EDMONTON — First place is on the line as the Alberta Golden Bears visit their provincial rival (1) the Calgary Dinos Thursday.
Both teams enter Thursday’s contest with a perfect 2-0 record, though the Dinos were the only team to be recognized in the CIS Top 10. Calgary has been ranked the top team in the country while the Bears failed to crack the top 10, something Bears Head Coach Chris Morris calls irrelevant.
“If we’re supposed to be in the top 10, we’ll have lots more opportunities to show that we deserve to be there.”
Morris says his focus is on leading the Bears into the post season for the first time since 2010. A win on Thursday would go a long way in ending that drought but they’ll be in tough against a powerful Dinos team.
Calgary has an arsenal of offensive weapons but none stand out more than fourth year running back Mercer Timmis.
This week’s CIS Offensive Player of the Week has already racked up 426 yards rushing and five touchdowns. In fact, Timmis is just 13 touchdowns away from breaking a 48-year old record for career majors in the CIS (51 – Paul Brule, St.FX 1964-1967).
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Needless to say, Dinos Head Coach Wayne Harris said the game plan is to give Timmis the ball and allow him to carry through with using his athletic ability to make plays. Which means the Bears defense will need to pull out the biggest performance of their lives.
“If you’re expecting one guy to make a tackle on Mercer, you know, three or four times a game, that’s not going to happen, he’s going to break a big play,” said Morris.
To say the Bears have struggled against the Dinos in recent years would be a massive understatement. They’ve been outscored 510-130* in their last 10 regular season games (note: Officially, the Bears were credited with a 1-0 win vs Calgary last season after the Dinos fielded an ineligible player. The Bears had lost the game 71-3.). They’ve also given up at least 530 yards in nine of their last 10 games against Calgary. It’s a daunting task but to flip the script, the Bears will rely on the weapons they have.
“In order for us to be successful against Calgary, we’re going to have to run the ball, there’s no question about it,” said Morris.
Look for Bears running back Ed Ilnicki to feature prominently in the Bears offense. Ilnicki is second in the Canada West with three touchdowns and averaging nearly 120 yards per game. They’ll also need to capitalize on the Dinos slow starts. In both of Calgary’s two games this season, they’ve given up touchdowns in the opening minute – including a 107 yard kick off return by Manitoba’s Jamel Lyles.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast LIVE on Canada West Football on Shaw TV. Kick off at 7 p.m. on local Shaw TV, Shaw HD Ch. 304 and Shaw Direct 299.
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