PREVIEW (Canada West 3x): Rams to Manitoba; Huskies carry momentum; UBC hosts Dinos for Homecoming

RAMS RECEIVE VOTES IN CIS TOP TEN: For the second consecutive FRC-CIS Top Ten poll, the Rams received votes but didn’t break into the rankings. They weren’t far off, though, as they ended up with 25 points in the poll – just nine behind No. 10 Mount Allison. Calgary remains at No. 2 in this week’s poll, with No. 6 Saskatchewan as the only other Canada West school. Both Manitoba and UBC dropped out of the poll following Week 1 road losses to Saskatchewan and Regina, respectively.

FAMILY TIES: OL Aaron Picton and SB Mitchell Picton are brothers, and their cousin Noah Picton is a quarterback in his first season of CIS eligibility with the U of R. There’s also a pair of Wilsons, as Riley is a third-year slotback with the Rams and his younger brother Luke is a rookie defensive back. Defensive coordinator Paul Dawson has a son (RB Dillon Dawson) and a nephew (LB Danny Nesbitt) on the team, while head coach Frank McCrystal’s son Charlie McCrystal is on the staff as a defensive backs coach. If that isn’t enough, you’ll also find QB Cayman Shutter throwing to his first cousin, WR Mitch Thompson.

JANOTTA WATCH: Fifth-year SB Jared Janotta passed Jordan Sisco for third place in University of Regina history in career receptions last week. Janotta now has 145 for his career, needing 29 to pass Chad Goldie for second and 36 to overtake former teammate Mark McConkey for the school and conference all-time lead. Janotta also moved up a spot on the school career receiving yards list, overtaking Michael Thomas for sixth. He now has 1867 yards over his five seasons with the Rams and needs just 37 more to pass Brenden Owens to break into the U of R’s all-time top five.

RICHARDS LOOKING FOR 1000: Fourth-year WR Addison Richards piled up 133 receiving yards last week in the UBC win, giving him 880 for his career. He needs 120 more to become the 14th player in U of R history to hit the 1000 mark.

RAMS IN THE PROS: The Rams currently boast three former players in the NFL, including P Jon Ryan (Seattle), DL Akiem Hicks (New Orleans), and DL Stefan Charles (Buffalo). Four University of Regina products are on CFL active rosters right now, including OL Brett Jones with Calgary and SB Chris Getzlaf, OL Brendon LaBatte, and LB Ryan Wellman with Saskatchewan. FB Neal Hughes is on Saskatchewan’s six-game injured list, while OL Chris Mercer remains on Edmonton’s practice roster.

GO LONG: Rams quarterbacks have thrown for over 400 yards 15 times since moving up to the CIS in 1999. And Cayman Shutter now has five of them – in just eight career starts – after throwing for 430 yards in last week’s win over UBC.

RAMS FIFTH IN CANADA WEST POLL: The Rams were ranked fifth in the Canada West preseason poll released Sept. 3, garnering four fifth-place votes and one sixth-place vote for a total of 13 points in the poll. Calgary chalked up the maximum 50 points as the unanimous favourite, with Manitoba second (36 points), UBC third (31), Saskatchewan fourth (19), and Alberta sixth (7).

DEFENSIVE LINE
• With defensive coordinator Paul Dawson moving from a 42 defence to a 33 defence, the Rams will have three DL on the field this season under most circumstances
• Last week’s starters included veteran Tyler Perkins along with Bryce McKinnon and Dean Viena, both of whom made their first Canada West starts on the defensive side of the ball for the Rams
• Viena will have one season of eligibility for the Rams after playing basketball at Shoreline CC (Shoreline, Wash.)
• Perkins had a pair of solo tackles and an assisted tackle against UBC, while both McKinnon and Viena had two assisted tackles
• Eric Wicijowski and Thomas Lill are also expected to make the trip to Manitoba
• Wicijowski is a rookie out of LeBoldus HS in Regina, while Lill played both offensive line and defensive line last year as a rookie for the Rams

LINEBACKERS
• Connor Ketchen and Canada West all-star Michael Stefanovic reclaim their starting jobs
• Stefanovic and Ketchen finished one-two on the team in tackles last year, with Stefanovic also leading the conference outright in tackles for loss
• Dylan Minshull redshirted last year, but has stepped in opposite Stefanovic at OLB
• Ketchen and Minshull were teammates in high school (Neelin HS in Brandon, Man.)
• Calgary Colts product Zack McEachern had a solo tackle and two assisted tackles against UBC, all on kick coverage
• Rookie Danny Nesbitt also played in his first Canada West game, recording one solo tackle on a kickoff return

DEFENSIVE BACKS
• Tevaughn Campbell and Patrick MacDonald both returned against UBC, but both Korey Greene and Mason Rossler remain questionable for the Manitoba game with injuries
• Kahlen Branning and Campbell should again start at cornerback for the Rams
• Jeff Propp and Patrick MacDonald started at halfback against UBC and are expected to do so again on Friday
• Starting dimeback Joey Dwyer had a productive opener against UBC, leading the Rams in tackles (8 solo, 4 assisted)
• Safety Justin Edralin registered the Rams’ first interception of the season last week, picking off a Carson Williams pass in the 2nd
• Jordy Kibamba, Ryan Serbu, and one of either Korey Greene or Robbie Avram are also expected to make the trip to Manitoba
PUNTERS/KICKERS
• Former Calgary Colts kicker Andrew Fabian had a fine debut for the Rams last week, earning Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week honours after connecting on all four of his FG attempts, going 3-for-3 on PATs, and averaging 40.3 yards per punt
• With Fabian nursing a minor injury, rookie RB Atlee Simon handled kickoff duties against UBC and averaged 45.5 yards on his four kickoffs

RETURNERS
• Tevaughn Campbell and Mitch Thompson are expected to return punts and kickoffs
• Thompson had both of Regina’s kickoff returns against UBC for a total of 79 yards, including a 56-yard return early in the game
• Always a threat to break out a big return, Campbell was limited to four yards on two punt returns last Friday

HOLDER / LONG SNAPPER
• In addition to his return duties on special teams, Mitch Thompson will also be the team’s holder on field goal attempts
• Offensive lineman Jeremy Zver will be the long snapper on both punts and FG attempts

Source: Braden Konschuh

The Manitoba Bisons football team (0-1) begins their second season at Investors Group Field – on the U of Manitoba Fort Garry campus by hosting the Regina Rams (1-0) in the 2014 home opener on Friday, September 12 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will also be televised live as Canada West Shaw Game of the Week and radio broadcast can be heard on 101.5 UMFM (online at: umfm.com).

For the Bison home opener football game, doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with a pep rally at 6:40 p.m., which includes a pyrotechnic show plus the halftime show is Shandra Levreault & Slow Motion Walter. Tickets available through all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.ca and more ticket details at gobisons.ca website.

Manitoba looks to repeat the 2013 opening when they won 65-41 over Alberta on Aug. 30/13 to christened the new stadium to CIS play.To start the 2014 season, the Bisons were ranked sixth in the first CIS poll and travelled to play at Saskatchewan in week one and lost 44-24 on Fri., Sept. 5 while Regina hosted then #7 UBC and won 33-23 in week one. In Brian Dobie‘s 18 years at the helm for regular season openers, the Bisons are now 10-9 overall and 6-5 on the road.

In the 2013 season, Manitoba went 5-3 and was a Canada West finalist and Regina finished fifth and out of the playoffs with a 2-6 mark. Both teams met once last season as the Herd won 34-15 at home (Sept. 28/13) and in head-to-head meetings, the Bisons hold a 14-11 regular season record and a sparkling 9-3 mark at home over the Rams.

Early in the 2014 season, two of the top conference quarterbacks will be on the field as fifth year Bison QB Jordan Yantz is third in Canada West with 310 yards while Regina QB Cayman Shutter leads the league with 430 passing yards and both have thrown two touchdowns. In Canada West receiving yards, Bisons Matt Sawyer is sixth with 94, Alex Vitt is seventh with 86 and Dustin Pedersen in tenth with 57 while Regina Addison Richards is second with 133, Jared Janotta is third with 114 and Riley Wilson is fifth at 96. On defence, Regina has Joey Dwyer in second with 10 conference tackles and Dylan Minshull is sixth with eight. Manitoba top tackler is rookie Jayden McCoy in seventh with seven tackles andTremaine Apperley tied for eighth with 6.5 tackles.

Source:  Manitoba Bisons Sports Information

Game Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014, 5pm

Game Location: Foote Field, Edmonton

Live Radio Broadcast: CK 750,www.ck750.com
Live Stats/ Live Webcast: canadawest.tv

THE GAME

Looking to take momentum from a Week 1 win, the University of Saskatchewan football team hits the road for the first time in 2014 to meet the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton.

BROADCAST INFO

Kickoff is 5 p.m. local time on Saturday. The game is available live on CK750 or www.ck750.com or via webcast at canadawest.tv.

THE HEADLINES

• Saskatchewan (No. 6) is one of two Canada West teams to hold a spot in the CIS Top 10. Calgary (No. 2) joins the Huskies in the national rankings.
• Huskie safety Mark Ingram was named Canada West Defensive Player of the Week after recording two interceptions and 5.5 tackles in the 44-24 win over Manitoba in Week 1.
• The Huskies will look for their sixth straight win against Alberta. The Golden Bears last defeated the Huskies in a 2010 Canada West semifinal.
• Saskatchewan suffered a big season loss on the offence line when fifth-year guard Mat Leung was injured in Game 1.

GOLDEN BEARS/HUSKIES SERIES

Since 2002, the Huskies are 16-3 against the Golden Bears. Saskatchewan won the lone meeting between the two teams in 2013 39-17 at Griffiths Stadium.

NO.6 UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (1-0)

Saskatchewan made a statement in Week 1 with a convincing 44-24 win over the then-ranked No. 6 Manitoba Bisons.

The win came on the strength of the defence, who recorded three interceptions and a fumble recovery on a punt cover. Leading the way for Saskatchewan was fifth-year safety Mark Ingram with two interceptions and 5.5 tackles.  Fourth-year defensive lineman Timi Agbaje was also strong with 4.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

On offence, quarterback Drew Burko went 25-for-41 with 232 yards. He connected with Andre Lalonde, John Trumpy and Brydon Ozmun for their first CIS touchdowns, and veteran Kit Hillis.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (0-1)
Alberta will look to forget a 71-3 opening week loss to the reigning Hardy Cup champion Dinos.

Fifth-year quarterback Ryan Schwartz returned to lead the Golden Bears offence in 2014. Fellow fifth-year QB Curtis Dell, along with veteran receiver Ryley Richardson and sophomores Tylor Henry (WR), Aundrey Webster (TB), Tak Landy (R) and running back Ed Ilnicki also returned. The group combined to produce the 10th most productive (yards) offence in CIS last season, while Henry was the Canada West’s leading receiver.

The Golden Bears also have experience on the defensive side of the ball. Fifth-year linebacker Tyler Greenslade, fresh off a training camp with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, returns to captain the Alberta defence. He’s joined by former Team World starter Connor Ralph, a fourth-year linebacker, as well as third-year defensive lineman Greg Severin and third-year DB Mitchell Koch, who played for Team West at the 2014 CIS East-West Bowl.

Photo credit:  Gavin So

(Source:  Saskatchewan Huskies Sports Information)

UBC HOSTS DINOS FOR HOMECOMING

VANCOUVER  – Fresh off an opening week loss in Regina, the UBC Thunderbirds return home for Homecoming Weekend and a tilt with the No.2 ranked Calgary Dinos Saturday September 13th at 2:00 pm at Thunderbird Stadium.

UBC showed flashes last week as the Canada West regular season kicked off, but in the end they would lose 33-23 to the Regina Rams. Meanwhile, the Dinos are coming off a 71-3 mauling of Alberta.

“From my experience, the biggest improvement our team sees during the season is between week one and week two,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “Because we didn’t play an exhibition game, last week was our first live action and I could tell at times our guys were just feeling their way through it. We didn’t play poorly, but we did have a number of mistakes that hurt us and we will have to clean that up this week.”

The Thunderbirds have always played the Dinos tough over the last number years. Despite losing three times to Calgary last season (twice during the regular season and once in the playoffs), UBC had their chance to win. In fact they led going into the fourth quarter in two of the three games last year.

“Games are won in the second half, ” said Olson. “We need to ensure that our best players are our best players in the fourth quarter and most importantly we need to learn how to close out games.”

On the offensive side of the ball, look for the Thunderbirds to stretch the field and be a little more aggressive. Olson sets a weekly goal of 15 explosive plays of at least 15 yards and last Friday versus Regina they only managed five explosive plays.

Defensively UBC needs to focus on finishing plays, especially when they have their sights set on the quarterback with the opportunity for sack. Last week, the Thunderbirds managed just one sack against Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter who threw the ball 51 times.

Calgary are the five-time defending Canada West champions and lost to Laval in last year’s Vanier Cup. They return a number of their key playmakers from last year including quarterback Andrew Buckley, running back Mercer Timmis (led the country in rushing and touchdowns in 2013), and Canada West defensive player of the year, linebacker Doctor Cassama.

Despite putting up 71 points last week, Olson isn’t too concerned.

“It would be a different story if they put up 71 against Laval. We put up 60 on Alberta last year. As long as we take care of the football and make an improvement from week one, we should be just fine.”

(Source:  UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information)

CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds celebrate Homecoming Weekend Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium as they take on the University of Calgary Dinos in Week 2 of Canada West action – and the Dinos are looking to spoil the party.

Action between the No. 2 Dinos (1-0) and Thunderbirds (0-1) gets underway at 2 p.m. PT (3 p.m. MT), live on CanadaWest.tv in Vancouver.

The Dinos and Thunderbirds have become pretty well-acquainted in recent years, with Saturday’s contest set to be their eighth match-up since the start of the 2011 season, including a pair of postseason contests. The Dinos have come out on top every time, though one UBC win in 2011 was forfeited after the season. A year ago, the Dinos won both regular season meetings as well as the conference semi-final – but all three games were tight, and in two of the three Calgary had to come back in the fourth quarter to win the game.

Look for both teams to try to establish the run early, with two of the best backs in the nation set to go head-to-head: UBC’s Brandon Deschamps and Calgary’s Mercer Timmis. Both had limited output in Week 1 – Deschamps ran for 49 yards, Timmis for 47 – but they were the top two rushers in the nation last season. Timmis, the reigning Canada West MVP, started his season with two touchdowns against Alberta, a year after setting a conference record with 19 majors in 2013.

The teams come into this weekend after seeing opposite results in Week 1: Calgary laid a 71-3 mauling on Alberta last Friday night, while UBC fell 33-23 at Regina to open their campaign.

Here’s a look at the two teams:

No. 2 Calgary Dinos (1-0)

Last week: defeated Alberta 71-3. Next week: at Saskatchewan

As expected, the Dinos were dominant in a 71-3 win over Alberta to kick off the 2014 season last week. Blake Nill was able to get his depth players plenty of playing time, after the starters jumped out to a 43-point halftime lead. Andrew Buckley put up great numbers, despite playing just the first half, tossing for 313 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to Eric Dzwilewski and Jimmy Underdahl in the second half.

Brett Blaszko had a great day receiving, hauling in nine passes for 198 yards, including a 65-yard TD bomb in the first half. He was named the Canada West offensive player of the week for his performance. Along with Jake Harty, the two combined for more than 300 receiving yards.

Harty (19), along with offensive line teammates Sukh Chungh (8) and Sean McEwen (14), were on the list of the Top 20 CFL prospects announced by the Canadian Football League this week ahead of next spring’s CFL draft. That trio will look to add their names to the long list of Dinos who have made the jump to the pro ranks in recent years – more than any other school in North America.

Defensively, the Dinos put up a solid performance against Alberta, holding them to just 277 yards and three points while intercepting Golden Bear quarterbacks five times. Second-year defensive back Adam Laurensse accounted for two of those five picks on the night by the Calgary defence.

All-Canadian Cyril Iwanegbe made the most of his first crack at the free safety spot, recording 8.5 tackles – eight of which were solos – in the Alberta game.

The Dinos have a short turnaround this week before facing Saskatchewan on the road next Friday night.

UBC Thunderbirds (0-1)

Last week: lost at Regina 33-23; Next week: at Manitoba

Despite leading for much of the game, including part of the third quarter, the Thunderbirds couldn’t stop the air attack of the Regina Rams and fell 33-23 last Friday night in Regina to open the season.

UBC’s defence gave up 430 passing yards to the Cayman Shutter-led Rams, who scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to take control of the game. The offence, meanwhile, showed flashes but had trouble finishing drives and punching it in, resulting in three field goals from 25 yards or less – points that could have made the difference in the game had they been touchdowns.

Carson Williams completed 17 of 30 passes for 220 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against Regina. He spread out the ball well, with eight receivers hauling in at least one pass and only one – Josh Kronstrom – catching more than two. His six receptions for 60 yards led the way for UBC. On the ground, Williams added 37 yards with his feet, while the Regina defensive front did a good job to take away space for Deschamps, limiting him to just 3.9 yards per carry on 13 tries.

UBC’s offence is full of explosive athletes, however, and they’ll look to get on track in front of their big Homecoming crowd Saturday afternoon. The Davis brothers, Marcus and Terrell, are two of UBC’s top-rated recruits with Terrell transferring north after a stint with Arizona Stats in the Pac-12. Both saw limited action against Regina.

Defensively, last year’s conference nominee for the J.P. Metras trophy as the nation’s top lineman, Donovan Dale, leads an experienced defensive front that will try to plug the holes and limit Timmis’ role in the game. The battle on the trenches between Calgary’s offensive line and UBC’s defensive front could well decide this one.

UBC heads back on the road next week for the longest in-conference road trip in the nation when they head to Winnipeg to face the Manitoba Bisons on Sept. 20.

Source:  Ben Matchett, Calgary Dinos Sports Information