Dinos seek vengeance on Huskies in Hardy Cup
They want to be all business.
One down at a time, play their own game — you know, doing and saying all the right things.
But that hardly seems possible for the University of Calgary Dinos football team given the situation at hand Saturday afternoon.
They’re heading into the same game, the Hardy Cup, against the same team, the Saskatchewan Huskies, in the same arena, Mcmahon Stadium.
It’s been one year since they were unceremoniously eliminated from Vanier Cup contention despite being unbeaten and in control of the U Sports Canada West Conference.
“Definitely, there’s a bit of redemption wanted — bad taste in your mouth after last year,” said Dinos quarterback Adam Sinagra, letting down his guard just enough Friday to recall the bitter fall during last year’s uncharacteristic 43-18 loss to the Huskies on home turf.
“But we’re a new team. I think we have a new mindset and focus. And I think we’re confident in ourselves.”
Not that they weren’t last year. The licking laid on them by the Huskies in the conference championship game was simply a rare blip for a program that’s had its way with the Canada West conference for the last decadeplus.
How’s this for dominance:
The Hardy Cup will be handed out at Mcmahon for the 10th straight year, an unprecedented run of success for the Dinos who make their 12th consecutive appearance in the game. They’re also 16-7 in the contest, with a 13-3 record in the 16 such title tilts played on home turf.
But they head into the finale Saturday at Mcmahon (1 p.m., Canada West Football Showcase/ Canadawest.tv) knowing it’s the Huskies who are defending the conference crown, having pulled off the upset a year ago.
The Huskies also handed the Dinos one of their two regular-season losses this year in the teams’ only meeting of the campaign, a 29-15 Huskies win in Saskatoon.
“Saskatchewan has had the better hand of us the last couple of games, and so, being able to get them back on the field, hopefully, gives our guys a bit extra motivation,” said Dinos head coach Wayne Harris Jr. “
They’re a very good football team, and we were hoping to be in this situation at the end of the season.”
It’s time to go out, finally, and right the wrongs of a year ago.
The winner of the Hardy Cup gets the right to host the U Sports semifinal — also known as the Mitchell Bowl — next weekend, with the Ontario champions heading west. The winner of that game will play for the Vanier Cup in Quebec City.
But to get there, the Dinos will have to first stop the vaunted ground attack of the Dogs.
The Huskies have been led by their run game all season, with conference MVP Adam Machart leading the way. The durable tailback won the conference rushing title by nearly 900 yards, racking up 166 per game to finish with 1,330 — easily the best total in the country.
“You’ve got to prepare for the run, obviously — they are the most dynamic running team in the country right now,” Harris said. “But they can throw the ball, too. Offensively, they can hurt you in a lot of ways. So if you over-focus just on one thing, you’ll get in trouble in a different area.”
And Harris’ charges certainly can’t handle the game the way they did last week in the Canada West semifinal, when — after assuming full control for most of the contest — the Dinos allowed the Manitoba Bisons to put up 30 points in the fourth quarter. Only a Nick Statz interception on the final play of the game — a twopoint convert attempt following a Bisons touchdown off a Hail Mary completion — allowed the Dinos to escape upset and move on to the 83rd Hardy Cup.
“You’ve gotta learn from what happened in that game,” said Harris of the 47-46 victory over the Bisons at Mcmahon. “We let the fourth quarter get away from us and made some mistakes at critical times.”
Against the Huskies, they likely won’t get away with that.
Last year, they didn’t. “I wouldn’t say we’re the same team as last year,” Sinagra said. “I think we’re a little more sound on all three sides of the football.”