Hardy Cup: Dinos go for four-peat on Remembrance Day

CALGARY – Not since 1937 has a team captured four consecutive Canada West football championships.

The Alberta Golden Bears do have their name on the trophy four straight years from 1962-65, but two of those were ‘shared’ championships where the teams were tied atop the standings at the end of the season. The last team to win four in a row outright was Saskatchewan – who captured four straight banners from 1934-37 – and the 2011 Calgary Dinos have a chance to make some history as they go for their fourth straight Hardy Cup title Friday night at McMahon Stadium against the UBC Thunderbirds.

The last team to appear in four straight Canada West title games? UBC from 1996-99, with a record of 1-3.

The Dinos’ run of conference championships to this point has been impressive, with victories over Simon Fraser (2008), Saskatchewan (2009), and Alberta (2010). The Saskatchewan game in 2009 was an instant classic and a 39-38 Dinos victory; the Alberta game in 2010, where the final score was 56-3, not so much. Now, as the 75th edition of the Hardy Cup rolls into McMahon Stadium, the Dinos get set to take on their fourth opponent in as many years in the upstart UBC Thunderbirds, matching the top two offences in the conference head-to-head.

Kickoff for the 75th Hardy Cup goes at 6 p.m. MT on Remembrance Day Friday, live coast-to-coast on TSN and on QR77 radio (AM 770), at McMahon Stadium.

It’s the first time since 1999 that the Dinos and T-Birds have hooked up in postseason action, even though UBC is the most common playoff opponent in the University of Calgary’s history – Friday night will be the eighth playoff game between the teams, with UBC holding a 4-3 edge in games. It’s also the first time Calgary and UBC have played a playoff game at McMahon Stadium since Greg Vavra led the Dinos to a 21-12 win in the 1983 Hardy Cup.

Regardless of the outcome, one team will put an end to a long streak of futility. UBC has not won a game of any kind at McMahon Stadium since all the way back in 2000, while Calgary last won a playoff contest with the Thunderbirds in 1992 – a 26-24 overtime decision. Including last week’s semi-final win over Regina, Calgary is 15-2 all-time at home in the playoffs, with both losses coming to Regina in semi-final games in 2000 and 2002. The Dinos are a perfect 8-0 in Hardy Cup games at home, including wins over UBC in 1977 (13-12) and 1983 (21-12).

With the game happening on 11/11/11, it’s fitting that both quarterbacks will wear No. 11 in the contest. Calgary’s Eric Dzwilewski has lost just two games as a starter in CIS, including this year’s regular season finale at UBC, while UBC’s Billy Greene is looking to give his team a shot at playing in the Vanier Cup in its own backyard as the Thunderbirds return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and the Hardy Cup for the first time since 1999.

Since the playoff structure was instituted in 1977, the home team has won 25 of the 35 Hardy Cup games played. The winner of this one gets one more home game, with the Quebec champion vising next week for a national semi-final. Here’s a look at the two teams battling Friday night for the Hardy Cup and hosting rights for next week’s Mitchell Bowl:

No. 2 Calgary Dinos (8-1)

Last week: defeated Regina 16-4

After ending the Regina Rams’ season in the semi-final for the third time in four seasons, the Dinos turn their attention to the only team that has beaten them this season.

Calgary’s performance against Regina left something to be desired, to say the least. After averaging better than 37 points per game in the regular season the Dinos put up just 16 points on the Rams, riding a solid defensive performance to win 16-4. It was the lowest point total in a playoff victory for Calgary since the 1977 Hardy Cup against UBC (13-12), but the Dinos will be eager to put that game behind them and refocus on their strengths – namely, running the football.

The Dinos’ run attack will be key to the team’s success Friday night, as it has been all season. UBC allowed, on average, 232 rushing yards and 502 total yards per game during the regular season, and allowed Saskatchewan to rack up 529 yards of offence in their semi-final tilt last week, and Calgary does have the best run game in the conference this year.

Chris Dobko, the conference’s leading receiver with 56 receptions, should return to active duty for the Dinos after dressing but not seeing action in the Regina game, giving sophomore pivot Eric Dzwilewski back his favourite target. And the Lumbala-Walter-Woodson running back trio will be ready to go in full force.

The job of stopping Billy Greene and the UBC offence will fall to a Calgary defensive unit that led the conference defending the run, finished third against the pass, and averaged just 336 yards against during the season. Sam Hurl, the Canada West defensive player of the week after a 10-tackle, two-sack performance against Regina last week, anchors an athletic group that also includes linebacker Jordan Verdone, stud lineman Linden Gaydosh, and solid halfbacks in Tye Noble and Mike Edem. Hurl led all playoff-bound players with 52 tackles in the regular season, while Edem had the only pick-six return for Calgary in the eight conference games.

The Dinos have home field in their favour as well, having won 24 of their last 25 games at McMahon Stadium.

No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds (7-2)

Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 27-22

The Thunderbirds are the feel-good story in Canada West this season, a once-proud program that has returned to the upper echelon of the conference after missing the playoffs four years in a row. They got through their first home playoff game since 1999 with a win last week over Saskatchewan; now, the Thunderbirds face the challenge of dethroning the three-time defending Canada West champion Dinos on their own turf.

The T-Birds’ story begins and ends with Billy Greene. Considered a legitimate threat for the Hec Crighton Trophy, he’s a veteran, mobile, intelligent quarterback who led Canada West in every major category this year, including passing (2,558 yards, 319/game), touchdowns (20), and rushing by quarterbacks (482 yards, 60.2/game). He finished just behind Calgary’s Dzwilewski in completion percentage at 59.8 against 60.2, but he threw the ball 70 more times than did the Dinos’ second-year pivot.

Greene’s top target all year was Jordan Grieve, who led the conference with 768 receiving yards and an 18.7 yards-per-catch average. He finished second in touchdowns to Dobko. Three other T-Birds made the top-10 in receiving, including David Scott, Mitch Shuster, and Micha Theil. Shuster was the target of choice last week against the Huskies, hauling in four passes for 117 yards. The run game was led by Dave Boyd, who averaged 78.2 yards per game, but he was injured late in the season and did not play against Saskatchewan last week. UBC’s pass-to-run ratio was about 3-to-1 in terms of yards gained last week, up slightly from their regular season average.

Much as is the case for the Dinos, UBC’s ability to win the game could rest on the shoulders of its defence. Rookie linebacker Adam Konar was the team’s tackling leader with 41 on the season, but a whole flock of Thunderbirds lifted its game last week against the Huskies with six different players registering tackles for loss, four players hauling in an interception, and three grabbing a sack apiece. Serge Kaminsky and Connor Flynn were both in the top five in sacks on the season.

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Ben Matchett