Posted: Nov 09, 2013
Calgary 43 Manitoba 28
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CALGARY – Newly crowned Canada West MVP Mercer Timmis ran for 279 yards as the University of Calgary Dinos captured their 6th consecutive Canada West championship with a 43-28 win over the Manitoba Bisons Saturday in the 77th Hardy Cup.
No. 3 Calgary (10-0) will now host No. 1 Western (10-0) in next Saturday's CIS Mitchell Bowl for a trip to the Vanier Cup in Quebec City. Kickoff goes at McMahon Stadium on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. MT, live on Sportsnet 360.
It was a career day for Timmis, who was named the conference nominee for the Hec Crighton trophy earlier this week. The sophomore running back carried the ball 28 times for 279 yards – a school postseason record – and two touchdowns, accounting for nearly half of the Dinos' 623 yards of total offence in the game. His touchdowns came on a 27-yard romp on Calgary's opening drive of the game and a 33-yard scamper to put the game away in the fourth, giving him 22 total touchdowns in 10 games on the season.
The win gives Calgary its 15th conference championship in football and 136th Canada West title overall – and head coach Blake Nill was, on the whole, very pleased with his team's performance.
“We made some mistakes that allowed for their opportunities to get into the game, but overall the offence, defence, and special teams just played very well today and I was really happy with the effort,” said Nill, who has led his teams to six conference titles in eight years with the program. “Mercer…he's the real deal. A lot of credit has to go to the offensive line, but we have to ride him as long as we can for sure.”
The Bisons were without star Anthony Coombs for the vast majority of the game, and the lack of his big-play threat hurt the visitors. Still, Manitoba had its opportunities with Kienan LaFrance taking over in the backfield and running for 95 yards, adding 41 yards through the air – including a 21-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. But even when the Bisons seemed to get close and looked like they would come within striking distance, Calgary responded with more points to keep the game out of reach.
Timmis' first TD capped a seven-play, 92-yard opening drive for the Dinos, who would add a safety just over a minute later. LaFrance's major in the final seconds of the first quarter brought the Bisons within a pair at 9-7.
Calgary put it out of reach, however, in the final five minutes of the half. IT started with a great catch by Jake Harty behind coverage deep in the end zone for a seven-yard major from Andrew Buckley, followed minutes later by a 57-yard bomb by Buckley to conference rookie of the year Rashaun Simonise. And on the final play of the half, Johnny Mark made a 43-yard field goal to put the Dinos up 26-7 at the break.
Andrew Smith caught his first of two TD passes early in the third quarter as the Bisons converted on a Calgary turnover to pull within a dozen, but the Dinos responded right away when Cuong Thai Lieu bolted 42 yards to the end zone to restore a 19-point advantage. A 37-yard field goal by Mark and Timmis' second major of the day rounded out the scoring for Calgary, while Matt Sawyer and Smith both scored in the fourth for Manitoba from 37 and 13 yards out, respectively.
Jordan Yantz completed 18 of 40 passes for 277 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in a losing cause for Manitoba. Nic Demski was his top target with 85 yards, while Sawyer hauled in a team-high five catches for 76 yards. Yantz added 60 rushing yards as well, leading the Bisons to 421 yards of total offence. Defensively, Ranji Atwall had nine tackles to lead Manitoba, with David Onyemata adding 7.5 more.
For the Dinos, Timmis' 279 yards was certainly the most striking statistic, averaging exactly 10 yards per carry in the contest. Buckley completed 19 of 33 passes for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with reliable fifth-year receiver Chris Dobko catching seven of those for 87 yards – both team highs. Simonise and Jake Harty each had more than 50 yards receiving, while Thai Lieu ran the ball seven times for 57 yards and the major.
Returning to the lineup after missing last week's semi-final, halfback Cyril Iwanegbe led the Dinos with 8.5 tackles, while Adam Laurensse and Thomas Spoletini – both named conference all-stars earlier this week – recorded interceptions on the afternoon.
The Dinos now get set to face the nation's top-ranked team, the undefeated Western Mustangs, in next week's Mitchell Bowl – a daunting task for a young team.
“Western is the top team in the country, I believe, and they're peaking at the right time,” said Nill. “We have to prepare as well as we can, and then come in and compete. It will be a challenge for us, especially for this group of athletes, but we're going to get better because of this game today and we're going to prepare to win the game.”
All-time, the Dinos are 3-1 against Western with wins in the 1985 and 1995 Vanier Cups as well as the 1988 Central Bowl. The Mustangs last beat the Dinos in the 1977 Forest City Bowl by a score of 24-22, and the teams' last meeting was in 1995 – a 54-24 Vanier Cup win by the Dinos, their most recent national championship.
In other national semi-final action next week, the upstart Mount Allison Mounties, Atlantic champions, hosts the defending Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or in the Uteck Bowl.
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About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, winning 100 CIS national over the last 10 seasons. Comprised of 17 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. canadawest.org / canadawest.tv / @cwuaa on Twitter
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