Dinos, Rams face off in conference semi-final

CALGARY – For the fifth time in sevenyears, the University of Calgary Dinos will take on the Universityof Regina Rams in a playoff contest at McMahon Stadium Saturdayafternoon.

Kickoff of the second of two Canada West semi-finals goes at 3p.m. Saturday, live on Shaw TV and CanadaWest.tv. Please note thatplayoff ticket prices will be in effect.

No two teams in Canada West have met as often in the postseasonas the Dinos and Rams of late, with previous meetings coming in thesemi-finals of 2008, 2010, and 2011, along with their most recentplayoff meeting in the 2012 Hardy Cup. All four previous encounterswere home wins by the Dinos, and they’ll look to make it fivein a row and host the 78th Hardy Cup with a victory onSaturday.

Under retiring head coach Frank McCrystal, the Rams were thelast – and, still, the only – Canada West team to havewon a playoff game at McMahon Stadium. And they did it twice, backin 2000 and 2002. Other than those two, the Dinos are unbeaten athome in the Canada West playoffs in the remaining 17 gamesthey’ve played. Overall, Calgary is 21-3 at home in thepostseason and have lost just three of their last 44 games on hometurf – one of which was the Week 1 forfeit loss to Albertathis year.

The Dinos come into this one fresh off their lone on-field lossof the season, a 50-31 setback at Manitoba last week, while Reginabeat those same Bisons in Week 7, then knocked off Alberta lastweek to qualify for the playoffs with the fourth and final berth.Calgary and Regina met just once in the regular season, a 59-7Dinos win on Oct. 4 at McMahon.

Should the Dinos win, they’ll host the 78th Hardy Cup forthe sixth time in seven years next Saturday, while a Regina winwould send the Rams on the road to the winner of Friday’sSaskatchewan-Manitoba game for the conference final.

Here’s a look at the two teams:

No. 4 Calgary Dinos (6-2)

Last week: lost 50-31 to Manitoba

A 50-31 loss at Manitoba last week was certainly not theDinos’ best effort of the season, and as a result theydropped from the No. 2 position they’ve held all year in thenational rankings down to No. 4. Despite the setback, however, theDinos still remain the force of Canada West: they averaged 110yards and 26 points per game more than anyone else in the league,and they’ll enjoy home field advantage through the HardyCup.

Though they were the better team statistically in Winnipeg lastweek, the Dinos lost thanks to some big plays by the Bisons. TwiceCalgary gave up blocked punts that resulted in touchdowns, while 75of Manitoba’s 280 offensive yards came on one over-the-toppass to Nic Demski. All three plays were big momentum shifts in thegame, and the Dinos were unable to gain any sustained pressure oftheir own. All that said, it was a season to remember for theDinos: they set new school single-season records in points (419),touchdowns (51), rushing yards (2,545), and total offence (5,082).They led the nation in scoring, finished second in yards per game,and outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points pergame.

Defensively, the Dinos were solid as well, leading theconference in points allowed, rushing and passing yards allowed,and total yards – but that defence will face a stiff test ina potent Regina offence that finished second overall to Calgary inthe regular season and averaged nearly 400 passing yards.

It’s win-or-go-home time – and the Dinos will belooking for a significantly better effort across the board againstRegina as they look to defend their six consecutive Hardy Cuptitles.

Regina Rams (3-5)

Last week: defeated Alberta 35-31

The Rams clinched their playoff spot with a four-point home winover Alberta last week, giving them the tiebreaker over the GoldenBears (both 3-5) by just two points in the for-and-againstcalculation. It vaulted Regina back into the playoffs after aone-year absence, sending them right back to the site of their lastpostseason contest: a 38-14 loss to the Dinos in the 2012 Hardy Cupat McMahon Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Noah Picton has been a revelation for theRams, who come into Saturday’s game on a two-game win streakafter knocking off both Manitoba and Alberta at Mosaic Stadium tocapture the final playoff spot. Picton, the reigning offensiveplayer of the week in Canada West, started just five ofRegina’s eight games, yet still finished atop the leaderboardin passing yards per game. In games he started, the Regina nativetossed for more than 400 yards twice and averaged 316 yards throughthe air. Unsurprisingly, his Rams teammates Addison Richards andJared Janotta finished 1-2 in receiving in Canada West thisyear.

Defensively, linebacker Michael Stefanovic led Regina with 39.5tackles on the year, with secondary teammate Patrick MacDonald justbehind him with 38 tackles. Both cracked the Canada West top 10 intheir respective categories.

-UC-