EDMONTON – QB Eric Dzwilewski, LB Jordan Verdone and K/P Johnny Mark of the 2011 Hardy Cup champion Calgary Dinos are Canada West football Players of the Week.
OFFENCE: #11 Eric Dzwilewski, Calgary
In a battle of two quarterbacks wearing #11 on 11/11/11, second-year Calgary pivot Eric Dzwilewski emerged victorious over conference MVP Billy Greene and the UBC Thunderbirds.
Dzwilewski engineered yet another 500-plus yards outing for the Dinos, who captured their fourth consecutive Hardy Cup title with a 62-13 whitewash of the upstart T-Birds. Surgical and efficient was his passing, 9-for-13 for 112 yards and a touchdown – but it was with his feet that the 2010 CIS rookie of the year made the most noise. Dzwilewski carried the ball 14 times for 101 yards and a whopping four touchdowns – a CIS record for rushing TDs by a quarterback in a playoff game. His majors of seven, three, five, and seven yards gave the Dinos a 21-point lead, and the defence took it from there with a pair of pick-six touchdowns in a 35-point fourth quarter.
It was Dzwilewski’s best rushing performance of the season, and it sets up a Vanier Cup rematch with the Laval Rouge et Or Friday night, Nov. 18 in the Mitchell Bowl at McMahon Stadium, with the winner advancing to next week’s Vanier Cup in Vancouver.
DEFENCE: #44 Jordan Verdone, Calgary
Another former CIS rookie of the year, Jordan Verdone had a monster game on defence for the Dinos in their 62-13 Hardy Cup triumph over UBC Friday night at McMahon Stadium.
The third-year transfer from Waterloo who won the Peter Gorman Trophy with the Warriors in 2008 recorded five tackles – all solos – in the Dinos’ win. Not only was he a major factor in the Dinos’ defence’s ability to limit the high-flying T-Birds to just 335 offensive yards, however – he got an assist on the play that salted the game away for Calgary.
With the Dinos leading 27-13 late in the third quarter, the Thunderbirds got a big return and started in great field position on Calgary’s side of the field. An impressive-looking drive developed and entered the red zone – but on second and six at the seven-yard line, Billy Greene’s toss to the end zone was tipped at the goal line by Verdone, over the head of the intended receiver and into the waiting arms of defensive back Chudi Nzekwu, who returned the ball to the 25 and snuffed out any chance at a UBC comeback.
Verdone and the Dinos face another stiff challenge when they entertain the Laval Rouge et Or in Friday night’s Mitchell Bowl at McMahon Stadium in a rematch of the 2010 Vanier Cup.
SPECIAL TEAMS: #33 Johnny Mark, Calgary
Conference all-star Johnny Mark made a pair of field goals and eight converts, scoring 14 points as the Calgary Dinos won their fourth straight Hardy Cup title with a 62-13 win over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday night at McMahon Stadium.
Mark opened the scoring for the Dinos early in the game with a 22-yard field goal, then added a season-long 40-yarder early in the second to put the Dinos up 13-10.
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