunities and were relentless on defence. ... We will do our best to prepare a very hungry team for the Uteck Bowl."
Huskies quarterback Jack Creighton was 17-of-30 passing for 251 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Jahmeek Taylor caught six balls for 108 yards and a TD, while Devon Jones rushed 10 times for 42 and another Saint Mary's score. Brett Lauther was perfect on his two field-goal attempts.
Acadia led 22-10 at halftime and never really looked threatened. Graves ran in a touchdown from 10 yards out to stretch the Axemen lead to 19 points at 7:57 of the third before Jones got that back for the Huskies on a six-yard scamper.
Lauther got Saint Mary's to within nine at 29-20 with a 37-yard field goal in the fourth, but Begin restored the 12-point lead with 17 yarder and Skibin iced it with a three-yard run with 45 seconds left on the clock.
With the victory, the Axemen avenged a 37-8 loss to Saint Mary's in last year's AUS final and captured their first title since back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006.