CALGARY – We know that the Hardy Cup will take up residence in the province of Alberta for the third consecutive season. The surprising part of that, however, is that we know it already.
An old-fashioned Battle of Alberta will decide supremacy in Canada West football and the right to host next week’s CIS Mitchell Bowl national semi-final as the Calgary Dinos and the Alberta Golden Bears go head-to-head Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium in the 74th Hardy Cup.
The Dinos are the two-time defending conference champs and will be hungry for the three-peat and the school’s 12th Canada West title, while the Golden Bears have not reached the pinnacle of the west since their last championship in 1981. The Bears qualified for the game, however, with their stunning 28-point comeback over Saskatchewan in the semi-final last week in Saskatoon, defeating the first-place Saskatchewan Huskies 31-30.
The victor gets an added spoil: no travel next week and a home game against the Atlantic champion to decide a berth into the Desjardins Vanier Cup.
The Dinos and the Bears are certainly no strangers to each other. This will be the second time in three weeks they have squared off, the third time since conference play started and, if you count an exhibition contest back in August, it will be the fourth Battle of Alberta in 11 games this season. So far, Calgary has come out on top in each one: a 20-14 triumph in the exhibition game, a 23-14 come-from-behind decision Sept. 18 at Foote Field in Edmonton, and a 37-5 stomping in a largely meaningless regular-season closer Oct. 30.
Calgary and Alberta have squared off in postseason action five previous times since the Dinos program started in 1964. Calgary holds a slim 3-2 lead in the all-time playoff series thanks to a 45-13 win in last year’s Canada West semi-final. The teams have not met to decide the conference championship since 1993, when the Dinos won 32-12 at home.
Calgary is 12-2 in playoff games at home all-time and 10-5 in conference championship games.
Saturday’s winner will play host to the CIS Mitchell Bowl, where they will face the Atlantic conference champion – marking just the second time in history that the Atlantic will visit Canada West for a national semi-final. Perennial powerhouse Saint Mary’s hosts Acadia early Saturday in the Loney Bowl to decide which team will make the trek west.
Here’s a look at the two teams:
No. 5 Calgary Dinos (7-2)
Last week: defeated Regina 40-33
By virtue of their win over Regina last week and the Bears’ monumental upset of the Huskies, the Calgary Dinos host the Hardy Cup game for the second time in three seasons as they look for their third straight conference title. It’s the eighth time that the Hardy Cup game will be played at McMahon Stadium.
The Calgary offence, which sputtered through most of the season when injury after injury sent player after player to the sidelines, is finally starting to show signs of life over the last three weeks – and not a moment too soon. The offensive performance last week against the Regina Rams was the Dinos’ best of the season, with season highs in points (40), passing yards (Erik Glavic, 380), receiving yards (Anthony Parker, 145), and rushing yards (Matt Walter, 162).
Glavic connected with Parker for a 70-yard touchdown strike on the opening play of the game, then proceeded to throw for four TDs on 18-of-27 passing. Even Steven Lumbala got into the aerial attack, finding Parker deep in the end zone out of the wildcat formation midway through the second quarter.
Perhaps the most impressive performance by the Dinos, however, was their 100-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the winning score. The potent Regina offence outscored the Dinos 22-7 in the fourth last week, but that 100-yard drive that was capped off by an Anthony Woodson touchdown sealed the outcome for the Dinos. Parker put the finishing touches on the win with an onside kick recovery in the final minute, earning him the conference’s weekly honours on both offence and special teams. He was also named CIS offensive player of the week for his performance.
All-star halfback Tye Noble, who led Canada West in tackles this season, led his team with eight against the Rams last week.
Alberta Golden Bears (4-5)
Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 31-30
As upsets go, this was one of the most epic.
Down 30-3 late in the third quarter, on the road in the most inhospitable environment in the conference, the Alberta Golden Bears somehow pulled off a miracle. The Bears scored 28 unanswered points to defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies 31-30 last week, setting up this week’s Hardy Cup showdown between the provincial rivals.
Quarterback Julian Marchand – who was the Dinos’ starting pivot to close the 2007 season – completed 25 of 41 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Bears on drives of 86, 45, 83, and 77 yards in the final 15 minutes and change – all of which ended in the Saskatchewan end zone. None, however, was as spectacular as the 33-yard circus grab by freshman Ryley Richardson in the front corner of the end zone that stood up as the winning score for Alberta.
Richardson’s 108 receiving yards led the way, but nine different Alberta receivers caught at least one pass in the game as Marchand distributed the ball all over. Matt Jarvis, the Bears’ leading rusher on the season, was that again in the semi-final with 77 yards on 17 carries.
Credit goes to the Bears’ defence as well, forcing a pair of two-and-outs and allowing the Huskies just two first downs in the fourth quarter, not counting two more made in desperation after the Bears had taken the lead. Jean-Marc Jones and Craig Gerbrandt led the way with 7.5 and seven tackles, respectively.
The Bears have not won the Canada West pennant since 1981, when they defeated UBC 11-8 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. Since then they have come out on the losing end of six Hardy Cup games, including a string of three straight from 2003-05.
-UC-
Ben Matchett
Sports Information Director
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