BISONS BACK TO DEFEND NATIONAL TITLE

Quarterback John Makie and a healthy Matt Henry lead Manitoba's high-powered offense.

Scott Taylor
August 2008

Bisons RB Matt Henry (pictured here in an intra-squad scrimmage) is healthy and hungry for a second national championship.

The defending Vanier Cup champion University of Manitoba Bisons exude a confidence that runningback Matt Henry says is "quiet, respectful and, well-earned."

Hard to imagine coming from a guy who was carried off the Rogers Centre turf on a stretcher last November.

"We're not cocky and we don't walk around bragging about how good we are or how good we can be," Henry says with a smile. "We just kind of know. We go to practice or go to the gym and we hang out with each other and we know. On this team, the sky's the limit."

For so many reasons, you have to raise your eyebrows when Henry, now 21, talks about how good he feels or about how wonderful his teammates play football.

After all, this is a young man who broke his right femur in half in the 2007 Vanier Cup game (as of Aug. 17, the three videos of the injury had been viewed on YouTube 276,313 times) and now, nine months later, he looks better than he did last year when he helped his team win a national championship.

Meanwhile, the Bisons themselves have been devastated by graduation and loss of personnel to the CFL. Nine defensive players who helped Manitoba win a national title in '07, are no longer in uniform. Reality would suggest that this team won't get out of the West, let alone win back-to-back Vanier Cups.

"First of all, our offense is pretty much the same as last year," said Henry, "and secondly, our defense has looked amazing in camp. You know what happens, these young guys in their first two or three years don't start and they're itching to play. Now, they're getting a chance ad they're just kicking the offense.

"We know how to win" says Dobie, "and we should be ready to do just that."

"To think that we don't have the personnel to win, that's just crazy. Why would Coach (Brian) Dobie bother to recruit. And you know, that's what Coach Dobie does best."

Meanwhile, with the brilliant and experienced John Makie back at quarterback and an all-star receiving corps that didn't lose one player from last year's championship team, Henry and the offense already look better than they did in '07.

And they've only been in camp for a couple of days.

"Sure, we lost nine starters on defense but there are still 50 guys on this team with Vanier Cup experience," Dobie said with a grin. "It's a whole different deal this year, but if the guys you expect to step up, do indeed step up, well then the only thing I worry about is complacency.

John Makie will lead a veteran offense that looks even better than it did in '07.

"And then there is our offense. You have to love John Makie at quarterback. I mean, seriously. If you put this guy in a CFL camp right now, you'd never notice the difference between him and any other quarterback there. He was the best passer in Canada last year. You know how good he's going to be this year? And to think, we didn't lose one receiver. We're loaded and even though we have Matt back at 100 per cent -- or better – we're going to pass the football.

"You want a high-powered offense? You'll get a high-powered offense."

To listen to Dobie and his people talk, you get the sense that this Bision team is on the way to a second-straight undefeated season. However, if you watch them on the football field, you'll come to the understanding that this team could be significantly – not just a little bit, but significantly – better than last year's national championship team.

Henry, who was so horribly injured in that Vanier Cup game, looks better than he did last year. He's cutting quicker and at 6-foot, 215-pounds, he's even stronger than he was in 2007.

"I'm really excited," he said, shortly after Day 2 of training camp. "We have three young runningbacks and me so when it comes to true veterans, I'm it. To be honest, when I was injured and they were taking me off the field, I was scared. But when I left the hospital and came back to Winnipeg, I knew I'd be ready for this season. Now, when I'm on the field, I feel just great. I feel as good as I did in my first year when I was just 19.

"Sure I have a titanium rod and three screws in my right leg and they'll be in there for the rest of my life. Sure, there are times when my right leg actually feels heavier than my left leg. But those are the only times I think about my injury. I knew that once I stopped thinking about my injury, I'd be better than I was last year. I've stopped thinking about my injury. When I made my first cut at camp and it was quicker and sharper than any cut I made last year, well that was it. I'm back."

It is truly hard to believe that a university football team with nine losses on defense, two losses on the offensive line and with a running back whose leg has been repaired by the wonders of modern science, can feel so damn good about itself, but these Bisons obviously do.

Chalk it up to a combination of heart and courage, pure unadulterated skill, great coaching, great recruiting and the return of 50 veterans. Heck, there were 90 players out for the opening day of training camp so it's not like anybody really noticed all the graduations.

"It's funny, I guess, but this what I said on the opening day of training camp," Dobie explained. "I said, ‘Look, we graduated so many starters and lost so many great young players to the CFL – and by the way, that's good – that the word around the CIS is that, "They had their moment in the sun and now they're done."

"Well, I sure don't want to sound overconfident, but I beg to differ. We know how to win and we should be ready to do just that."

The Bisons open the 2008 CIS season at home on Aug. 30, against the University of Regina Rams. It's a Saturday afternoon that will go a long way to informing the Bisons, their fans and the rest of Canadian university football that the champs aren't done. At least, not quite yet.

"The Rams are our natural rival and I can tell you, they really want to beat us," Dobie said with a laugh. "But I look at our guys and I have no worries at all about what we can achieve. Defending a championship is one of the most difficult things to do in team sports, but I truly believe this team is capable of being even better than that 12-0 team that impressed me every time it took the field last year.

"Believe me, there is no limit to what these young men can accomplish."