 |  |
Unfamiliar foes meet for Vanier Cup glory
Source: Ben Matchett, Sports Info, Calgary Dinos
QUEBEC CITY - The No. 2 Calgary Dinos and the
No. 4 Queen's Gaels meet in Saturday's Desjardins Vanier Cup - a
match-up few would have predicted just a week ago, let alone in the
pre-season.
Kickoff is at noon local, 10 a.m. MT at Université Laval's
PEPS Stadium in Quebec City, live on TSN and Radio-Canada
(French).
DINOS MEDIA GUIDE (pdf, 8MB)
QUEEN'S
MEDIA GUIDE (pdf, 7.5MB)
THE MATCH-UP
It is the first meeting between Calgary and Queen's since the 1983
Vanier Cup at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, where the Dinos won their
first of four national championships with a 31-21 victory. The
quarterback in '83 was Hec Crighton winner Greg Vavra, who is the
offensive coordinator with the Dinos in 2009 and mentors another
Hec-nominated pivot, Erik Glavic. The 1983 national championship
game is the only previous meeting between the two storied CIS
football programs.
BACK TO THE DANCE
Calgary makes its first appearance in the Vanier Cup since 1995, a
54-24 defeat of Western Ontario. Other appearances came in 1975
(loss to Ottawa), 1983 (defeated Queen's), 1985 (defeated Western
Ontario), 1988 (defeated Saint Mary's), and 1993 (lost to Toronto).
Saturday will mark the first game against an Ontario-based team for
the Dinos since that 1995 Vanier Cup title.
Until the 2008 season, the '95 Vanier Cup was the last playoff game
the Calgary program had won. The Dinos defeated Simon Fraser for
the Canada West title last season before falling 59-10 to eventual
champion Laval in the Uteck Bowl at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City -
so the 2009 national championship game will mark the second
straight year the Dinos have played on the turf at
Université Laval.
The Dinos are winners of 10 straight games, with their only loss of
the season coming by one point in overtime Sept. 4 in Saskatchewan
when a two-point convert attempt was unsuccessful. In compiling
just the third 7-1 season in school history and a trip to the
national title game, Calgary has averaged 39.8 points per game,
outscored its opponents 438-240, and broke or tied four team
offensive records: total offence, first downs, completion
percentage, and touchdowns (39, tied with 1995).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Dinos are in the midst of a record-breaking road trip, brought
about because of the CIS Bowl schedule and complications
surrounding Sunday's Grey Cup game at their home field, McMahon
Stadium in Calgary. The team departed Calgary after practice last
Tuesday, Nov. 17, flying overnight to Halifax to prepare for last
week's Uteck Bowl against Saint Mary's. Following their semi-final
triumph, the Dinos loaded onto buses and headed west for Quebec
City, arriving at the host hotel late Sunday night. After
Saturday's game, the team will bus to Montreal on Sunday from where
they will fly home Monday morning after spending 13 nights on the
road.
Travel is certainly something the Dinos are used to, this being the
team's third straight game and fourth in five weeks on the road.
Road trips in conference play this season included two eight-hour
bus trips to Saskatchewan to face the Huskies in Saskatoon and the
Rams in Regina, a flight to Vancouver to visit UBC, and a
relatively short three-hour trip north to face Alberta in Edmonton.
All told, when the team returns to Calgary on Monday they will have
travelled more than 13,400 km in 2009 and have played in every time
zone in the nation, save Newfoundland. Including the Vanier Cup,
the Dinos' last four games of the year will be played in four
different time zones.
THE COACHES
While the Dinos have been strangers of late to the Vanier Cup, head
coach Blake Nil certainly is not. Nill, the 2009 Canada West coach
of the year, took over the Calgary program in 2006 and in just four
seasons has made three playoff appearances, won two conference
titles, appeared in two Bowl games, and qualified for the Vanier
Cup. He has two national championships to his credit in 2001 and
2002 with Saint Mary's University and makes his fifth appearance on
the sidelines in a Vanier Cup game. He last competed for the title
in a 2003.
Nill and his Queen's counterpart, Pat Sheahan, are the first two
coaches in CIS history to lead two different programs to Vanier Cup
appearances. Sheahan led the Concordia Stingers to a Vanier Cup
appearance in 1998 before taking over at Queen's in 2000. Sheahan
was last season's CIS coach of the year.
THE SEASON
The Dinos opened the 2008 season still smarting from that Uteck
Bowl loss to Laval but with the goal of returning to PEPS for a
shot at the Vanier Cup, this time with Erik Glavic at
quarterback.
Glavic's impact was immediate. The Dinos wound up on the wrong side
of six or seven plays, any one of which would have changed the
game's outcome, in their season-opening 34-33 loss at Saskatchewan.
The classic game in front of a big Griffiths Stadium crowd put the
Dinos and the Huskies on a collision course for what would be an
equally entertaining Hardy Cup final 10 weeks later.
Calgary survived a late scare from Alberta to prevail 34-33 in
their home opener, then headed back east to face Regina. Matt
Walter posted 259 rushing yards in just over one half as the Dinos
easily handled the Rams 41-15. Week 4 against Simon Fraser in the
2008 Hardy Cup rematch, the Dinos came out on top 49-22 after
taking a 42-3 lead into halftime.
A 50-26 road win over UBC followed, with the Manitoba Bisons next
on tap in Week 6 at McMahon Stadium. The Dinos shot out to a 23-0
lead, then gave up 24 unanswered points and trailed 24-23 heading
into the fourth quarter. Calgary bounced back to score two
unconverted majors in the fourth to win 35-24, surviving their most
significant scare of the season.
The Dinos wrapped up the regular season by easily handling Regina
47-29, piling up 719 yards total offence, then winning their first
game at Alberta in more than five years with a 40-5 drubbing at
Foote Field.
THE PLAYOFFS
Despite finishing the season 7-1, the Dinos still finished second
in Canada West because Saskatchewan also finished 7-1 - and the
head-to-head tiebreaker went to the Huskies. Calgary started to
prepare for Manitoba as its first-round playoff opponent, but early
in the week the Bisons were stripped of three victories for using
an ineligible player and the Dinos turned right around and played
the Alberta Golden Bears for the second straight week.
Anthony Parker returned the opening kickoff 108 yards for a
touchdown, then took an onside kickoff attempt 59 yards in the last
minute of the game as the team overcame a lackluster offensive
performance to win 45-13, setting up the West showdown against
Saskatchewan in the 73rd Hardy Cup.
The game did not disappoint. In a classic battle, both offences
moved the ball virtually at will, combining for more than 1,200
yards. Calgary trailed by nine points in the fourth quarter but got
a field goal, a two-and-out, and a touchdown drive capped off by a
four-yard Glavic run to the end zone to take a 39-38 lead with two
minutes left.
Saskatchewan drove the length of the field, setting up a 35-yard
game-winning field goal attempt for kicker Grant Shaw. But the
attempt was low and wide, and Nathan Coehoorn extended the Dinos'
season by running it out of the end zone as Calgary captured its
second straight and 11th overall Canada West football
championship.
Glavic threw for 470 yards in the game and added 106 on the ground
as he almost singlehandedly sent the Dinos into the next round.
THE BOWL GAME
The Saskatchewan Huskies behind them, the Dinos turned their
attention to the eastern Huskies as they jetted east to Nova
Scotia.
Halifax was abuzz as Blake Nill, Erik Glavic, and the University of
Calgary Dinos touched down last Wednesday to prepare for the Uteck
Bowl against Saint Mary's. It was the first appearance for both
Nill and Glavic at Huskies Stadium since both left SMU for Calgary,
and thousands packed the grandstand and lined the track around the
field to witness the much-hyped affair.
Turns out the hype neglected to mention the Dinos' rushing game,
which was the best in Canada this season. Matt Walter racked up 235
yards along the ground, including 69- and four-yard touchdowns,
while Steven Lumbala added 156 yards rushing. Calgary ran for 426
yards and needed just 77 passing yards from Glavic to complement a
three-interception performance by the Dinos defence as Calgary won
convincingly 38-14, qualifying for the Vanier Cup for the first
time since 1995.
THE QUARTERBACKS
Saturday's outing will be a clash of two of the greatest
quarterbacks CIS football has ever seen as Dan Brannagan lines up
under centre for Queen's while 2007 Hec Crighton winner Erik
Glavic, who is nominated for his second CIS MVP honour in 2009, is
at the controls for Calgary.
Glavic is a superb athlete who poses a triple threat in the
backfield. He had the most accurate passing season in school
history at 67.5 per cent, passed for 2,186 yards - the fourth-best
season in program history - and finished second in Canada West in
passing yards. He was also fourth in the conference with 503 yards
rushing and was joined in the backfield by Matt Walter, the 2008
Canada West MVP and the rushing champion for the second straight
season.
THE OFFENCE
The Dinos were among the best offensive teams in the nation with a
quartet of weapons behind a solid offensive line. Outside Glavic,
tailback Matt Walter was a second-team All-Canadian last season and
won the conference rushing title for the second straight year with
1,103 yards. Slotback Anthony Parker and wide receiver Nathan
Coehoorn were both conference all-stars after finishing one-two in
Canada West in receiving. Calgary has other weapons at receiver as
well, and Richard Snyder has broken out in the playoffs. Against
Saskatchewan he had 222 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches
and added another major in the Uteck Bowl.
Calgary's offensive line is young but impressive, with four
sophomores and one redshirt freshman starting. Centre Alex
Krausnick-Groh was the conference all-star at his position, as was
right tackle Kirby Fabien, who in his first year of eligibility has
drawn significant attention from pro scouts.
THE DEFENCE
Calgary had the second-best rush defence in the nation behind only
Laval, led by a veteran and deep group in the front seven. Rookie
of the Year candidate Linden Gaydosh started all eight games on the
interior of the defensive line, while ends Deji Oduwole and Andrew
Obrecht shard the team lead with three sacks apiece. The
linebacking corps is veteran, led by fourth-year All-Canadian
middle linebacker Andrea Bonaventura. He finished second on the
team in tackles with 40.5 on the season, just back of fifth-year
senior Chase Moore's 43.0.
The secondary has shown improvements but is still young in many
areas. Seniors Matt Grohn and Steve Truzak are the anchors of the
defensive backs, while Wyatt Getty, Brian Hagen, Tye Noble, and Sam
Hurl are each in either their first or second years of eligibility.
Michael Lau replaced starter Chudi Nzekwu at the boundary corner
spot for the Uteck Bowl after Nzekwu was injured in the Hardy Cup
game.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker Aaron Ifield became the team's all-time leading field goal
kicker this season and has good range, with his season-long a
46-yarder in 2009. He also handles the punting duties, posting a
career-high 39.1-yard average.
Anthony Parker returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the Canada
West semi-final against Alberta and is Calgary's key threat in the
return game.
THE SENIORS
Four members of the University of Calgary Dinos will play their
final CIS games Saturday as they wrap up their fifth year of
eligibility: QB Deke Junior, DB Matt Grohn, LB Chase Moore, and DL
Andrew Obrecht.
THE GAME NOTES
- Two Queen's players hail from Calgary, both from Western Canada High School: DB Ben D'Andrea and LB Geoff Mohtadi. Mohtadi, who is injured, is the son of Dr. Nick Mohtadi, a noted orthopedic surgeon who practices out of the University of Calgary's Sports Medicine Centre. Dr. Mohtadi will join the Dinos on the sideline Saturday.
- Not a single player on the Dinos' active roster had been born the last time the Dinos faced Queen's, the 1983 Vanier Cup.
- Calgary's record away from McMahon Stadium is 5-1 this season, with the lone loss coming Week 1 at Saskatchewan. The Dinos have not lost at home since Sept. 29, 2007, a span of 13 consecutive games.
- Seven Dinos were named CW all-stars in 2009: QB Erik Glavic, RB Matt Walter, and WR Nathan Coehoorn were all unanimous choices, in addition to SB Anthony Parker, C Alex Krausnick-Groh, OT Kirby Fabien, and LB Andrea Bonaventura. Walter and Coehoorn were second-team All-Canadians in 2008, while Bonaventura made the first team.
- Calgary has an all-time post-season record of 6-4 against schools now in Ontario University Athletics. The most-played opponent is Western Ontario whom the Dinos have faced four times, posting a 3-1 record.
- The Dinos will wear white UnderArmour uniforms in Saturday's Vanier Cup game. Calgary previously wore white in the Vanier Cup in 1985, 1988, and 1993, winning two of those three games. Calgary signed an exclusive agreement with UnderArmour Canada before the season, making UnderArmour the official outfitter of the University of Calgary Dinos football program.
Source:
Ben Matchett
Sports Information Director
University of Calgary Dinos
