CALGARY – In the unlikeliest of Canada West championship scenarios, the University of Calgary Dinos host the Simon Fraser University Clan for the 72nd Hardy Cup presented by Calgary Co-op Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
It's a changing of the guard in Canada West football. For the first time since 2003, a team from Saskatchewan will not compete in the conference final after Calgary took care of Regina and Simon Fraser upset the Huskies in last week's semifinals. Calgary has improved steadily in Blake Nill's three years as head coach, while Simon Fraser is the Cinderella story of CIS football in 2008, following up three straight 0-8 seasons with a 5-3 campaign and a spot in the final eight.
Simon Fraser's potential rise from worst to first mirrors that of the Regina Rams in 2000, who bounced back from an 0-8 season in 1999 to defeat Alberta for the Hardy Cup before ultimately falling to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Vanier Cup.
Two 'parallel' programs, in Nill's opinion, will hit the McMahon turf Saturday afternoon.
“There are really two reasons this is a good match-up for the Canada West final,” he said. “First, it says a lot about our two programs, which are parallel in our rebuilding in a lot of ways, that we can get to the final in the early stages of that rebuilding. I have the utmost respect for Coach Johnson and what he's done there.”
And, after the Clan took the teams' only meeting of the season 20-3 at rain-soaked Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, the Dinos are looking for a little redemption to boot.
“When we went down there, we didn't play our best and they really put the boots to us,” Nill said. “They pounded us on the run and we couldn't stop it. But we get a chance to redeem ourselves, and what more could you ask for?”
Dave Johnson, in his second year at the helm of the Simon Fraser program, improved the Clan program on and off the field and has seen rapid results, finishing 5-3 this season and defeating Saskatchewan twice – once in the regular season at BC Place, and in last weekend's conference semifinal at Saskatoon. Johnson served as defensive coordinator for the University of Calgary Dinos in 2001 and 2002.
It's Calgary's first trip to the conference final since 1997, when they lost 39-21 to UBC in Vancouver. The Dinos last hosted the final in 1995, an overtime victory over Saskatchewan en route to the school's fourth Vanier Cup championship. To date, the University of Calgary has nine conference football championships to its credit.
Simon Fraser has been to the Hardy Cup just once since joining CIS in 2002, winning the conference title with a 28-18 victory over Alberta.
Rain and wet field conditions significantly impacted both teams' performances the last time they met on Sept. 20, and weather could again be a factor in the conference final after the season's first snowfall blanketed Calgary late Tuesday. The forecast calls for light flurries and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark for the remainder of the week, with a high of 1° for kickoff Saturday afternoon.
Of course, this being November in Calgary, the weather is bound to change at a moment's notice – but the prospect of snow and slick turf would significantly alter the offensive playbooks of both teams. The run game has been the bread and butter of both teams in 2008 – Calgary boasting the leading rusher in all-star Matt Walter (904 yards) and Simon Fraser finishing second in team rushing totals, averaging 168 yards per game along the ground.
Gabe Ephard, who led the Clan's running-game-by-committee last weekend with 59 yards against Saskatchewan, will miss the Hardy Cup after suffering a leg injury, but their top rusher on the season, Marek Seta, may be back in the lineup after missing three games with a high ankle sprain.
Quarterback Bernd Dittrich, the Vienna, Austria native, directed a potent Clan offence against Saskatchewan which racked up 480 total yards. His 247 yards passing nicely balanced SFU's 226-yard rushing performance as the Clan used the option play to perfection against the Huskies in their 40-30 win.
Calgary will rely on Walter and Anthony Woodson out of the backfield along with all-star wide receiver Nathan Coehoorn on offence, but it has been defence that has propelled the Dinos to this point. They feature four all-stars on defence, more than any other school, and every one of them came up big to stall Teale Orban's 85-yard drive on the one yard line with less than two minutes to play in Sunday's 24-17 win over Regina.
Quarterback Deke Junior had a solid outing against the Rams, completing 20 passes for 229 yards but, more importantly, protecting the football without throwing a single interception. Turnovers – seven of them, including five fumbles – were the Dinos' undoing against the Clan at Swangard in September, and protecting the football will be a key concern for both sides in the Hardy Cup, especially if conditions are less than ideal.
The Dinos and Clan meet for the first time in post-season action on Saturday. Calgary leads the all-time series with Simon Fraser 5-4, including four straight victories prior to the 20-3 loss in September.
Since the playoff system was re-introduced in 1976, the home team has held a 23-9 advantage in conference championship games. However, that trend has slowed of late; after six straight conference titles were won by the home team from 1993-98, the visiting team actually holds a 5-4 margin.
The winner of Saturday's game will take on the Quebec champion in the CIS Uteck Bowl for a chance to advance to the Desjardins Vanier Cup Nov. 22 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamliton. The Quebec conference hosts the Uteck Bowl in 2008, with a winner to be decided between Laval and Concordia on Sunday afternoon.
Tickets for the Hardy Cup are available at all Calgary Co-op customer service locations, online at goDINOS.com, or at the east gate of McMahon Stadium on game day. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and seniors, and $25 for a family of four. UC students, staff, and faculty will receive free admission to the game.
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