football: Dinos Hunted
Karl Yu, Staff Writer

Never have the words "do or die" held more significance for the SFU football team. Going into the game, against the University of Calgary Dinos, the objective was simple - win the game and they would be in the playoffs. It seemed like a simple enough concept but a confident Calgary squad that had knocked off UBC 42-13 the week previous stood in their way.

Calgary got on the scoreboard first with an 18-yard Matt Nimik field goal, but that would be the last lead Calgary would have for the game. After the ensuing kickoff, SFU put the clamps on defence and put the foot to the gas pedal on offence, trampling the Dinos and their playoff hopes with a 43-10 win.

Quarterback J.R. Davies marched the team back the other way on the next series and scored on a six yard scamper to put SFU up 7-3. Davies would go on to pass for 247 yards and connect with Brent Cowden once and Brendon Mahoney twice in the endzone. Ever since an early season temporary demotion, Davies has smacked shut the mouths of his critics, throwing with poise and precision, also scrambling for 260 yards as well and rushing for 64 yards on seven carries in the first half. When asked if SFU's No.7 was trying to imitate a certain No.7 who used to play for the Denver Broncos, Davies laughed. "I don't know what was going on," he said. "The o-line was opening up lanes and sometimes the receivers were covered, so I hit the hole and ran with it."

Another key contributor on offense was kicker Lucas Congi. No.10 connected on five of six field goals including one from a little past mid-field, a 46-yarder. Congi also averaged close to 38 yards a punt. Afterward, Congi went over the sorts of things he did to get in the zone. "We practiced a lot throughout the week," Congi said. "We concentrated on what we did wrong, focussed on that during practice, and it showed today. That's all we do - focus, focus, focus."

Unlike the Shrum Bowl, the game against Calgary was played under a clear blue autumn sky. Congi also said that the weather played a big factor on both punts and field goals. "We had beautiful weather today," he said. "That definitely helped me out. The ball wasn't slippery for punting, we got awesome snaps from Darcy Grant and good blocking as well." Congi was awarded the CIS special team's player of the week award for his efforts.

The defence once again smothered the opposition. The d-line and the linebackers constantly pressured Ryan Franke, the Calgary quarterback, while the secondary locked down the receivers and picked off Franke three times. Calgary ended the contest with a measly 206 yards of total offence and only 10 points on the board.

Leading the way as always was ultra-talented, multi-faceted linebacker Neil McKinlay. The defensive team captain once again disrupted the rhythm of the offence. Number six recorded 10 tackles, forced two fumbles, recovered another, had a sack to boot, and for the umpteenth time was named CIS defensive player of the week. McKinlay, who ends the season as the CIS leader in sacks, went over what transpired during the fumble recovery. "I just got a clean shot on the guy, he bobbled the ball, and I was fortunate enough to grab it out from him," McKinlay said. He was impressed not only with his play, but the play of the defence as a whole. "The guys came up with some big plays. Our defensive line played really well pressuring the quarterback which turns in to bad throws and interceptions and the DB's came up with some big plays too. Defensively we played really well."

As McKinlay mentioned, the secondary rarely gave the Calgary QB any targets to throw to. Defensive back Scott Plummer talked about the secondary's role in the victory. "We just kept with our game plan," said Plummer. "We knew their defence was predictable. When we saw the QB roll, we knew he was running for the sidelines, and we took advantage of that."

The win not only got SFU into the playoffs - with the help of some other teams, namely Regina, the Clan managed to pole vault into second place to host a playoff game against the same Regina team. Making the playoffs was the goal all along according to head coach Chris Beaton. "It was probably the biggest game in the program's history," said the coach. "But it all goes back to November of 2002. We met as players and coaches and we agreed it was a long way from 2-6 to the Vanier Cup and we identified what we had to do. Our kids bought in and they all deserve congratulations."

The reward for the hard work put in is a home playoff game against the University of Regina.

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