QUEBEC CITY – For the third straight year, the University of Calgary Dinos will end their season at Quebec City’s PEPS Stadium on the campus of Université Laval. After losses in their previous two trips, however, the Dinos will be focused on notching a victory and the school’s fifth Vanier Cup title as they face the No. 1, undefeated, hometown Laval Rouge et Or in a battle for Canadian university football supremacy.
THE MATCH-UP
Calgary and Laval have met just once previously, in the 2008 Uteck Bowl at PEPS. The powerhouse Rouge et Or dominated a young Dinos squad, scoring an easy 59-10 victory en route to their fifth Vanier Cup title. The Dinos and the Rouge et Or are the only two teams to have held top spot in the FRC-CIS Top 10 poll in 2010. Calgary opened the season at No. 1 and, after a season-opening loss to Saskatchewan, surrendered it to Laval – and the Rouge et Or have held it since, going a perfect 12-0 and winning their record eighth straight Quebec conference championship. It is just the second time in school history that the Dinos will face a team based in the province of Quebec – both times, Laval.
THE DRIVE FOR REDEMPTION
It certainly hasn’t been an easy road for the Dinos to get back to the Vanier Cup after giving up an 18-point halftime lead to Queen’s in 2009 before falling 33-31 in heartbreaking fashion. But after winning their third straight Hardy Cup title and handling Saint Mary’s in the semi-final for the second straight season, the Dinos are ready for another shot. It’s the first time in University of Calgary history that the Dinos have made Vanier Cup appearances in consecutive years – the previous best was two appearances in three years, which happened in both 1983/1985 and 1993/1995.
THE BOWL GAME OUT WEST
The Calgary Dinos have made seven Vanier Cup appearances in their history, not including this year: 1975, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1995, and 2009. Calgary has a 4-3 record in the national championship game. All three losses (1975, 1993, and 2009) came in years where the Dinos had played the semi-final Bowl game in the province of Nova Scotia The other four Vanier Cups, all victories, had a distinctly ‘Western’ feel to the lead-up semi-final. In 1983, the Dinos got a bye to the Vanier as western champions; in 1985 and 1995, Calgary hosted the Bowl game at McMahon Stadium, then went on to capture the national title. And in 1988, the Dinos defeated Western in London, Ont. in the Central Bowl.
THE COACHES
The Dinos and the Rouge et Or have met just once in their history, but head coaches Blake Nill and Glen Constantin are certainly no strangers. They have faced off seven times before, including the 2003 Vanier Cup – a 14-7 Laval victory. Nill is 2-5 against Constantin and 2-6 against Laval all-time, with another Vanier Cup loss coming in 1999. Both those games were played between the Saint Mary’s Huskies, Nill’s former team, and Laval.
In 2009, Nill along with Queen’s bench boss Pat Sheahan simultaneously became the first CIS coaches to lead two different programs to Vanier Cup appearances. Nill, back in 2010, has another opportunity to become the first CIS coach to WIN Vanier Cup titles with two different programs after winning back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002 with Saint Mary’s. Nill is wrapping up his fifth season as head coach of the Dinos and, since taking over the reins in 2006, has posted an overall record of 32-19, including an 8-3 mark in the playoffs. Nill’s Dinos have won three consecutive Hardy Cups, emblematic of the Canada West championship – just the second time in school history that Calgary has won three straight conference titles (1983-85).
THE ROAD TO THE VANIER CUP
The Calgary Dinos opened the 2010 season focused on one thing: a return trip to the Vanier Cup. While their wish has been fulfilled, the long road to Quebec City certainly didn’t take the widely-anticipated route.
The Regular Season
Calgary opened the year at No. 1 in the CIS Top 10 poll, the first time since 1993 that the Dinos had reached the top spot. The Dinos opened the regular season for the third straight year against the Saskatchewan Huskies, this time at McMahon Stadium, in a rematch of the classic 2009 Hardy Cup game won 39-38 by Calgary in Saskatoon. An injury to All-Canadian linebacker Andrea Bonaventura in a pre-season game against Alberta was a sign of things to come, and a revamped defence took to the field against the Huskies under the lights on Sept. 4.
Big plays by the then-No. 3 Huskies gave them a relatively easy 34-13 win in a McMahon monsoon. And it didn’t just rain for the Dinos, it poured. All-Canadian slotback Anthony Parker (arm) and two-time Hec Crighton winner and BLG Award recipient Erik Glavic (knee) left the field with injuries, while former All-Canadian running back Anthony Woodson – in his first game back after missing all of the 2009 season – was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to hospital with a concussion after a controversial hit by a Huskies defender.
The loss dropped the Dinos to No. 5 in the top 10, but more urgently, Calgary had to prepare a freshman quarterback to take over an offence that was missing three key personnel. And in a 24-21 homecoming win over the Regina Rams, rookie Eric Dzwilewski took charge. Dzwilewski, the unanimous Canada West rookie of the year, was named the conference’s offensive player of the week after winning his first-ever CIS start.
Calgary then went up the road to Edmonton where Tye Noble’s pick-six late in the fourth quarter scored a come-from-behind 23-14 win for the Dinos with head coach Blake Nill serving a one-game suspension resulting from the Woodson incident in Week 1. The following week, the Dinos braved abysmal field conditions at University Stadium in Winnipeg to edge the Manitoba Bisons 26-25 – a score that flattered the home side after they made a desperate last-minute push.
Returning home with one game remaining until the conference-wide Thanksgiving bye week, the Dinos faced the new-look UBC Thunderbirds – needing a win to take a 4-1 record into the break and, hopefully, get some bodies back on the field. By this point, six of the Dinos’ eight All-Canadians had missed at least some playing time: running back Matt Walter missed the second half of the Manitoba game and safety Anthony DesLauriers continued to nurse a leg injury while Bonaventura, Glavic, and Parker also healed up.
Glavic dressed for the UBC game but did not play as Dzwilewski won his fourth straight start 33-16 over the T-Birds.
Coming out of the bye week, the Dinos again found themselves up against Saskatchewan, this time in Saskatoon – and the result was eerily similar. The hometown Huskies notched a 36-17 win, dropping the Dinos to 4-2 and forcing a must-win showdown in Regina against the Rams for home-field advantage. In Glavic’s first start since the opener, the Calgary offence finally started to break out and the Dinos beat the Rams 35-27, clinching a home playoff date. Calgary closed the season with a 37-5 whitewash of Alberta at home, a game that will be best remembered for kicker Aaron Ifield’s 51-yard field goal as time expired that set a new CIS record for career field goals (71).
The Playoffs
The Dinos hosted the Regina Rams in a conference semi-final game after finishing in a first-place tie with Saskatchewan at 6-2. The offence was back in gear, and they got right to it: Glavic found Parker for a 70-yard touchdown strike on the game’s opening offensive play. Calgary built up a 33-11 lead before the Rams mounted a late charge, but a 100-yard touchdown drive by Calgary in the fourth quarter put it out of reach as the Dinos held on for a 40-33 win. In the other semi-final that day, unranked, fourth-place Alberta pulled off a shocking upset of Saskatchewan, scoring 28 unanswered points to beat the Huskies 31-30 – and sending the Hardy Cup game to McMahon.
Just two weeks after a convincing 37-5 victory over their provincial rivals, the Dinos got set to face them for the 74th Hardy Cup and a chance to win a third straight conference title. After a tight first quarter, Matt Walter’s 1-yard TD early in the second got things rolling for the Dinos and big Linden Gaydosh’s 20-yard interception return major opened the floodgates as Calgary trounced the Bears 56-3. Glavic completed 14 of 18 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns and was named Hardy Cup MVP for the second straight year.
The Bowl Game
For just the second time ever, the Atlantic conference champion travelled to Canada West for a national semi-final – and for the second straight year, the Dinos took on the Saint Mary’s Huskies for a trip to the Vanier Cup.
Snow and freezing temperatures were the story of the week as the McMahon Stadium staff worked around the clock to prepare the field for both the Mitchell Bowl and the CFL’s Western Final the following day. Calgary went through 18 footballs in practice after the bladders popped due to the cold, and kickoff temperature was -16 C. Despite the cold, the Dinos still managed to put up 35 points against the Huskies, extending Canada West’s home winning streak in Bowl games to 37 years with a 35-8 win. Sophomore Steven Lumbala scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown and was named the BlackBerry player of the game with 127 rushing yards. Nathan Coehoorn matched that total through the air, while Glavic completed 16 of 25 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns as the Dinos improved to 3-0 in home Bowl games and 14-2 all-time in home playoff games.
THE OFFENCE
After a slow start, Calgary’s offence has begun to round into form and looks to be peaking at the right time. Led by Glavic, whose game has had to adjust because of the knee injury, the Dinos feature Anthony Parker and Nathan Coehoorn – who are both likely to be taken high in the 2011 CFL Draft – at receiver, while Matt Walter is the feature tailback with Steven Lumbala and Anthony Woodson contributing as well. Slotback Richard Snyder is also a big-game player and is one of Glavic’s go-to guys in key situations. Eric Dzwilewski, meanwhile, backs up Glavic and is the quarterback of the future for the Dinos.
Calgary’s offensive line is the ‘pride and joy’ of Coach Nill and a huge reason for the Dinos’ success. Three of the five starters were named conference all-stars this year, and that list didn’t include right tackle Kirby Fabien – who was a second team All-Canadian in 2009. Paul Swiston, the hulking 6-foot-9 left tackle, was the Canada West nominee for the J.P. Metras Trophy as outstanding down lineman.
Canada West All-stars: Walter (RB), Parker (SB), Coehoorn (WR), Swiston (LT), Alexander (RG), Krausnick-Groh (C).
THE DEFENCE
Nill took over as defensive coordinator in 2010 an installed a high-pressure system that took some time to take effect but has begun to dominate opposing teams in the last few weeks. Heading into the Vanier Cup, the Dinos have given up just 49 points in their last four games – and 33 of those were against Regina, which had one of the top offences in the nation this year.
Second-year linebacker Sam Hurl had a breakout year. He moved from his halfback spot to linebacker at the beginning of the season and flourished there, earning the Canada West nomination for the Presidents’ Trophy as defensive player of the year. Halfback Tye Noble, meanwhile, led Canada West in tackles and was a conference all-star. Doctor Cassama, a freshman Swede, has speed to burn and was defensive MVP in the Mitchell Bowl, while transfer Anthony DesLauriers (Simon Fraser) has anchored the Calgary secondary despite battling injury throughout the season.
Canada West All-stars: Hurl (LB), Noble (DB).
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
Aaron Ifield kicked his way into the record books this year, recording a school-record 18 field goals on the year and booting his 71st from 51 yards, tying a career long and setting the new CIS all-time record on the final play of the regular season. Nathan Coehoorn, meanwhile, is dangerous on the punt return, recording two TDs on the year, while Anthony Parker is the key kick returner for Calgary.
Canada West All-stars: Aaron Ifield (PK).
THE SENIORS
The Calgary Dinos have 11 fifth-year seniors on the roster who will play the final game of their CIS careers Saturday afternoon in Quebec City. They are: LB Andrea Bonaventura, DB Anthony DesLauriers, LB Chris Folk, QB Erik Glavic, DL Carlos Guglielmi, K/P Aaron Ifield, LB Geoff Paiement, DL Brandon Rockhill, LB Julian Simmerling, DB Steve Truzak, and R Milos Zivkovic.
THE GAME NOTES
· The athletic teams at the University of Calgary have been officially the DINOS since 1998, when the name was changed from Dinosaurs. References to the Dinosaurs should be limited to teams that competed BEFORE 1998.
· A Dinos win Saturday would be the 42nd CIS national championship in the University of Calgary’s history and the fifth Vanier cup title since the program started in 1964. Calgary has also captured 126 Canada West conference titles in that span, including 12 conference football championships.
· Just 19 players remain with the Dinos from the 45-man roster that dressed for the 2008 Uteck Bowl, the only other time Calgary has met Laval. They are: LB Bonaventura, RB Woodson, K/P Ifield, RB Walter, DB Truzak, R Flagel, LB Simmerling, DB Getty, DB Noble, R Parker, R Snyder, LB Paiement, OL Krausnick-Groh, OL Swiston, OL McCaughan, DL Temple, R Coehoorn, DL Rockhill, and DL Symons.
· Two Dinos were born in the province of Quebec: RB Steven Lumbala and DL Hughes-Martin Kalonji were both born in Montreal. Lumbala grew up in Calgary, while Kalonji attended Cégep Vieux Montreal before joining the Calgary Dinos.
· For the second straight year the Dinos will wear white UnderArmour jerseys in the Vanier Cup. It’s the fifth time in their eight appearances the Dinos have worn white, with wins in 1985 and 1988 and losses in 1993 and 2009. The Dinos are completing the second year of a four-year official outfitter agreement with UnderArmour Canada.
· The Dinos’ last road game was Oct. 22 at Regina, a 35-27 win. Calgary was 3-1 on the road in 2010, and the Vanier Cup will be officially considered a road game.
· Calgary is the last team to lose the Vanier Cup to a team playing at home (1993, Toronto)
Nill is the third Dinos coach to lead the team to a Vanier Cup appearance after Mike Lashuk (1975) and Peter Connellan (1983, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1995).
-UC-
Ben Matchett
Sports Information Director
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