Grey Cup review: How it went down

By David Hollinshead

ffence wins games. Defence

O wins championships.
Quarterbacks make

dynasties. Very few Quarterbacks

have been able to prove this and

the ones that do, you end up talking

about Tom Brady or Troy Aikman;

For the CFL, the conversation

with leads directly to one Anthony

Calvillo. Calvillo has now led

his team to three Grey Cups in a

consecutive three year span and

after defeating the Saskatchewan

Roughriders 21-18, giving him his

third championship ring, all with the

Montreal Alouettes.

Calvillo lived up to his name,
finishing 29-of-42 for 336 yards.
Jamal Richardson though was
named MVP for the game with
eight receptions for 109 yards, and
for the third consecutive Grey Cup
has had 100 yards receiving. For
the Saskatchewan fans, this is just
another that got away. Quarterback
Darian Durant needed to come out
this week and prove that he is indeed
one of the league’s elite, which coach
Ken Miller claims to have no doubt
he will be, and fell short. Durant
was stellar one minute and would
lose it the next, going 18-for-31 for
215 yards, with a touchdown and a
key interception which closed the
window at the end of the game. His
inconsistencies forced his team at one
point to punt on eight consecutive
drives.

Saskatchewan’s defence came
out strong, mixing up their blitz
packages putting pressure on
Calvillo, but once Montreal adapted
their game plan to quick throws and
screens on man-to-man coverage,
controlling the ball for most of the
game, which opened up the deep-
ball and giving receiver S.J. Green
nine receptions for 108 yards and
Richardson the big game he had.

Montreal’s defensive game plan
was to not allow the Saskatchewan
weapons to hurt them, which they _
succeeded at. Durant, the league’s
leading rushing QB, only had one
carry for eight yards. SB Andy
Fantuz, who in the regular season
was Durant’s favourite target, was
contained with four receptions for 66
yards, after being held to no catches

at all by Calgary last week. Fantuz
didn’t turn in a bad game, and was
the ‘Riders leading receiver in the
game, but he didn’t make plays,
which is what it comes down to.

Montreal had a slight difficulty
stopping RB Wes Cates who finished
with 10 carries for 83 yards, two
receptions for 18 yards, and a rushing
touchdown. Cates probably could’ve
had a huge game against Montreal
if it weren’t for their time-of-
possession, forcing Saskatchewan’s
need to go to the air. Montreal
Running back Avon Cobourne started
off the scoring, with a three yard
plunge into the end zone, giving
Montreal a 7-0 lead. Montreal kicker
Damon Duval missed a 31-yard FG
attempt, but with the touchback, gave
Montreal an 8-0 lead.

Saskatchewan would finally
hit an offensive stride, resulting in
a Wes Cates two-yard touchdown
leap, and converting on the two
point conversion, tied the game.
‘Rider kicker Will Kean later made
a 27 yard FG to give Saskatchewan
the lead 11-8. Duval answered with
a 22-yarder and then a 43-yarder
to give Montreal the lead 14-11.
After a circus catch by Richardson,
Cobourne punched it in again from
two yards away to give his team a 10
point lead.

With just over three minutes
to go in the fourth quarter, Durant
would hook up with offensive
lineman Mark Parenteau who lined
up as an eligible receiver to cut the
lead to three. In the final minute,
Durant scrambled in the pocket,
escaping from multiple Montreal
players that had wrapped him up,
tried to throw it out of bounds but
instead was intercepted by Montreal
CB Billy Parker, sealing the ‘Rider’s
fate, ending the game 21-18.

After the game, Calvillo
announced that he would be getting
surgery done on a thyroid that was
potentially cancerous, putting his
17-year CFL career at risk as he
contemplates retirement, as does his
favourite target, SB Ben Cahoon.
Following the loss, Saskatchewan
head coach Ken Miller announced
that he will be resigning from his
position with the ‘Riders, but will
be remaining on the team at a front
office job.

 

 

What you can do this winter

    
     

By Matthew Visser

inter came last week,
dumping up to six inches
of snow on the main roads

and dropping temperatures down to

a freezing and miserable -12. And to
embrace winter coming a little earlier
than most people anticipated there is
more than one way of finding the joy
of getting outside and having fun in
the white stuff. The mountains have
got a nice amount of early snow fall
and have opened a little earlier this
year.

The local mountain reports for
the Lower Mainland at the base depth
are: Cypress Mountain -71 inches,
Grouse Mountain-65 inches having
21/25, and Mt. Seymour- 42 inches,
and for Whistler/ Blackcomb- 30-51
inches. With the peaks being open
and the winter junkies just waiting to
throw on their toques and grab their
snow boards and skis and swarm
the runs and fly down fresh powder,
brings up the question of what can
people do this winter, with all the
snow the Lower Mainland is predicted
to receive to make this winter, if they
don’t ski or snowboard and have fun
in the outdoors this winter.

Hiking is one sport which is a
favorite among people and compared
to summer hiking, winter hiking offers
a scene completely opposite that of
summer. Hiking in the winter, in the
snow, going up high or staying low
offers an experience of walking in
a completely different environment
which makes people work harder
to see majestic scenery. Going up a
mountain trail on foot or more of snow
is one of the best work outs you can
give your body and when you finally
get to your destination for that view
or the picnic lunch in the snow, it is a
memory you will never forget.

While on the topic of hiking, a

 

similar winter sport is snow shoeing.

 

Like hiking, if you can walk you can
snow shoe. And even better, you can
only reach some places by snow shoe,
either due to soft snow or rules and
regulations mountain resorts have to
follow. An advantage to snow shoeing
is that it is almost as cheap as winter
hiking; costing up to little as $30 for
a day pass and snow shoe rentals at
all three Lower Mainland mountains.
At Mt. Seymour for example, there
are day and evening snow shoe events
where you and a group snow shoe
around the mountain with a guide to
learn how to snow shoe better and
faster, traveling to chalets where you
get to warm up and have a nice warm
drink, which are located around the
mountain, and even a “Baby and Me”
guided tours which are for new parents
and their newborns.

Snow shoeing is a great way to
get outdoors this winter and embrace
the snow scene while at the same time
meeting new people.

Another great and family fun
winter activities are tobogganing/
tubing and ice skating. These have
always been favorites among everyone
who loves going down a snow covered
hill or mountain side either at high
speeds or at a nice comfortable
speed, or just enjoy skating along an
iced surface, racing or with a group
of friends, or even with a special
someone. Whether being with your
friends or by yourself tobogganing/
tubing and ice skating both are great
winter activities that everyone enjoys
and is a great way to spend a day
outside.

Besides the obvious winter sports
of skiing and snowboarding, these
are some great winter activities to get
yourself out of the house and in the
outdoors enjoying what winter has to
offer while having fun and doing new
things.

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