Ready or not, it’s playoff time for football team
Last-minute touchdown means Bisons will play November 5
Sheri Lamb, Staff
Photo by Scott Stephens.
For the first time in three years the Bisons football team will have a chance to capture the Vanier Cup.
Bison coach Brian Dobie was pleased with his team’s 28-27 victory last Friday night (Oct. 21) over the University of Calgary Dinos, which he termed a “character win” for his team. The win gave the Bisons a 4-4-1 record for nine points going into their bye week.
“Our goal was to make the playoffs, and now that we’ve fulfilled that goal we can move on to the second season,” said Dobie.
The Bisons will play the Canada West Semi-final on the road on Nov. 5 5th, they’re just not sure where yet. It’ll either be a trip to the CIS number-two ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies or the number-five ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Dobie relishes the opportunity to go into the semi-final as the underdog next week and believes his team can match up well against either school. He admited, though, that he’d like another chance at the Huskies after the Bisons 18-17 loss in Saskatoon two weeks ago.
After three quarters of football on Friday, the Bisons were down 27-17, and it didn’t look good for a team who had dropped their last three games. But, after a Peter Scouras field goal, quarterback Ryan Zhara engineered a 76-yard drive down the field. It cumulated with fourth-year running back Karim Loewen’s 19-yard touchdown with 70 seconds remaining.
Now, after a grueling schedule where the team played eight straight games, the Bisons can sit back during their bye week and heal their bruises rather than worry about what other teams are doing.
“Our guys have handled themselves well and really need the mental rest after a tough, physical schedule,” said Dobie.
In 2004, the Bisons saw their playoff hopes snuffed out when the Dinos surprised the UBC Thunderbirds in the final game of the season to grab the final spot.
The last playoff appearance by the Bisons was in 2002 when the Huskies came to University Stadium and handed the Bisons (8-0) their first loss of the season. In 2001, the Bisons advanced to the Vanier Cup before bowing out to the St. Mary’s Huskies 42-16.
