WEEK 10 CIS Football Playoff Previews

Photo credit Richard Lam, UBC

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November 4

19:00 MT Regina (3-5) at No. 2 Calgary (7-1), Shaw (TV)

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos begin the defence of their three consecutive Canada West Hardy Cup titles Friday night against a familiar opponent – familiar, at least, when it comes to the playoffs.
 
For the third time in four years, the Dinos host the Regina Rams in a Canada West semi-final at McMahon Stadium. The winner advances to next Friday's Hardy Cup game on TSN, with the Canada West champion earning the right to host the Mitchell Bowl – the CIS national semi-final – against the Quebec conference champion. Kickoff goes at 7 p.m. Friday night at McMahon Stadium, live on Shaw TV (Channel 10 Calgary) and qr77.com.
 
GAME NOTES (.pdf)
 
The Dinos have teamed up with the Calgary Stampeders to provide a great weekend of football in Calgary. Fans with a ticket to Saturday's Stamps game against Winnipeg can show that ticket at the gate Friday night for free admission to the Dinos-Rams game. As well, members of the University of Calgary community will be able to enter to win a trip for two to the Vanier Cup Nov. 25 in Vancouver.
 
In the most recent series of playoff meetings, the Dinos have had the Rams' number, taking a 40-33 win last season along with a 24-17 victory in 2008. However, both of the home playoff losses in the Dinos' history – just two losses in 16 games – came at the hands of the Regina Rams: a 39-17 loss in 2002, and a 33-32 defeat in 2000.
 
Regina was the only Canada West team that did not appear at McMahon this year, with the lone Dinos-Rams contest taking place Sept. 16 at Mosaic Stadium – a 51-1 Calgary victory. That extended the Dinos' win streak over the Rams to eight games overall, including the two playoff games, dating back to October 2007. Regina's last win at McMahon Stadium came all the way back on Oct. 4, 2003.
 
The conference semi-final will feature the top two running backs in Canada West this season in Regina's Adrian Charles (911 yards) and Calgary's Steven Lumbala (898 yards). While Charles won the rushing title by 13 yards over Lumbala, the third-year Calgary tailback had just 111 carries on the season for an impressive 8.1 average while Charles was handed the ball 175 times over the course of the season. The Dinos' strength was – yet again – the run game this year, racking up 2,120 yards in eight games – but Friday night will also feature a match-up of the top two defences in Canada West. In other words, don't expect a repeat of the 51-1 score.
 
UBC (6-2), by virtue of its win over Calgary last week, earned home field advantage for the first round and hosts the Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3) Saturday in the other Canada West semi-final at Thunderbird Stadium.
 
The Dinos have joined the Calgary Stampeders, the Edmonton Eskimos, and various other football organizations in Alberta to honour the Grande Prairie High School Warriors, who suffered a tragedy Oct. 22 when four players were killed and another seriously injured in an automobile accident. The Dinos will wear the black and orange 'W' logo of the Warriors on their helmets for the remainder of the season.
 
Here's a look at the two teams battling Friday night for a berth in the Hardy Cup:
 
No. 2 Calgary Dinos (7-1)
 Last week: lost to UBC 36-23
 
Their hopes for an undefeated season having been dashed last week in a game that had no bearing on the standings for them, the Dinos reboot for what Blake Nill calls the 'real season' and will enjoy home field advantage all the way through the Mitchell Bowl.
 
Last week's 36-23 loss at UBC, the only blemish on the season for the 7-1, No. 2-ranked Dinos, saw flashes of brilliance from the offence followed by stretches of mistake-filled football. The three touchdown drives by Calgary in the first half were as good as any on the season, culminating in scores by Chris Dobko, Richard Snyder, and Eric Dzwilewski.
 
In addition to the exploits of the Lumbala-Walter-Woodson rushing machine that has made most of the offensive waves for the Dinos this season, Chris Dobko has emerged as the go-to receiver in Canada West. He finished the season with 56 receptions, the best single-season total by any receiver in the conference since Don Blair's 1995 Hec Crighton-winning season. UBC's Jordan Grieve was the only player in the conference with more receiving yards (768) than Dobko's 676, an no other receiver came close to Dobko's eight touchdowns on the season.
 
Three of those Dobko scores came Week 3 against the Regina Rams.
 
Calgary's defence, anchored by linebackers Sam Hurl and Jordan Verdone, was the best in the conference against the run, allowing just 117 yards per game along the ground. The trailed only Regina in total yards allowed – and that by just two yards over the course of the entire season. Calgary will remain without the services of Michael Lau, the fifth-year cornerback who suffered a leg injury Week 7 against Manitoba and is out indefinitely.
 
Regina Rams (3-5)
 Last week: defeated Manitoba 31-22
 
The Rams were predicted to finish first in Canada West this year in a pre-season poll of the conference coaches, but an injury to fifth-year starting quarterback Marc Mueller in the first week of the season changed their fortunes and Regina hit the low point of its season in Week 3 when the Dinos won the lone game between the two teams 51-1 at Mosaic Stadium. Since then, the Rams have gone 3-2, with two of those wins coming against the Manitoba – including the winner-take-all 31-22 victory to close Winnipeg's University Stadium last week.
 
The Rams' struggles came mostly on the offensive side of the ball, where they went through several quarterbacks before finally settling on converted receiver Zach Oleynik, a southpaw who took the reins Week 4 against Alberta and started every game from that point on. He finished a respectable 90-for-16 for 1,172 yards and eight touchdowns on the year, leading the Rams to a 3-2 record in his five starts.
 
Regina's run game starts and ends with Charles, who led the team in rushing by more than 800 yards. But the Rams have a talented, speedy receiving corps that can make things happen after they've caught the ball, and they'll give a challenge to the Calgary defence in the form of Jared Janotta (502 yards), Mark McConkey (335), and Brenden Owens (297).
 
The Rams defence is big and athletic, led by lineman Akiem Hicks, the conference's sacks leader with 6.5. Regina as a team led the way with 23 sacks on the season, three better than the Dinos. They will face a challenge in the Calgary offence, which averaged 499 yards per game on the season, but it's a challenge they've faced before: in a perfect example of how statistics don't always tell the whole story, Calgary scored 51 points against the Rams despite having their lowest offensive output of the season at just 387 yards – the only time the Dinos were held to under 400 yards on the season.
 
Chris Bodnar, Regina's punter, could be the best in the country and had a sensational season, making a solid impact on special teams for the Rams. His 44.6-yard average was easily the best in Canada West, and it was capped off by an 83-yard bomb for his season-long.

Source: Calgary Sports Info

November 5

13:00 AT StFX (2-6) at Saint Mary’s (6-2), EastLink (TV & webcast) / sportstream.ca (webcast)

13:00 ET Concordia (4-5) at No. 1 Laval (8-1), Radio-Canada (webcast)

13:00 ET No. 7 Montreal (6-3) at No. 5 Sherbrooke (7-2), Radio-Canada (TV & webcast)

13:00 ET Windsor (6-3) at No. 3 Western (7-1), The Score (TV & webcast)

Western Mustangs (7-1) vs. Windsor Lancers (6-3)
TV: TheScore (University Rush - http://tv.thescore.com/programs/university-rush)
Radio: CJBK 1290 - London, Ont. - http://cjbk.player.amri.ca/
Radio: 94.9 CHRW - London, Ont. - http://chrwradio.com)
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/uwo/football/

TALE OF THE TAPE -- Western vs. Windsor
OVERALL Western leads 43-9-1
SERIES STREAK Western has won 7 straight
LAST MEETING Western 30, Windsor 15 (2010)
LAST 10 Western leads 8-2

LAST GAMES
Western 0 vs. Queen’s 37 - Richardston Stadium, Kingston, Ont. (OUA Regular Season Finale)
Windsor 50 @ Ottawa 33 - Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa, Ont. (OUA Quarter-Final)

2011 SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 – Western 86 vs. Waterloo 22 (most points in school history)
Sept. 10 – Western 48 @ McMaster 21
Sept. 17 – Western 41 vs. Ottawa 13
Sept. 24 – Western 34 @ Laurier 28
Oct. 1 – Western 48 vs. York 23
Oct. 8 – Western 33 vs. Guelph 29
Oct. 15 – Western22 @ Toronto 9
Oct. 22 – Western 0 @ Queen’s 37
Nov. 5 – Western vs. Windsor 1 p.m. OUA Semi-Finals
Nov. 12 – Yates Cup – OUA Semi-Final winners (at highest remaining seed)
Nov. 18 – Uteck Bowl – OUA Champion vs. AUS Champion in Moncton, NB
Nov. 25 – Vanier Cup – Uteck Bowl winner vs. Mitchell Bowl winner in Vancouver, BC

Home/Away Record
On Road: 3-1 in 2011, 4-2 in 2010
At Home: 4-0 in 2011, 5-0 in 2010

Head Coach Greg Marshall (5th Season)
5: Number of seasons as head coach at Western
12: Number of seasons as head coach in CIS (includes seven at McMaster)
31-9: Career regular season record at Western
73-21-2: Career regular season as a head coach in CIS
43-13: Career overall record at Western (including playoffs)
96-31-12: Career overall record as a head coach in CIS (includes playoffs)

STORYLINES
Getting Healthy: The bye week has provided a much needed opportunity for the Mustangs to rest their players who have been nursing minor (and not so minor) injuries. Many of the “walking wounded” were also rested in the final regular season game against Queen’s so the Mustangs will have the healthiest team since Week 4. Key players like Tyler Varga, Matt Norman, Zach Bull, Brian Marshall and Dan Duff should all be back in action and quarterback Donnie Marshall’s return is imminent.

Varga, Riva Combination: The 1-2 combination of Tyler Varga and Nathan Riva has been a powerful punch in the 2011 season. Varga led the entire CIS with 15 rushing touchdowns, while Riva tied for third with nine (plus one receiving touchdown). The pair helped the Mustangs lead the CIS in scoring, with an average of 38.9 points per game.

Road to the Vanier Cup: The road to the Vanier Cup for the Western Mustangs begins this weekend at home against the Lancers. With a victory, the Mustangs would return to the Yates Cup to defend their title from last season when they bested the Ottawa Gee Gees on a last second Lirim Hajrullahu field goal. A victory in the Yates Cup would earn a trip to Moncton, NB to compete in the 2011 Uteck Bowl against the winner of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) on November 18. Finally, a Uteck Bowl victory would send the Mustangs across country to Vancouver, BC to battle for the Vanier Cup on November 25 at the newly renovated BC Place.

The Surprising Lancers: The Windsor Lancers have had a surprising season, rebounding from last season’s 2-6 record, the Lancers not only made the playoffs, they won their first playoff game since 2003 by travelling to Ottawa and beating the Gee Gees in convincing fashion 50-33. The Lancers are led by quarterback Austin Kennedy who was just honoured as the CIS Offensive player of the week. The Mustangs defense will be sure to focus on Kennedy and his key receivers Brescacin and Fernandes.

Nobody’s Perfect: First Laval, then Western and then Calgary. None of the teams ranked No.1 this season in the CIS were able to complete the perfect season as all three teams who have held the No.1 spot in the rankings have finished the season with one loss.

Source: Western Sports Info

14:00 PT No. 10 Saskatchewan (5-3) at No. 6 UBC (6-2), Shaw (TV)

The No. 10 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies road to the 2011 Vanier Cup starts in Vancouver Saturday against the No. 6 ranked UBC Thunderbirds.

For the first time in four seasons, the Huskies hit the road in the Canada West playoffs to face the T-Birds in a semifinal match. UBC edged out the Huskies for second-place in the final conference standings with a 36-23 win over the first place Calgary Dinos in the last game of the season.

Since 1998, the Huskies are 17-4 against the T-Birds, including a 36-33 win on September 30 in Griffiths Stadium. Saskatchewan is 7-0 in the postseason against UBC including a 35-16 win in a semifinal in 2006 – the last of their playoff meetings. In six of the seven seasons, the two teams have met Saskatchewan has gone on to play in the Vanier Cup – three times winning the ultimate prize.

Saskatchewan finished the regular season winning three of their four final games and finally found their offensive stride with a 67-3 victory over Alberta last week.

Quarterback Trent Peterson had his best offensive game of the year completing 19-of-25 passes for two touchdowns and 325 yards against Alberta. His main target was Rory Kohlert connecting with the fifth-year receiver five times for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Moore also added 95 yards on five receptions. In the red zone, the Huskies scored five times on short runs by running backs Ben Coakwell and Dexter Janke. The touchdowns added to the Huskies top red zone offence scoring 90.6 per cent of the time.

Defensively, the Huskies have held their opponents to a league-best 19 points per game and have snared a league leading 13 interceptions. Fifth-year linebackers Tony Michalchuk and Tom Lynch lead the Huskies in tackles with 49 and 36 respectively. Safety Bryce McCall has added 35.5 tackles, one sack, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. McCall finishes the season two interceptions away from tying the CIS record.

T-Bird pivot Billy Greene was named Canada West Athlete of the Week after completing 23-of-42 for 421 yards and four touchdowns against the Dinos last week. Greene leads the conference averaging 319.8 yards per game and pass efficiency at 155.2. Jordan Grieve has been his main target all season averaging 18.7 yards per catch with five downdowns. Greene is also a threat to run tallying 483 rushing yards with four touchdowns in the season.  Running back Dave Boyd averages another 78.2 rushing yards per game.

Adam Konar, Devin Kavanagh and Levar Hayden lead UBC in tackles with 41, 40 and 39.5 each respectively.

Kick off is set for 2 p.m. at Thunderbirds Stadium Saturday. The game can be heard live on CK750, or www.ck750.com or watched on Shaw Cable. The winner of the game will face either the University of Calgary or the University of Regina Rams, who are battling in the other Canada West semifinal.

Source: Saskatchewan Sports Info

16:30 ET No. 8 Queen’s (7-2) at No. 4 McMaster (7-1), The Score (TV & webcast)

HAMILTON, Ont. - Two of the hottest teams in CIS football will clash on Saturday, when the McMaster Marauders face the Queen’s Gaels in OUA semifinal action at Ron Joyce Stadium. Kick-off is set for 4:30 p.m. The Marauders have won six straight games, since suffering a September 10th loss to Western, while Queen’s has won seven consecutive since losing to Ottawa on that same September Saturday.
 
From a strictly statistical perspective the contest will pit the OUA’s leading offense in McMaster against the league’s stingiest defense from Queen’s.
 
This is a rivalry that has built up in intensity in recent years as 2011 is the third straight season that McMaster and Queen’s have met in the post-season, with the Gaels winning 32-6 at home in 2009 on their way to a Vanier Cup title, and the Marauders coming out on top 40-19 in 2010 in an OUA quarter-final played in Hamilton.
 
The Marauders are counting on a large partisan crowd to provide the home-field advantage, and help the team advance to its first Yates Cup game since winning the Ontario title in 2003.
 
Student tickets are available on campus at the Compass Info Centre and the Maroon Shop prior to the game. Tickets can also be ordered online at Maraudertickets.com or by calling 905-525-9140, ext. 20353.

Source: McMaster Sports Info