Photo Credit: Ivan Tam
Photo Credit: Ivan Tam
The University of Calgary Dinos and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will battle in the Canada West final for the 73rd Hardy Cup Saturday in Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium.
It will mark the fourth meeting in the final for the two teams. In both 1988 and 1995, the Dinos beat the Huskies in overtime – first 46-33 and then 32-30. In 1994, the Huskies won 34-17. The meetings for the Hardy Cup are the only against each other in their postseason history.
Expected to be the favourites in the conference, Calgary and Saskatchewan finished with an identical 7-1 record and ranked No. 2 and 3 in the CIS heading into playoffs. Calgary’s only blemish on the season was a 34-33 overtime loss in Griffiths Stadium to begin the season on September 4. Huskie cornerback Jonathan Krahenbil arrived on scene just in time to bat down an Eric Glavic two-point convert passing attempt in the end zone.
“Calgary is a good strong ball club,” said Huskie head coach Brian Towriss. “This will be a hard fought, tough battle. Both teams have had their eye set on this game the entire season and both teams want to move on.”
Both teams sailed into the final with convincing semifinal wins – the Dinos 45-13 over the University of Alberta Golden Bears and the Huskies 53-23 over the University of Regina Rams. The winner of the Hardy Cup will travel to play the Atlantic conference champion in the Uteck Bowl, a CIS semifinal.
Questioned on their lack of offense in the first few games of the season, the Huskies found their groove after an overtime win against Simon Fraser in Burnaby in early October. They enter the Hardy Cup game on a six game win streak scoring 233 points in that span.
The offense finished with the third best offense (3,171 total yards, 396.4 yards) in the conference. The Huskies had 1,134 yards on the ground in the season. The offense scored 92.9 per cent of the time when in the red zone. The Huskie defence was stellar holding their eight regular season opponents to a combined 112 points – 55 less than the next best team. They also had the best pass defence efficiency, were tied for first with 21 sacks and stopped teams 73.7 per cent of the time in the red zone.
In the playoff win, Huskie quarterback Laurence Nixon completed 19-of-28 passes throwing five touchdowns. Veteran receiver Cory Jones, who was named the Canada West Offensive Player of the Week, scored three touchdowns on six receptions for 120 yards. Braeden George also had three touchdowns on five receptions for 130 yards. Rookie running back Jeff Hassler had 113 yards on nine carries.
Calgary hasn’t lost since the opening day to the Huskies. The Dinos finished the regular season with conference bests in pass offense (2,362 yards, 295.2/game) and rushing offense (2,289 yards/286.1 per game). On defence they allowed opponents to gain just 754 yards on the ground all season – a big key to the Huskies offense.
Transfer quarterback Glavic has been impressive in his first season in the conference completing 129-of-191 passes for 2,186 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also rushed for 503 yards and six touchdowns of his own. In Calgary’s playoff win Anthony Parker returned two kickoffs for touchdowns – returning the first 108 yards and the other 58 yards.
Kick off is set for 1:08 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium. For tickets, call 306-966-1111. The game can be seen live on Shaw Cable or heard on CK750.
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