Vanier Cup harks back to 1983

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For Greg Vavra, it seems like a lifetime ago that the pass-happy quarterback was leading the Calgary Dinos to national university football honours with a victory over the Queen's Golden Gaels in the Vanier Cup.

Turns out he is right.

All the players on the current roster of the Dinos, who are preparing for a rematch against the Golden Gaels here in tomorrow's Vanier Cup, weren't even born when Calgary last saw Queen's on a football field. The year was 1983 and the encounter took place at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium, which has since fallen victim to the wrecker's ball much like the U of T's football program.

Even the Calgary nickname back then - the Dinosaurs - is now extinct, giving way in 1999 to the new streamlined moniker.

That was all played out 26 years ago and Vavra, in his fourth season as Calgary's offensive co-ordinator, now returns to the national stage only to find the opposition once again to be from Queen's.

"It is déjà-vu," the 48-year-old Calgary native said. "I don't think Queen's uniforms have changed in the time since I played them."

Vavra is hoping the script remains true in other areas as well.

In 1983, Vavra was the top quarterback in Canadian Interuniversity Sport and won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the country's most outstanding intercollegiate football player. In 1995, the feat was duplicated by Calgary receiver Don Blair, who won the Crighton and, like Vavra, enjoyed the fruits of a Dinos Vanier Cup victory over the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

Vavra hopes Dinos quarterback Erik Glavic can join that exclusive club.

Glavic, a mop-haired 23-year-old from Pickering, Ont., was last night crowned the top player in CIS football when he was awarded the Hec Crighton for the second time in three years. The transfer student first won it in 2007 as a member of the Saint Mary's Huskies and he becomes the first player to win the award at two schools.

"Really big," Glavic said yesterday when asked about the impact Vavra has had on his season at Calgary, where he completed 67.5 per cent of his passes during the regular season for 2,186 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"His playbook is pretty interesting," Glavic continued. "It took a while to get used to, but he's helped me with my reads and just a lot of small things in making the game easier for me."

Vavra, a father of three, said when he thinks back to 1983, he recalls a slick track at Varsity Stadium on game day as a result of a snowstorm.

"My main recollection of that game is basically the field conditions and the outcome," Vavra said. "We were quite restricted by the footing at the old Varsity Stadium. But we were able to get it done at the end of the day.

"We ran the ball fairly effectively against them and didn't score as many touchdowns as we'd have liked. But at the end of the day we were able to piece together a win."

Those days have flown by and Vavra said there aren't really any insights from that game he can pass on to his own players.

"A lifetime has passed since then," Vavra said. "All we can do is study film and try to get to know our opponent as best we can. From what we've seen, they're a very athletic group and they appear to be very physical along the front seven. So we got our work cut out."

Blake Nill, the Calgary head coach, took his team indoors for practice yesterday at a soccer facility in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, about 15 kilometres west of Quebec City.

Queen's chose to practise outdoors at PEPS Stadium, the site of tomorrow's game on the campus of Laval University.

"Greg's a great mentor for these kids," Nill said. "He's offering his experience when called upon, but he's trying to remain focused on getting the offence ready and co-ordinated."

And the focus once again for Calgary is on Queen's.