FROM SUN DEVILS TO DINOS

The South Delta Sun Devils of Tsawwassen, British Columbia and the University of Calgary Dinos have a knack of developing players to the next level. The Dinos are the beneficiary of the Sun Devil program while the Canadian Football League teams benefit from the Dinos program.

The pipeline from the South Delta program to the Dinos began in 2015 when Wayne Harris became Head Coach of the Dinos. Harris and recruiting Coordinator Matt Berry quickly realized the talent present in the Lower Mainland at South Delta High under Head Coach Ray Moon and his staff.

Linebacker Blake Gau and receiver Jack McDonald were the initial Sun Devils to join the Dinos in 2015. A year later Charlie Moore followed. Blake and Jack helped the Dinos to Canada West and Mitchell Bowl Championships before Calgary lost a hard-fought 2016 Vanier Cup to Laval in Hamilton, ON.

Jacob Kirk joined the program in 2018, the same year Jack’s younger brother Grant did, when he returned to Canada after a season at the University of Maine. Sadly, Jack McDonald’s senior season was cut short due to knee injury in a Conference game at UBC in September 2019. But a strong South Delta presence remained on the field. Grant McDonald and Moore were key members of linebacking corps while Kirk was a key special team player. Both McDonalds, Moore and Kirk were recipients Vanier Cup rings. More about Grant McDonald and Moore later. Kirk was looking forward to regular defensive duty in 2021 but had the misfortune of suffering a severe shoulder injury in the first Conference game against Saskatchewan forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.

Receiver Ethan Troniak joined the program in 2020 along with the third McDonald, Ben, who was a quarterback at South Delta but is a receiver with the Dinos. The exodus East from the Sun Devils continued in 2021 when defensive back Evan Davies joined the fold.

“It was easy for me to come here, my brothers (Jack and Grant) really enjoyed it,” stated Ben McDonald. Davies also admitted the decision to come was easy with so many previous South Delta players having been in the program. “Calgary was a natural fit,” Davies stated.

What is unique is Jack and Grant McDonald, Gau and Moore were the starting linebackers for South Delta’s Provincial 3A 2014 Championship team. All four wound their way across the Rockies to Calgary! Gau played four years at linebacker from 2015 to 2018 graduating in June 2019 foregoing his final year of U Sports eligibility. Jack McDonald graduated from the Haskayne School of Business as an Academic All-Canadian in June 2020.

Two former Sun Devils were selected in the 2021 Canadian Football League Draft, both making active rosters when the season began despite having two years of U Sports eligibility remaining. A Canada West all-star in 2019 Grant McDonald and Moore were selected 14th overall and 26th overall by the Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders respectively. McDonald and Moore are two of 19 Dinos on CFL rosters with at least one former Dino on each CFL team’s roster except Winnipeg.

How did the journey from South Delta to Calgary begin? “In their grad year at South Delta Jack (McDonald) and Blake (Gau) were taken by the professional atmosphere of the Calgary program, the high level of coaching and support the program offered,” stated Bruce McDonald, himself a Vanier Cup champion at UBC in 1986, defensive coordinator at South Delta, and father of Jack, Grant and Ben. “The word of mouth from Blake and Jack started it (the flow of South Delta players to Calgary).”

Berry has the utmost of respect for the graduates that have and continue to play for the Dinos. “They have been and are hard working football players that have been well coached. Everyone we have had from there (South Delta) have been great student-athletes, this must be attributed to the team culture present there,” Berry stated.

Another alumnus of the South Delta football program is in Calgary but is not making his mark on the football field but rather off the ice at Saddledome. General Manager Brad Treliving attended South Delta and was their quarterback before leaving for Penticton to pursue hockey. Treliving paid a visit last year to McMahon and met the Dinos football alums from South Delta.

University of Calgary Head Coach Wayne Harris with South Delta Sun Devil players at McMahon Stadium. Left to right: Ethan Troniak, Evan Davies, Coach Harris, Jacob Kirk, Ben McDonald.