CALGARY – A week removed from their first playoff victory since 1995, the University of Calgary Dinos won their tenth Hardy Cup title with a convincing 44-21 win over the Simon Fraser Clan Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.
BOX SCORE
The sixth-ranked Dinos (7-3) advance to the national semifinal and will meet the Quebec conference champion in the Uteck Bowl. Concordia visits top-ranked Laval for the QUFL title Sunday, with the winner to host the Dinos next weekend. Saint Mary's visits Western Ontario in the other semifinal, the Mitchell Bowl, and the two bowl game winners will advance to the Desjardins Vanier Cup Saturday, Nov. 22 in Hamilton.
The Uteck Bowl goes Sunday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. MT on The Score, RDS, and The FAN 960.
The win was easily Calgary's best performance of the season, avenging a 20-3 regular season loss to the Clan in September. Quarterback Deke Junior completed 22 of 28 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns to lead Calgary to victory.
“We came together as a team today and played like brothers,” said Junior, a first-year CIS player who spent five years with the Regina Thunder of the Prairie Football Conference. “We hadn't exploded like that all year. We knew we had it in us, and Coach (Greg) Vavra called a great game today.
“Our offensive line gave me all kinds of time to throw, and I was able to just distribute the ball. My receivers made me look good.”
Calgary coach Blake Nill praised his offence, which posted its best performance of the season in the biggest game the Dinos have played so far.
“This was our best performance for 60 minutes on both sides of the ball,” said Nill, who led the Dinos to the conference title in just his third year as head coach. “The offence just exploded, and Deke had without a doubt his best game for us. He put the ball in the hands of our athletes and let them do the work.”
Junior's top target was sophomore Anthony Parker, who hauled in nine passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Canada West Hec Crighton nominee Matt Walter had another solid effort with 23 carries for 123 yards, while Anthony Woodson had his best game of the year with six carries for 47 yards to go with two catches for 71 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown strike. The second team All-Canadian from 2007 missed the bulk of the season with broken ribs and was playing in just his third game back in the lineup.
“Anthony was our go-to guy for the last two years, but after the injury he's had to claw his way back into the spotlight,” said Nill. “He did today in a big way with two big catches and a couple big runs.”
The Calgary win came as the clock struck midnight on Simon Fraser's Cinderella season. The Clan, who entered the season riding a 25-game losing streak, made a return to the playoffs after posting an impressive 5-3 record on the season, defeating Saskatchewan on the road last week to advance to the Hardy Cup.
“It wasn't for a lack of effort, it was simply poor execution, mistakes and penalties,” said SFU head coach Dave Johnson, the 2008 conference Coach of the Year. “But I can't say enough about this team, it's always tough to get this far and to lose, and it's a little too soon to be able to reflect on the year, but I can't stress enough of how proud I am of this team.”
Defensive pressure by the Dinos led to their first score, when Calgary's Deji Oduwole forced a Bernd Dittrich fumble on the Clan's second drive. Calgary recovered, setting up an Aaron Ifield 30-yard field goal for the game's first points. SFU took its only lead midway through first quarter when Dittrich connected with Tyson Buchannon on a 27-yard touchdown strike to lead 7-3.
Near the end of the quarter, the Clan appeared to have all the momentum when Chris Folk intercepted Junior with the Dinos threatening in SFU territory. Two-plays later however Simon Fraser's Marek Seta fumbled at the tail end of the 21-yard run and Calgary capitalized on the Clan miscue, driving 38 yards to pay dirt, capped by a 13-yard Woodson touchdown run in the opening moments of the second quarter, to lead 10-7.
A swarming Calgary defence knocked Dittrich out of the game for one play later in the second quarter, and on the very next play forced Simon Fraser backup quarterback Kenton Boldt to fumble. Two offensive plays later, Junior threaded a perfect pass to Woodson between double coverage to give Calgary a 17-7 advantage. Junior then found lineman Paul Swiston on a nine-yard touchdown strike before the half to complete an 11-play, 81-yard drive to give the Dinos a 24-7 advantage at the half.
The Dinos extended their lead to 30-7 in the third quarter with 26 and 31-yard Ifield field goals before SFU answered with a 75-yard drive, which Brandon Halverson finished off with a one-yard touchdown run to trail 30-14 heading into the fourth. Calgary, however, put the Clan away in the final quarter on Junior's third and fourth touchdown strikes of the day – 38- and six-yard touchdown passes to Parker. Halverson added a 52-yard touchdown run with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 44-21.
For the Clan, Dittrich finished the game 16-for-29 for 167 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Halverson led Simon Fraser on the ground with 112 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, while Buchannon was SFU's leading receiver with five receptions for 60 yards. Fifth-year senior Thomas Pearce was the Clan's leader on defence with 8.0 tackles and one sack.
Halfback Matt Grohn led the Dinos defensively with seven tackles, while safety James Green added 5.5 and Andrea Bonaventura, the conference nominee for the Presidents' Award as top defensive player, chipped in with four.
The Dinos finished 6-0 at home in 2008 and will face a tough Quebec squad in the Uteck Bowl next weekend. All-time the Dinos are 5-3 in national semifinal games, with the last win coming in 1995 – a 37-7 win over Ottawa in the then-Churchill (now Mitchell) Bowl.
“We're going into Quebec now,” said Nill. “Whether it's Concordia or Laval, it doesn't matter to us. We're just happy to have Dinos football back in the national spotlight.”
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SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CALGARY – Ifield 30-yard FG, 6:49, 3-0 Calgary
SFU – Dittrich 27-yard TD pass to Buchanan (Biles convert), 11:26, 7-3 SFU
2nd Quarter
CALGARY – Woodson 13-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 0:34, 10-7 Calgary
CALGARY – Junior 36-yard TD pass to Woodson (Ifield convert), 4:37, 17-7 Calgary
CALGARY – Junior 9-yard TD pass to Swiston (Ifield convert), 11:11, 24-7 Calgary
3rd Quarter
CALGARY – Ifield 26-yard FG, 6:34, 27-7 Calgary
CALGARY – Ifield 31-yard FG, 10:20, 30-7 Calgary
SFU – Halverson 1-yard TD run, 14:03, 30-14 Calgary
4th Quarter
CALGARY- Junior 38-yard TD pass to Parker (Ifield convert), 4:25, 37-14 Calgary
CALGARY – Junior 6-yard TD pass to Parker (Ifield convert), 10:21, 44-14 Calgary
SIMON FRASER – Halverson 52-yard TD run (Biles convert), 13:27, 44-21 Calgary
