U of Manitoba QB faces formidable challenge
Des Catellier could be in for a harsh homecoming.
The Calgarian and St. Francis high school grad is expected to be the starting quarterback for the University of Manitoba Bisons (14) on Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium (1 p.m.).
But Catellier faces a home team, the University of Calgary Dinos (50) pushing to get a home field for the U Sports playoffs with a victory over incoming Manitoba.
The Dinos control their own destiny — a win would clinch home field in the first round for Calgary for a 10th consecutive season, while a win coupled with a Regina loss would lock down first place and home-field advantage through the Mitchell Bowl.
Calgary currently sits two games free and clear of the rest of the conference.
Meanwhile, it’s a tough road to the U Sports playoffs for the Bisons, who sit at the bottom of the conference standings with the Dinos, the UBC Thunderbirds and the Saskatchewan Huskies on the schedule to wrap up the season.
And to have any hope of squeaking into the Canada West Confer- ence post-season, they’ll need to pull off the upset Saturday.
And they’ll attempt to do so with Calgarian Catellier, who took over the reins as starting QB for the Bisons the week after the loss to Calgary. The sophomore’s first start led the Bisons to their lone win of the season, an 18-16 win at Regina.
The Golden Bears dealt Manitoba’s playoff losses a significant blow with a 36-25 win in Winnipeg before the break, led by Ed Ilnicki’s 278 rushing yards and 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Through the first two starts of his U Sports career, Catellier is 33-60 for 449 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
He’ll try to adjust for this tilt just over a month after the two teams last met, as the Bisons pay a visit to Calgary looking to exact some revenge on the Dinos, who spoiled Manitoba’s Homecoming with a 76-17 victory Sept. 16.
In that win in Winnipeg, the Dinos managed 29 points off turnovers and eight sacks as the defence set the table for the offence. The 76-point performance was the biggest scoring output for Calgary since defeating the Alberta Golden Bears with a Canada West-record 80 points, 80-18, on Sept. 17, 2015.
The Dinos enter the game after a big, emotional win at UBC before the Thanksgiving bye-week and will need to be wary of the Bisons, who travelled to knock off the thenNo. 6 Regina Rams, thanks to a solid defensive performance, including a pick-six by Jayden McKoy just before halftime intermission.
The Week 6 tilt between the Dinos and the Bisons goes live on CanadaWest.tv.