First place available on Seniors’ Day for Dino’s

CALGARY – It’s already the best start to a season in program history – now, the University of Calgary Dinos aim to finish strong and claim their first first-place finish since the 1995 season.

The Dinos close out the regular season home schedule this weekend when they host the Manitoba Bisons at McMahon Stadium, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon (live on CanadaWest.tv and QR77.com). It’s Seniors’ Day, presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The 6-2 record in 1995 propelled the Dinos to the Vanier Cup championship in the final season of head coach Peter Connellan, who last week found out he will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder with the Class of 2012. A win over the Bisons Saturday afternoon would secure first place for the Dinos, guaranteeing home field advantage through to the Vanier Cup – a fitting tribute to the legendary coach who guided the program to four national titles in 13 seasons.

As this and every other Dinos team knows, however, the Bisons are not an easy out. Their 3-3 record belies a dynamic offence that has personified a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for Manitoba, which is looking to take the backdoor into a home playoff date. The Dinos will have in the back of their minds their Week 1 experience against the Bisons at University Stadium in Winnipeg, where they were forced to score 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to edge the bIsons 35-31, sparking them to their remarkable streak of six straight victories to date.

The Bisons’ last appearance at McMahon Stadium came in 2009, where they stormed back to take a late lead before Calgary finally won 35-24 in just another tight game between these two programs. Manitoba’s last win in Calgary came all the way back in 2005, again in a tight contest – the final score was 29-28.

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Dinos will honour their five graduating fifth-year seniors: DL Kyle Carbert and DB Chudi Nzekwu completed their eligibility with the Dinos, while DB Michael Lau, RB Anthony Woodson, and RB Matt Walter spent all five seasons with the University of Calgary. Walter will also be honoured pre-game for breaking the school’s all-time rushing record two weeks ago against Alberta.

Calgary is guaranteed to host a conference semi-final game on Friday, Nov. 4, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Their opponent is yet to be determined – but could very well be these same Manitoba Bisons.

Here’s a look at the two teams:

No. 2 Calgary Dinos (6-0)

Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 20-8

Next week: at UBC

The Dinos capped off a two-game sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies for the first time since 2000 last weekend thanks to a 20-8 victory at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon in a game that didn’t feature a single offensive touchdown. Johnny Mark kicked four field goals for the second straight game, while Mike Edem’s 16-yard interception return touchdown put the icing on the cake for Calgary, which improved to 6-0 on the season – the program’s best-ever start.

A seventh win would clinch first place, setting up a chance for the Dinos to go 8-0 for the first time in program history. But first things first, the Dinos need to get past a feisty Manitoba team that gave them all kinds of trouble back in Week 1. Calgary’s magic number is 1 – meaning that any one Dinos win or any one UBC loss would clinch first place for the three-time defending Canada West champs.

While the offence has gotten most of the headlines this year, it was the defence that played remarkably well in the win over Saskatchewan, limiting the Huskies to just 74 yards of total offence on the night. Interceptions by Edem, Kevan Hafichuk, and Jamahl Knowles snuffed out Huskies drives – the first two leading to points, and the last one icing the victory late in the fourth quarter. The defence put pressure on Huskies quarterbacks all night, recording three sacks and leading to just 11 completed passes on the night – not to mention a scant 45 rushing yards.

The offence didn’t put up its usual point totals last week, it did generate almost 450 yards. Steven Lumbala had another big night with 113 rushing yards, while Eric Dzwilewski completed 16 of 30 passes for 234 yards. His new favourite target is Taylor Nill, who has been quiet to this point but has led the team in receiving each of the last two games – including a ridiculous one-handed grab on the sidelines for a 35-yard gain against the Huskies.

The offence all stems from the run game, however, and this week will pit the Dinos’ 266-yard average against the Manitoba run defence, which has allowed an average of 162 on the year – including 242 by the Dinos in Week 1.

Matt Walter, the all-time leading rusher in University of Calgary history, enters his final two regular season games needing just 155 yards to break the 4,000 mark for his career – which would make him just the ninth player in Canadian university football history to record that feat.

Manitoba Bisons (3-3)

Last week: defeated Alberta 48-20

Next week: host Regina

The Bisons have looked at times like world-beaters and at others very ordinary this season, which is to be expected from a young squad. They took the Dinos to the limit in Week 1, but then struggled past 0-6 Alberta by just two points one week later. Two of their three wins on the year have come against the Golden Bears, with the other coming against Saskatchewan – but they did show well in all three of their losses. Sept. 24 at UBC, the Bisons put up 607 yards of offence but managed just 23 points in a 29-23 loss.

Manitoba passed Regina for the second-best run offence in the conference last week, thanks in large part to a massive 226-yard, four-touchdown performance by Anthony Coombs. Coombs averaged 11.3 yards on 20 carries to run all over the Golden Bears in the Bisons’ 48-20 romp last week in Winnipeg, putting him third on the conference leaderboard in rushing behind Regina’s Adrian Charles and Calgary’s Steven Lumbala.

Quarterback Khaleal Williams is a gunslinger, averaging just under 230 yards per game. His top target has been Tyson Takasaki, who has 21 catches on the year, but he spreads the ball out well – Takasaki is the only Bison receiver in the top 10 in receiving. Manitoba spreads the ball out along the ground as well – outside Coombs and Nic Demski, who is also a big return threat on special teams, Kienan LaFrance has seen action while Williams has called his own number 35 times on the year – third among Canada West quarterbacks only to UBC’s Billy Greene and Saskatchewan’s Jalahni Gilbert-Knorren.

Senior linebacker Thomas Hall remains the heart and soul of the Manitoba defence, while Eric Vincent is their tackles leader with 29.5 on the season.

At 3-3, the Bisons can still finish anywhere from second to fifth in the conference – making both of their last two games critical – especially next week when they host Regina, which could determine the final playoff spot.

-UC-

Ben Matchett