Football playoffs
A look into the Canada West and CFL playoffs
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
This past weekend marked the end of the regular season in both the Canada West division of the CIS and the CFL. After months of gruelling play, the contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders and, luckily for football fans in the city, both teams that call Winnipeg home have qualified for post-season play.
To say that the Manitoba Bisons steamrolled the competition would be an understatement. The Bisons dominated Canada West opponents all season long, going a perfect 8-0, and winning games by an average margin of 27.5 points.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on the other hand, had an up-anddown season. One game, they’d look like the most dominant team in the league, both offensively and defensively; the next week they’d look horrible, losing games to the lowly Ti- Cats. The Bombers will need to play more constantly if they hope to enjoy the Grey Cup festivities as players.
Here is a look at how the playoffs break down in both the Canada West and the CFL, in what should be a terrific weekend of Canadian football.
Canada West playoffs
Semi-final one: (1) Manitoba Bisons vs. (4) Regina Rams These two teams should be familiar with one another, having met twice during the season. Both games were tight, but the Bisons prevailed both times, winning 34-24 in Regina on Sept. 2, and 49-44 in Winnipeg on Oct. 21.
The key matchup in the game will be The Rams’ high-powered passing attack going up against the Bisons’ strong secondary. Regina quarterback Teale Orban is a strong candidate to be Canada West’s Hec-Crighton nominee, and he and his receivers seem to be hitting their stride at exactly the right point in the season. In the Oct. 21 meeting, Orban torched the Bisons for 455 yards and five TDs. Then, in this past weekend’s must-win against Alberta, Orban led a Rams comeback victory by throwing for 229 yards and three TDs.
Much of Orban’s success comes because of the plethora of receivers he has at his disposal. Chris Bauman, Chris Getzlaf, and Chad Goldie all rank in the Canada West top-10 in receiving and are all capable of busting out the big play for the Rams.
Trying to shut down the Rams’ passing attack will be a tough task, but Mike Howard, Bob Reist, and the rest of the Bisons secondary should be up for it. It will be their job to stop the receivers from making catches. If they do allow a Rams receiver to make a catch, they must make sure to limit the yards after the catch. The secondary must also watch out for the deep bombs that Orban has thrown all season.
The secondary will also need some help from the Bisons’ front four. The big boys up front, led by Justin Shaw and Justin Cooper, will try to wreak havoc on Orban, making sure he doesn’t have the time to make his passes.
If the Bisons’ defence can contain the Ram offence, the Bisons should pick up the victory, because no team has been able to stop the Bison offence. Whether on the ground, with Karim Lowen and Matt Henry, or through the air with Jon Mackie, the Bisons offence will put enough points up on the board.
Semi-final two: (2) Saskatchewan Huskies vs. (3) UBC Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are reeling, coming off of two straight defeats, and stumbling into the third spot. The Huskies, on the other hand, look to have righted their ship after a mid-season slump. Although it seems as if these two teams are going in opposite directions, their regular season matchup shows that these two teams match up very well against one another.
When these two teams met on Sept. 23, the game literally went to the final seconds, before Saskatchewan’s Bret Thompson found Dan Houle for a two-yard touchdown pass, giving the Huskies the narrow two-point victory, 35-33.
In that game, both teams featured dominant running games. As a team, UBC ran for 175 yards, with Chris Ciezki tallying 132 of them on just eight carries. Saskatchewan was even more of a force, totalling 248 yards on the ground led by Scott Stevens and his 175 yards.
This game should feature more of the same from both teams. Ciezki should be well-rested for UBC, after sitting out the Thunderbirds’ last game of the season against Manitoba. Saskatchewan’s Stevens might be out with an injury, but the Huskies shouldn’t suffer much of a drop-off in production with Tyler O’Gorman as their feature back. O’Gorman is fresh from rumbling for 198 yards against Alberta this past weekend.
With November bringing cold fall weather, whichever one of these two teams is able to set up their running game will be heading to the Canada West finals.
CFL Playoffs
East semi-final: Toronto Argonauts vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Early on in the season, the Argonauts looked to be no match for the Bombers, losing twice in the span of three weeks (16-9 on Jun. 23, and 24-17 on Jul. 8). In their third meeting of the season, on Aug. 25, the Argonauts pulled out an 18-15 victory.
It is important to note, however, that in the two Bombers victories, Toronto quarterback Damon Allen was out nursing an injury. With Allen in the lineup, the Argos are a much different team, a much better team, as the Bombers found out in August. It will be crucial for the Bombers’ defensive line to put pressure on Allen, and force him into quick decisions.
Tom Canada, Gavin Walls and company will also have to deal with Ricky Williams and the Argonauts rushing attack, which has been much improved in the last couple of weeks. If the Bombers can force the Argos into being one-dimensional, they will have a much better chance of winning.
Offensively, the Bombers have to be concerned about the health status of Kevin Glenn. Glenn left last weekend’s game against B.C. with an ankle injury in the first half. Reports say that Glenn will be ready to go on Sunday, and for the Bombers’ sake, he better be, because if Winnipeg has to rely on either Brad Banks or Ryan Dinwiddie as a quarterback, their Grey Cup hopes are as good as gone.
This may be stating the obvious, but if Glenn is healthy, he will need to get the ball to his playmakers, Milt Stegall and Charles Roberts. The Bombers’ best chances of winning are if these two are making big plays.
West semi-final: Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Look for a high-scoring affair out west, as two of the CFL’s best offences match up to see who gets to go against the B.C. Lions in the West final. The Stampeders took two of three games from the Riders this season, but split the two games they played in Calgary.
This game will feature two similar quarterbacks: Henry Burris for the Stampeders, and Kerry Joseph for the Roughriders. Each defence must be concerned about not only stopping both of their arms, but also their legs, as both quarterbacks have been known to take off with the ball if need be.
The Stampeders seem to have more options on offence. In addition to Burris, the Stampeders also feature Joffrey Reynolds, the CFL’s secondranked leading rusher. If Reynolds is able to get going early, it can open up the Calgary passing attack later in the game. The Stampeders also have two receivers who can catch anything that comes their way, Nik Lewis and Jermaine Copeland.
For Saskatchewan, running back Kenton Keith will need to have a big game. He has performed well in the playoffs in the past, and Saskatchewan fans are hoping he can repeat those past performances. Joseph will also need to find his favorite target, Matt Dominguez, if the Riders are to have any hope of keeping up with the Stampeders.
