After playing the waiting game for two years, slotback Chris Dobko has caught on as a starter with the Calgary Dinos.
"I finally got the opportunity to be in a position to make plays and so far I have," said the high school football product of the St. Albert High Skyhawks.
Dobko, 21, is the leading Dinos' receiver with 32 catches for 389 yards and six touchdowns in five games for the undefeated third-ranked CIS team in Canada.
"It's awesome. I've got a huge love for football again. The first two years it was hard. You didn't really want to go to practice because it was going to be the same thing it was the day before," he said.
"It was brutal. I went through so many ups and downs those first two years because I wanted to play. Nobody wants to sit and watch other people play. It was really tough. Now it's really exciting again."
The co-MVP on the 2004 Football Alberta tier II bantam provincial champion St. Albert 49ers had a career game against the UBC Thunderbirds in week two in the Canada West schedule with eight receptions for 126 yards.
After two games into the season Dobko had 11 catches, two more than last year's totals.
"I definitely have caught the ball better than I have the last two years," said the six-foot, 200-pound Dino. "Over the last year and half or so my whole goal has been to be the best route runner in the country. I've worked a lot on it and right now I'm at the point where I'm really happy with the way I'm running routes. But I still want to be better."
After a year of junior with the Edmonton Wildcats, Dobko made the Dinos' travelling squad and was used mainly as a kick returner while appearing in the Hardy Cup in the Canada West final, the Mitchell Bowl in the CIS semifinals and the Vanier Cup national championship the last two years. His receiving stats included 193 yards in the 2010 regular season and playoffs and 66 yards on five catches as a freshman.
"I've got a better head on my shoulders now than I would've had if I just walked in and had a spot given to me. I've had to work my ass off for two years trying to get to be a starter and now I understand what it took and how I need to stay level-headed and just keep it going," said the 2007 Haliburton Trophy winner as the pool B MVP in the metro Edmonton league's senior division.
The departure of all-star receivers and 2011 CFL draft picks, Anthony Parker and Nathan Coehoorn, opened the door for Dobko to audition for a starter's role.
"It's good when you've got players in front of you who you can learn from. Those guys are special players. They do things that not a lot of people can do so you can sit there and you can learn from them. You can see how they run routes and how they play the game," said the U19 Team Alberta tailback at the 2008 Football Canada Cup.
Dobko needed two games this year to establish himself as a legitimate starter. In the 49-14 exhibition win over the Alberta Golden Bears, he recorded eight catches for 149 yards and TD grabs of three and 21 yards. The next game was the Canada West opener against the Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg and his seven-yard TD snag with 22 seconds remaining capped off 18 unanswered points by the Dinos in the fourth quarter en route to the 35-31 win.
"Going into training camp they didn't want to start me and then somebody didn't play in the exhibition game and I played at the weak side slotback and had a good game," he said. "They tried to move me away from that spot again and then in the fourth quarter [against Manitoba] they put me back in it and I had three catches [for 24 yards] and the game-winning touchdown. After that it was pretty sealed that I would be starting."
Dobko feels more at ease as a starter after working his way up the depth chart.
"There is definitely more preparation that goes into it but when it comes to practicing it's a lot easier because the first two years every day I had to fight to try and play. I had to do everything I could to play. Now, if I'm a little banged up or a little sore or if I'm not feeling so well, I can kind of relax and chill a little bit. I don't have to go as hard as I had to before in practice. I get my reps in, but someone else can take reps too."
Touchdown maker
Dobko's TD against Manitoba was also his first in Canada West action.
"A couple of plays before that I had run a corner into the end zone and I jumped up for the ball and the DB was able to punch it out," he said. "On the touchdown play they called an out to the weakside, which means the play is to me. If I don't get open there is nowhere for the quarterback to go. I knew as soon as they called it there was no way I was letting this one get away from me after the first one didn't work out. I came inside and I went back outside and the DB wasn't there and I caught it."
Dobko was so excited he forgot to keep to the football.
"I think I threw it somewhere after I scored," he said. "It was pretty crazy. You don't even know what to think at the time. Everything was going so fast."
The next week against the Regina Rams, the Paul Kane High School graduate racked up three TDs on five catches for a game-high 79 yards in the 51-1 laugher in Calgary and was named the Canada West offensive player of the week.
"That was pretty special. Not very often does that happen, especially as a receiver. Usually the quarterback gets those awards like that so I was pretty excited about it."
Dobko was the first Dino to register three TD receptions in one game since Jamie Elliott had three against the Rams in 2002. He was also the first Canada West player to haul in three TD catches in a game since Chad Goldie of the Rams pulled off the feat against Calgary in 2007.
"Chris is very talented," head coach Blake Nill told the Calgary Herald. "He is getting to the point now that he's starting to learn the intricacies of his position and you're seeing some maturity in him. We've always known his potential was outstanding. Now we have to make sure he continues to work at the small things, making sure he's consistent on the field."
Dobko has quickly become quarterback Erik Dzwilewski's favourite target.
"If he gets into trouble the first person he looks to is usually me right now," said the arts student who is working towards an economics major.
Dobko is the only football player from St. Albert to play in two Vanier Cups and both were losses.
"We know how to get it done now and we obviously expect to be in the Vanier Cup this year. That's been our goal since the get-go."
