From Canada West office
EDMONTON – The 2009 Vanier Cup finalist Calgary Dinos were the unanimous choice among Canada West conference coaches in a recently conducted preseason football poll.
With coaches not permitted to vote for their own school, Calgary grabbed the maximum five first-place votes, with Saskatchewan receiving the other first-place vote.
Here are the complete voting results, based on a 7-5-3-2-1 system (first-place votes in parenthesis):
Calgary (5) - 35
Saskatchewan (1) - 27
Manitoba - 15
UBC - 13
Regina - 11
Alberta - 7
Top coaches' pick, the 2009 Hardy Cup and Uteck Bowl champion Calgary Dinos see the return of two-time Hec Crighton winner, QB Erik Glavic, along with fellow All-Canadians RB Matt Walter, SB Anthony Parker, WR Nathan Coehoorn and RT Kirby Fabien. All-Canadian safety Anthony DesLauriers transfers from Simon Fraser.
Runner-up in voting and a finalist for the 2009 Hardy Cup are the Saskatchewan Huskies. After going 7-1 and losing a narrow decision to the Dinos in the conference final, the return of fifth-year pivot Laurence Nixon is key to an offence that averaged 26 points per game last season. Top receiving targets will be Travis Gorski, Rory Kohlert and Braeden George, while the defence is anchored by linebacker Peter Thiel and a very strong secondary. Defensive back Bryce McCall has 12 ints over the last two seasons.
Ranked third in the preseason are the Manitoba Bisons, who have several candidates to replace graduated starting QB Nathan Friesen. Fourth-year All-Star defensive back Pete Adams will be key on defence, while veterans Everton Black and Clifton Lewis will provide experience along the defensive line no without All-Star DB Eddie Steele. On offence running back and CFL prospect Matt Henry is primed and ready to go, while senior James Gerardy combines to give the Bisons a solid one-two punch in the backfield. Receiver Stu Schollaart and a host of new faces hope to carry a mostly young offence into one of four playoff spots available in November.
Placing fourth in voting were the UBC Thunderbirds, led by new head coach and former Vanier Cup-winning quarterback
Shawn Olson. All-Star running back
Dave Boyd, receivers
Jordan Grieve and SFU transfer
Victor Marshall, along with offensive lineman
Cody Husband bolster the offence of third-year gunslinger
Billy Greene. The defence returns almost every starter including third year safety/linebacker
Alex Babalos who led Canada West in tackles last season as well as the second-ranked secondary from 2009.
Fifth-ranked among Canada West institutions are the Regina Rams, which squeaked into the post-season with a 3-5 record one year ago. Canada West passing leader Marc Mueller returns to guide the offence. The loss of NFL prospect-turned-Saskatchewan Roughrider receiver Jordan Sisco means that Mark McConkey, Brenden Owens and some new recruits will need to fill the void. Fifth-year middle linebacker Bruce Anderson, fellow senior and Cougars basketball star, Jeff Lukomski, along with new defensive lineman Akiem Hicks form the base of a solid defence.
Placing sixth in the opening coaches' poll, the Alberta Golden Bears are coming off a 4-4 campaign looking to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season under the guidance of 10-year head coach
Jerry Friesen. The Bears return 41 players from 2009, including QB Julian Marchand, running back Matt Jarvis and All-Canadian guard Terris Paliwoda on offence. On the defensive side, sack attack leader Craig Gerbrandt, who set a team record and led Canada West with 10 sacks last season, along with conference interception leader Jason Hetherington, are both back in the mix. Team tackle leader, fifth-year linebacker Jean-Marc Jones, rounds out a solid corps of veterans on “d”.
The 2010 Canada West football season begins Friday night, with Manitoba in Regina. On Saturday afternoon the Alberta Golden Bears are in Vancouver to take on the Thunderbirds, with 2009 Hardy Cup finalists Calgary and Saskatchewan going head-to-head before a live Shaw Television audience at 7:00 p.m. MT on Saturday.
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