CIS football Friday roundup: Dinos four-peat as Hardy Cup champs
Photo credit David Moll, Calgary
CALGARY – Eric Dzwilewski ran for 101 yards and four
touchdowns while Steven Lumbala added 194 rushing yards as the
second-ranked Calgary Dinos scored 49 unanswered points to win
their fourth straight Canada West football championship by a 62-13
score over the No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds Friday night at McMahon
Stadium.
Their 13th Hardy Cup safely tucked back in the trophy case, the
Dinos (9-1) will host the Quebec champion in the CIS semi-final
Mitchell Bowl next Friday, Nov. 18, live on TSN, RDS, and QR77
radio. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT, 9:30 p.m. ET. The Montreal
Carabins visit top-ranked Laval for the Dunsmore Cup Saturday
afternoon in Quebec City, with the winner heading west to face the
Dinos next week.
Calgary's statement win over the Thunderbirds, the only team that
has beaten them in 2011, came as they held UBC's Hec
Crighton-nominated quarterback Billy Greene to just 175 yards on
10-of-29 passing, his lowest yardage and completion percentage of
the season. The Dinos also picked Greene off three times after a
season where the Canada West MVP threw just four interceptions in
eight games.
On the other side of the football, Dzwilewski attempted just 13
passes and completed nine of them for 112 yards while running for a
season-high 101 yards and four scores, the most rushing TDs by a
quarterback in CIS playoff history. Combined with Lumbala and Matt
Walter, the Dinos amassed 409 yards along the ground, running over
the Thunderbirds en route to their fourth straight conference
title.
“Eric is a running quarterback, so this really comes
naturally to him,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill after
winning his 10th conference title as a CIS coach.. “We didn't
use him much in the regular season because our backup is an
18-year-old, but now the games are more important and we need to
have our full package in.
“We're a running team – our development is all about
running the football, and it's a program philosophy. We knew they
were going to try to stop it, and we needed to meet it head-on. And
I'm really happy with the defence – overall, I thought they
played with emotion and preparation. We've emphasized all year that
it's about preparation during the week and then execution on game
day, and they were able to do that tonight.”
Calgary broke open a 13-13 tie late in the second half on
Dzwilewski's second touchdown of the night, taking a seven-point
lead into halftime. The Boise, Idaho native, last year's CIS rookie
of the year, scored the only points of the third quarter on a
five-yard run to give Calgary a 27-13 lead. Mitch Shuster returned
the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to set up Greene and the UBC offence
in good field position, and they drove the ball all the way to the
Calgary seven-yard line. But Greene's pass into the end zone was
intercepted by Calgary defensive back Chudi Nzekwu, snuffing the
Thunderbirds' best chance to score in the second half and putting
all the momentum gained on the return back in Calgary's favour.
The fourth quarter was all Dinos as Dzwilewski scored his fourth,
then found Chris Dobko for a 12-yard score. Just 30 seconds later
John Kadiebwe picked off an errant Greene pass and ran it back 50
yards to the end zone to make it 48-13. Andrew Buckley, in to
relieve Dzwilewski, connected with Adam Osterling for a 13-yard
touchdown, and Wyatt Getty rounded out the scoring with a 70-yard
pick six off UBC backup quarterback Carson Williams.
Dobko collected four catches for 64 yards and a major to lead the
Dinos receiving corps, with Jake Harty adding three catches for 37
yards. Conference defensive player of the year Sam Hurl was the
Dinos' leader with six tackles and 1.5 sacks, while Mike Edem added
5.5 tackles.
Greene's lone touchdown toss was a beauty, as he found Jordan
Grieve for an 87-yard score late in the first quarter to tie things
up at 10-10. Billy Pavlopoulos field goals from 29 and 24 yards
rounded out the scoring for the Thunderbirds, who were held off the
scoreboard for the final 32:20 of the game.
That one pass made up the majority of both Greene's passing yards
and Grieve's 94 receiving yards on the day. Dave Boyd, playing his
final game for the Thunderbirds, racked up 52 rushing yards. Devin
Kavanagh led UBC with 8.5 tackles on the night, while Thomas Harris
added eight.
GAME NOTES: The fourth straight Hardy Cup marks the first time
since 1937 that a team has won four consecutive Canada West titles
outright … it is the University of Calgary's 130th overall
conference title … only men's swimming (19) has more
conference titles than football … Dzwilewski's four
touchdowns was one off the CIS record of five rushing TDs in one
playoff game … UBC defeated Calgary 36-23 in Week 8 of the
season at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, the Dinos' only loss in
the 2011 season … the 62 points scored by the Dinos is a
Hardy Cup record. The championship game was instituted in 1976,
with UBC scoring a 57-3 win over Manitoba in 1982 and Calgary
beating up on Alberta 56-3 in the 2010 game ...
SCORING
SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CGY – Johnny Mark 32-yard FG, 3:05, 3-0 CGY
UBC – Billy Pavlopoulos 29-yard FG, 8:07, 3-3
CGY – Eric Dzwilewski 7-yard TD run (Johnny Mark
convert), 11:05, 10-3 CGY
UBC – Jordan Grieve 87-yard TD catch from Billy Greene
(Billy Pavlopoulos convert), 12:37, 10-10
2nd Quarter
CGY – Johnny Mark 40-yard FG, 6:30, 13-10 CGY
UBC – Billy Pavlopoulos 24-yard FG, 12:40, 13-13
CGY – Eric Dzwilewski 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark
convert), 14:34, 20-13 CGY
3rd Quarter
CGY – Eric Dzwilewski 5-yard TD run (Johnny Mark
convert), 2:33, 27-13 CGY
4th Quarter
CGY – Eric Dzwilewski 7-yard TD run (Johnny Mark
convert), 1:50, 34-13 CGY
CGY – Chris Dobko 12-yard TD catch from Eric
Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 5:01, 41-13 CGY
CGY – John Kadiebwe 50-yard interception return TD
(Johnny Mark convert), 5:32, 48-13 CGY
CGY – Adam Osterling 13-yard TD catch from Andrew
Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 11:00, 55-13 CGY
CGY – Wyatt Getty 70-yard interception return TD
(Johnny Mark convert), 12:48, 62-13 CGY
-UC-