November 23, 2009

Next stop: Vanier Cup

The University of Calgary Dinos football team is headed to its first national championship game since 1995, facing the Queen’s Gaels in the Desjardins Vanier Cup on Saturday, Nov. 28 at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City.

The No. 2 Dinos won their shot Saturday after dominating the Saint Mary’s Huskies with a 38-14 victory in the Uteck Bowl. The No. 4 ranked Queen’s upset top-ranked Laval 33-30 in the Mitchell Bowl.

It will be the first meeting between the Dinos and Gaels since the 1983 Vanier Cup, which Calgary won 31-21 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on TSN and Radio-Canada (12 p.m. local, 10 a.m. MT).

In front of 5,735 partisan fans at Huskies Stadium in Halifax, the Dinos took a 19-0 lead with a dominant first quarter led by running back Matt Walter, the 2008 Canada West player of the year. Walter had eight carries for 125 yards in the first quarter alone, highlighted by a 69-yard touchdown scamper.

After being lost in the shadow of the media frenzy surrounding the return of Dinos head coach Blake Nill and quarterback Erik Glavic to Halifax, Walter was named the Uteck Bowl MVP for his performance, finishing the game with 20 carries for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

“It just shows we’re a dynamic team, we have so many weapons on offence and we can beat teams in so many different ways,” said Walter, a third-year science student from Calgary. “Today it was with the run.”

Nill, who led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to four Vanier Cup games and two championships in his eight years with the program, returns to the national final for the first time since 2003 and has taken the Dinos program from a 2-6 record in 2006 to consecutive Canada West championships and a Bowl game championship in just four seasons.

“We still need to learn to play ahead and play in front, but we’ve come a long way. We still have one more step to take, though, and there’s a lot of work to do this week to prepare for Queen’s,” said Nill, the 2009 Canada West coach of the year.

Calgary will remain in Eastern Canada for the week, departing Halifax for Quebec City on Sunday and spending the week in preparation for the Queen’s Gaels and the Desjardins Vanier Cup.

“I feel confident in our offence, and our defence has shown that they can hang with anybody,” said Walter. “I can’t wait for next week.”