Dinos, Bisons meet in Hardy Cup rematch

CALGARY – For the sixth time inseven years, the Canada West football season will come to a closeat McMahon Stadium Saturday as the University of Calgary Dinos lookfor a seventh consecutive conference title when they host theManitoba Bisons.

Kickoff of the 78th Hardy Cup goes at 2 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TVand CanadaWest.tv.

The winner will advance to the CIS Uteck Bowl, hosted by theRSEQ champion and be just a road win away from an appearance in the50th TELUS Vanier Cup Nov. 29 at Percival Molson Stadium inMontreal. The Hardy Cup will be the last of the three conferencechampionship games played across the nation Saturday, with Montrealheading to Laval in the Dunsmore Cup while McMaster hosts Guelph inthe Yates Cup.

It’s a rematch of last year’s championship game,which the Dinos won 43-28 – and for the Dinos, a chance atredemption after the Bisons were the only team to beat them on thefield in regular season play – a 50-31 loss on the final dayof conference competition. And by all accounts, Manitoba shouldprobably have won both games they played against the Dinos in 2014,with Calgary squeaking by with a 42-41 win at McMahon on Sept. 26after the Bisons missed the game-winning field goal.

The two teams took vastly different paths to reach this game:Calgary had the luxury of playing at home and dispatched the ReginaRams with ease and a 56-0 score, while the Bisons had to mount anepic second-half comeback on the road to win their semi-finalcontest against Saskatchewan, 47-39.

It’s November in Calgary, and that means weather could bea factor – and the running game could take on addedimportance. It’s a strength of the Calgary offence, with theDinos setting a team record for rushing yards this year, largelythanks to the emergence of Buckley as a run threat and the returnof 2013 conference MVP Mercer Timmis – but the Bisons willcounter with Kienan LaFrance, who finished just behind Timmis forthe rushing lead in the conference this season.

For the Dinos, it’s a chance to extend their unprecedentedrun of success in the conference with a seventh straight banner,while the Bisons – the last non-Calgary team to capture theHardy Cup – will look to reclaim it after last winning in2007 on their way to a Vanier Cup title.

Here’s a look at the two teams:

No. 4 Calgary Dinos (7-2)

Last week: defeated Regina 56-0

After the Bisons brought them back to earth on Week 8 of theseason, the Dinos regrouped and put forward one of their bestend-to-end performances in years with a 56-0 shutout of the ReginaRams in last week. Conference MVP Andrew Buckley had a sparklingperformance, earning offensive player-of-the-week honours with his404 passing yards and 56 rushing yards in just over twoquarters’ work. The offence clicked, as it had done all year– but it was the defence that really stepped up, keeping theRams off the scoreboard even though Regina’s offence hadmoved the ball more than any team other than Calgary in the regularseason.

Elie Bouka and Adam Laurensse, both named Canada West all-starsthis week, had two interceptions each, while the defence held theRams under 300 yards. For Calgary to be successful,they’ll need to bring their ‘A’ game yet again inthe Hardy Cup against a Manitoba team that has all kinds of veterantalent and can score in bunches – as the Saskatchewan Huskiesfound out last Friday night.

Protecting the ball will be key for the Dinos as well, asturnovers plagued them in Winnipeg two weeks ago.

Manitoba Bisons (5-4)

Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 47-39

Last Friday night in Saskatoon, the Bisons finally got over thehump and won a game on the road this season – and itcouldn’t have come at a better time. With their 47-39come-from-behind win over Saskatchewan, Manitoba qualified for theHardy Cup for a second straight year and served notice that theroad woes that plagued them throughout the season – theBisons went 0-4 in conference play away from Winnipeg – mightjust be behind them.

With a veteran offence directed by fifth-year QB Jordan Yantzand featuring Nic Demski, maybe the most electric player in CIS,the Bisons have turned on the jets – and reached deep intothe playbook – in the last two weeks. Against the Dinos, itwas a first-play pass by Demski that set up a game-opening scorefor the Bisons to set the tone; in Saskatoon last week, it wasDemski passing to Yantz in the end zone in a role-reversingtouchdown that clinched victory for the Bisons.

In both games, the Bisons decisively won the turnover battle andbrought all kinds of pressure on special teams. In the last twogames, Jayden McCoy has blocked three punts, all of which have beenreturned for touchdowns and been key momentum switchers. Manitobaended up with two fumble recoveries and four interceptions lastweek against Saskatchewan, including the win-sealing 98-yard returnby Jordan Linnen that snuffed out the Huskies’ game-winningdrive and set up the Demski-to-Yantz insurance TD.

All-time, the Bisons are 2-3 against the Dinos in the playoffs,with their last win coming in that 2007 Vanier Cup season in thesemi-final. In the previous five postseason games between the twoteams, the home team has won each time – including the 2012semi-final and the 2013 Hardy Cup, both in Calgary.

-UC-