RECAPS (Canada West) Huskies clinch playoff; Rams keep playoff hopes alive; Dinos clinch first [STATS]

RAMS KEEP PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE

The University of Regina Rams kept their playoff hopes alive with a critical 56-41 victory over No. 9 Manitoba on Saturday afternoon in a Canada West game at Mosaic Stadium.

Jared Janotta (pictured) became Canada West’s all-time leader in receptions, surpassing former teammate Mark McConkey’s career total of 180. But more importantly the Rams’ win sets up what will be an epic Week 8 of Canada West football, as both the Calgary and Saskatchewan wins on Saturday also work in the U of R’s favour.

The Rams (2-5) can qualify for the postseason with a win over Alberta next weekend along with victories by both Calgary and Saskatchewan. The Rams could also qualify for the playoffs with a Calgary loss to Manitoba and a three-point U of R win over Alberta, or a Saskatchewan loss to UBC combined with at least a 15-point win over the Golden Bears.

The Rams scored the opening 28 points of the game, only to have Manitoba (3-4) roar back with 24 unanswered points of its own to draw to within four early in the third. But that was as close as Manitoba would come, as the Rams replied almost immediately with Atlee Simon’s third touchdown run of the game and a 104-yard touchdown pass from Noah Picton to Mitch Thompson early in the fourth essentially put the game out of reach.

Picton, who replaced an injured Cayman Shutter in the second, finished 17-for-24 with 368 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Janotta had a team-high seven receptions for 109 yards, while Thompson ended up with a team-high 110 yards – most of which came on that long touchdown reception in the fourth, the third-longest passing play in U of R history.

Rookie running back Atlee Simon had another fine game for the Rams, picking up 154 yards on the ground and becoming the first Rams player to collect three touchdown rushes since Cory Olynick way back in 2002. Simon also had 89 receiving yards including a 60-yard touchdown reception to become the only U of R player not named Jason Clermont or Chad Goldie to score four majors in a single game. His 243 all-purpose yards stand as the fourth-highest single-game total for the Rams at the CIS level.

Patrick MacDonald and Joey Dwyer both sparkled in the defensive backfield for the Rams. Both had key interceptions, with MacDonald also collecting four pass knockdowns and Dwyer adding three.

Starting in place of Jordan Yantz, Manitoba’s Theo Deezar finished 22-for-40 for 440 yards and four touchdowns. Most of the damage was to Nic Demski, who ended up with nine catches for 238 yards – tied for seventh in conference single-game history and just three back of Andrew Sharp’s school record of 241 set during the 2002 campaign.

Kienan LaFrance also had a massive game on the ground for the Bisons, rushing 17 times for a total of 175 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams will now get ready for the crucial Alberta matchup, which is set for next Saturday, Nov. 1 at Mosaic Stadium (2 p.m.). Manitoba will also be in action next Saturday, as the Bisons will entertain No. 2 Calgary.

BY Braden Konschuh

STATS BELOW

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HUSKIES CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT

The No. 10 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies used a strong second half to break away from the visiting University of Alberta Golden Bears en route to a 41-23 playoff-clinching win Saturday at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.

The Huskies scored 24 straight second half points, outscoring Alberta 24-9 in the half to improve to 5-2. Alberta drops to 3-4 with the loss.

The combination of a Saskatchewan win, Alberta loss and a Manitoba loss solidifies second place in the Canada West for the Huskies. Saskatchewan will host a Canada West semi-final November 7.

Quarterback Drew Burko led the Huskie offence on Saturday completing 29-of-41 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns.

Kit Hillis put his name atop the Huskies all-time receptions list on Saturday _ as he hauled in nine Burko passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. John Trumpy also caught two touchdown passes. Tyler Chow was the top rusher for the Huskies with 38 yards on 10 attempts. The first year running back added eight catches for 78 yards.

Mark Ingram moved into first place in the CIS with two interceptions, giving him a six in 2014.

Alberta quarterback Curtis Dell completed 21-of-29 attempts for 292 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Audrey Webster was Dell’s favourite target with eight receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Jimmy Ralph racked up 102 yards on seven catches. Ed Ilnicki rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 114 carries to lead the Golden Bears on the ground.

GAME RECAP BY QUARTER

1^st Quarter

Alberta took the ball 88 yards on the game’s opening possession to jump out to an early lead. Curtis Dell found Adam Zajdel for a 12-yard major.

2^nd Quarter

The Huskies would get on the board at 6:57 of the second quarter. Quarterback Drew Burko rolled to his right and connected with Kit Hillis on a six-yard touchdown pass. Hillis hauled in four passes on the scoring drive.

Alberta would respond on their very next drive. Marching down the field to take a 14-7 lead on a one-yard Ed Ilnicki plunge at 8:43. Dell found receiver Tylor Henry for a 35-yard completion to spark the drive.

After Tyler Chow returned the ensuing Alberta kickoff to the Golden Bear side of half, it took just two plays to even the game again. John Trumpy made a leaping catch in the end zone on a 40-yard play-action pass from Burko at 9:42.

Denton Kolodzinski put the Huskies ahead at the half with a 34-yard field goal as the second quarter expired.

3^rd  Quarter

Stephen Fabian was good on a 30-yard field goal at 4:08 on the Golden Bears opening drive of the second half to square the game at 17.

Burko would find the end zone with a pass for the third time in the game at 13:52 of the third quarter. Julan Lynch capped off the nine play, 84-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown catch.

4th Quarter

Saskatchewan would add to the lead with a 12-yard Kolodzinski field goal on the first drive of the fourth quarter at 2:11.

Alberta looked to cut the deficit to seven midway through the fourth lining up for a 38-yard field goal, but the kick was wide left. Keegan Arnyek was deep to return and took off for a 115-yard return touchdown, aided by two big blocks on his way.

Burko would throw his fourth touchdown of the game and the second to Trumpy. The 19-yard completion at 9:06 gave the Huskies a 41-17 lead.

Back-up quarterback Ryan Schwartz hit Aundrey Webster with an eight-yard touchdown pass at 11:57.

BY Matt Gutsch

STATS BELOW

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DINOS CLINCH FIRST PLACE

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos dominated in all aspects of the game, clinching the Canada West regular season title with a 67-6 win over the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.

Calgary (6-1) will finish first in the conference for the fourth straight season and will enjoy home field advantage throughout the playoffs, while UBC (2-5) saw its playoff hopes diminished with the loss.

The Dinos scored early and often, with Johnny Mark connecting for a single on the opening kickoff – one of six on a windy day for him – sparking 16 points for Calgary in the first 5:32 of the contest. By the time the first quarter ended it was 26-0 as the Dinos capitalized with the wind. Calgary led 36-3 at the half and 43-5 after 45 minutes.

While the Dinos were without the services of offensive lineman Sukh Chungh and tailback Quentin Chown, both of whom were injured against Alberta last week, there was good news on the injury front as both Mercer Timmis and Jake Harty returned to the lineup. Timmis rushed 15 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Harty picked up 90 receiving yards and a major as both played major roles in Calgary’s offence.

“I think the key was having people step up,” said Calgary captain Sean McEwen, an offensive lineman. “We had some guys in new roles and in positions they haven’t played before but I’m really proud of how they stepped up and helped us get this win. We had a good game plan coming in and a good understanding of what they were going to do to try and stop us. Having a lot of guys back from injury like Mercer helped too. It’s awesome when you have him behind you running the ball so it’s nice to be rewarded for your effort.”

“The young men played very well, and they prepared very well,” said Calgary coach Steve Buratto, filling in for the suspended Blake Nill during Saturday’s game. “Defensively, we did a really wonderful job stopping their running game and minimizing their big plays. You want to be playing at your very best at this time of the year, and they need to be commended for the intensity with which they played the entire game. They didn’t play attention to the scoreboard – they played like it was 0-0 the whole way through, and that’s not a very easy thing to do.”

While Calgary’s offence was up to its usual ways, racking up 665 total yards, 430 of which came along the ground, the Dinos defence held firm and limited UBC to just 205 yards total – and a sixth of that came on one 34-yard passing play in the fourth quarter. UBC’s Brandon Deschamps was able to pick up just 66 yards on the ground, while the quarterbacking tandem of Carson Williams and Trevor Casey combined for just 10 completions on 29 attempts for 105 yards in the game.

Timmis’ return bolstered the Calgary offence, but it was Andrew Buckley who scored first on a 35-yard TD run just two minutes into the contest. Timmis added a three-yard major three minutes later, then a one-yard plunge to wrap up the opening quarter. Early in the second on third-and-three, Buckley called his own number and rumbled 34 yards for his second TD of the game. He finished with 99 rushing yards on the day.

Buckley found Harty for the only passing major of the game midway through the fourth quarter, and Harty added a rushing TD of his own early in the fourth. Bryce Harper and Eric Dzwilewski added rushing scores for Calgary, while Mark added eight converts and a 32-yard field goal to his six kickoff rouges on the day to account for 17 points.

Buckley completed 14 of 22 passes for 173 yards and a TD on the day.

Quinn Van Gylswyk accounted for all of UBC’s scoring, adding a pair of singles to a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter. Otherwise, the Thunderbirds couldn’t penetrate deep enough into Calgary territory to threaten.
The Dinos will wrap up the regular season with their first-ever visit to Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field to take on Manitoba (3-4) next Saturday afternoon, while UBC will wrap up the regular season at home against Saskatchewan in a must-win game: the Thunderbirds need a victory and some help elsewhere in the conference to qualify for the postseason.

BY Ben Matchett

STATS BELOW

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Manitoba vs. Regina at Regina, SK 10/25/2014 at 2:07 pm
Manitoba  41	Regina  56