There were a few highly significant results for the CIS football season as a whole Saturday, and one of the most notable might have been the second-ranked Calgary Dinos demolishing seventh-ranked Manitoba 33-12 on the road. Add that to their 37-21 Week One win over Regina and their 65-6 demolition of Alberta in Week Two, and the Dinos might have the most impressive CIS record to date. (Top-ranked McMaster's also looking good, and their 45-16 win over Ottawa Saturday was nice, but the Marauders have only played the Gee-Gees, the Waterloo Warriors and the Guelph Gryphons, a less impressive dance card.) This was a very convincing win from Calgary, and one that should have them in excellent shape going forward.
Manitoba wasn't all that well-regarded in the preseason, but their play in the first two weeks with a big road win over UBC and a narrow home win over Saskatchewan was certainly impressive. The Bisons didn't completely collapse Saturday, either, putting up 211 passing yards and 117 rushing yards against Calgary. They just didn't have the firepower to hang with the Dinos. Eric Dzwilewski may not have received the press attention of quarterbacks like Kyle Quinlan, Kyle Graves or Billy Greene thus far, but he may be playing himself into the discussion as one of the league's best quarterbacks. His showing Saturday was definitely notable, as he completed 23 of 32 attempts (71.9 per cent) for 329 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and added 49 rushing yards on eight carries. Dzwilewski also showed a strong connection with receiver Chris Dobko, who had 13 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The Dinos' ground game wasn't quite as imposing as it has been in the past, as Cuong Thai Lieu and Mercer Timmis combined for just 92 yards on 18 carries, but that still made for a respectable 5.1 yards per carry average. Combine that with the remarkable showing of the passing game and Calgary had a very nice day.
Another team that had a good day? The #6 Queen's Golden Gaels, who beat archrival Western 18-11. It was an impressive statement from the Gaels, as the fifth-ranked Mustangs were a much tougher foe than the York Lions or Laurier Golden Hawks they'd previously beat. There were some very solid performances to take note of, too; the defence was dominant and running back Ryan Granberg picked up 169 yards and a touchdown on the ground with a ridiculous 8.0 yards per carry average. Still, this wasn't a terrible loss for Western, as they hung in there right to the end on the road against a tough opponent. They'll need to get more aerial production, as quarterback Donnie Marshall completed just seven of 16 passes (36.8 per cent) for 109 yards with two picks, but the Mustangs had a real shot to win this game despite that. Don't write them off as out of OUA contention just yet.
There was some noteworthy action further down the card as well, with Sherbrooke edging Saint Mary's 23-22 and Laurier picking up their first win of the year thanks to a 24-20 home victory over York. Most of the other top teams won in a walk, though; top-ranked McMaster rolled over Ottawa 45-16, while fourth-ranked Montreal pummelled Bishop's 45-15. Windsor thumped Toronto 55-4 and Guelph beat Waterloo 47-17, so those teams may garner some (low) Top 10 votes this week. It's the late games that may prove most interesting, though, with No.9 Saskatchewan quite close with UBC heading into the fourth quarter and No.3 Laval facing No.8 Acadia. Keep an eye on the CIS site for those results; we'll have more here tomorrow.
Football: Calgary romps over Manitoba, Queen's takes down Western in Saturday's action
Fabulous atmosphere at Richardson stadium in Kingston yesterday. If only the students can get there an hour earlier from their pancake keggers to make up for inefficient security detail, we can see a full 10K capacity stadium earlier than part way through the second quarter. Students with tickets on the alumni side of field arriving at same time got in to game in minutes.
ReplyDeleteDog of a game for Western who quite frankly did not deserve to be in it. No offensive TD's, awful passing and woeful play selection. Sanvido left, Sanvido right and Donnie M up the gut on planned runs. Queen's defensive line had decent pressure on Donnie M. but hey- you are going to get sacked or incomplete or get picked if you roll left with a right handed arm and people are chasing you.
Queen's deserved to score way more points and have an awesome pair of receivers in Chapdelaine and Aprile who seemed always open when in single coverage and towered over the D backs in double coverage. They are both fast, reasonably tall with good jumping qualities and elusive with creative routes by coaching staff. McPhee threw well and deserved his decent completion record although pick 6 was tipped ball on a dangerous throw to the outside. At least 2 FG attempts by Queen's should have resulted in points by kicker who up to yesterday's game had not missed I gather.
Should be a decent game against Mac next week for Queen's at the Ron Joyce in Hamilton. Western needs to pick up the pieces and if Windsor comes in to TD Richardson and plays hard, Western will have it's hands full as they will have Marauders the following week who always seem to play well in London, Several Homecoming games in the last 12 years have been diverted from Mustangs by a decent Mac team.