AtlanticUniversitySport.com
It’s trophy time in Canadian university football. All of the most coveted CIS hardware is now on the line in every game moving forward.
Mount Allison has already put their name on a trophy, winning the Loney Bowl 29-7 on November 8 to capture their second straight Atlantic crown. That leaves three conference championships up for grabs on the weekend. So let’s start from the west and travel east to take a look at some factors that could decide the CWUAA, OUA, and RSEQ title games.
Hardy Cup
(Canada West conference championship)
Out in Calgary it will be a rematch of the 2013 Hardy Cup game when the Calgary Dinos host the Manitoba Bisons. Blake Nill’s team beat the Bisons 43-28 in 2013 to claim the school’s sixth straight Canada West title.
This time around the matchup is shaping up to be a Wild West shootout. Calgary and Manitoba played twice during the 2014 regular season and in both games the teams combined for more than 80 points. Each squad won on their home field to split the season series and that just might give the edge to the Dinos this time around.
Andrew Buckley has developed into an elite CIS quarterback for Calgary, both through the air and on the ground. No. 8 accounted for 28 total touchdowns in the regular season, 18 passing and 10 rushing. If Buckley isn’t using his legs in the red zone he likes to look for six-foot-four receiver Brett Blaszko, who caught, a CIS-high, 10 touchdowns this year.
The Dinos’ offence also has a strong run game provided by Mercer Timmis. He’s fought through nagging injuries all year long, but still managed to rush for 801 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games. Meaning Bisons linebacker, DJ Lalama, needs to have a stellar performance on Saturday. Manitoba’s lead tackler has to help limit whichever player is carrying the ball for Calgary to keep the Dinos out of favourable second down situations.
Manitoba’s offence isn’t lacking playmakers either. Kienan LaFrance was right behind Timmis for the conference rushing title, amassing 785 yards and seven touchdowns while Nic Demski – one of the top rated receivers in the 2015 CFL Draft class – can make game-changing plays all on his own. Calgary knows that all too well, Demski made four receptions for 126 yards and three touchdowns in the Bisons 50-31 win over the Dinos in the regular season finale. Alex Vitt and Matt Sawyer are legitimate threats in the passing game for pivot Jordan Yantz, too.
Both defences will have their hands full at McMahon Stadium. Although, it could come down to the group of defenders that gets the crucial stop late in the game that decides which team will hoist the Hardy Cup.
Yates Cup
(Ontario Conference Championship)
Guelph travels to McMaster for a second time in 2014, but this time the oldest football trophy in North America is on the line.
Way back on September 1 the Gryphons and Mauraders played an overtime thriller, with McMaster quarterback Marshall Ferguson running in from nine yards out to produce the game-winning touchdown. That Week 1 victory is the reason why the Marauders are hosting the Yates Cup.
Ferguson directs a balanced offence that controls the flow of the game by hanging onto the ball. Chris Pezzetta and Wayne Moore have formed a dynamic two-headed rushing attack. All helping McMaster lead the entire nation in average time of possession during the regular season, over 35 minutes per game.
2014 OUA Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Shorthill captains a stingy Marauders defence. McMaster allowed, an OUA-low, 17.8 points per game. Joey Cupido and Steven Ventresca provide veteran leadership in the secondary – both have played in many championship and bowl games throughout their university careers.
Regardless who is in at quarterback for Guelph Jazz Lindsey, who suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return in Guelph’s semi-final win over Western, or freshman James Roberts, the Gryphons offence seems to put points on the board. Roberts threw three touchdowns and guided the team to a 51-point output against Western.
Senior running back Rob Farquharson carries the load for Guelph in the run game, while A’dre Fraser and Alex Charette provide chunk yardage ability at receiver for the Gryphons.
On defence, Guelph is led by linebackers John Rush and Curtis Newton. Those two men could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the game. The Gryphons must limit Pezzetta and Moore on the ground and get the McMaster offence off the field when important second downs roll around.
Dunsmore Cup
(Quebec Conference Championship)
Surprise, surprise Laval will play in and host another RSEQ final. They are trying for a 12th straight conference title, 10th in a row at home.
Year after year the Rouge et Or roll along like a machine through the competition in Quebec. And Laval was doing just that in 2014 until a meeting with Montreal to end the regular season. The Carabins ended the Rouge et Or’s CIS record 25-game win streak with a 13-9 victory on November 1.
Montreal employed a conservative game plan when they had the ball and pressured and mixed up coverage looks on defence to slow down Laval’s high-scoring offence, led by stud freshman quarterback, Hugo Richard. The Carabins “D” sacked Richard three times and forced two turnovers by the young pivot, one fumble and one interception.
For Montreal to get the same result in the Dunsmore Cup they must continue to get after Richard. Although, it will be a much tougher task for the Carabins to go into Peps Stadium and come out with a win – Laval has won a ridiculous string of 70 games in a row there.
In order to get the job done Gabriel Cousineau and the offence need to find a way to put points on the board early. Often at home Laval will jump out to a lead, fire up the crowd and then the field seems to tilt heavily in their favour and the noise only aids an already tough Laval defence.
Getting receiver Mikhail Davidson involved from the get-go will help Montreal’s cause. Davidson is by far the Carabins most dangerous offensive weapon and a big play from him in the opening stages could help soften Laval’s defence.
