Ciezki one of 12 players hurting after loss to Calgary
By Lyndon Little,
Vancouver Sun
There will be no overall conference touchdown record for Chris Ciezki.
The UBC Thunderbirds’ running back appeared to be in a position to tie –and possibly break — the Canada West record for TDs in a regular season Friday, when the T-Birds play their final regular-season game against the University of Manitoba Bisons.
However, T-Bird head coach Ted Goveia revealed Tuesday that he has ruled Ciezki out of the Manitoba contest due to a leg injury picked up in Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the University of Calgary Dinos in the Foothills City.
That means Ciezki will finish with 16 touchdowns for the 2006 regular season, one shy of the 17 recorded by former B.C. Lion pass catcher Don Blair as a member of the Calgary Dinos in 1995.
However, a major recorded in the Calgary game does mean the 5-11, 225-pound Ciezki gets the Canada West record for rushing TDs in a regular season with 14, one more than Jeff Funtasz of Alberta in 1984.
Ciezki, who is expected to graduate next spring, was just one of a host of T-Birds who came out of the Calgary game banged up and Goveia will be missing several starters this week.
“We had 12 guys come down with injuries in Calgary,” said Goveia. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Besides Ciezki, players who are definitely out of Friday’s contest are receivers Darren Wilson (concussion) and Braden Smith (shoulder). Wilson is currently the No. 3 pass catcher in the Canada West, with an average of 96.1 yards per game.
As much as the T-Birds would love to knock off the undefeated — and No. 2 nationally ranked — Bisons, Goveia believes the fact the 4-3 T-Birds have a playoff spot locked up (UBC can finish either third or fourth) means getting healthy for the post-season is the No. 1 priority. Should the T-Birds finish third, they’ll face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon Nov. 4. If they come fourth, they’ll be off to Winnipeg for a rematch with the Bisons.
“Saskatoon or Winnipeg, it doesn’t really matter,” Goveia says. “They’ll both be cold places and they’re both good teams. This game Friday gives us an opportunity to evaluate some different guys.”
The 7-0 Bisons, with first place assured, are in much the same boat. They plan to start backups at both quarterback (Nathan Friesen) and running back (Jon McLaren).
The T-Birds’ three losses have all been on the Prairies and have come in the final minute of play. It’s the loss in Calgary, to the previously winless Dinos, that grates most on Goveia.
“In the other two defeats [in Edmonton and Saskatoon] we fought hard and I was proud of the guys,” says the UBC coach. “But we made the mistake of taking Calgary lightly and we paid for it. I wasn’t proud of the way we played in Calgary. The players are upset and it will be interesting to see how they respond.”
