CALGARY – The tenth-ranked Calgary Dinos scored a wind-aided 15 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the UBC Thunderbirds 24-11 Saturday afternoon.
With a stiff breeze coming from the north end of McMahon Stadium aiding their attack, the Dinos responded to an early UBC field goal to score two touchdowns and an 81-yard single in the fourth. The 11-9 lead after the 32-yard field goal by Mark McIsaac on the opening play of the final quarter was UBC's only lead of the day.
“I feel a lot better than I did last week at this time,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill, referring to the Dinos' 20-3 road loss at Simon Fraser. “It certainly wasn't perfect, but the kids fought and understood it was a big game for the whole year.
“One of the big decisions was UBC's decision to take the wind in the third quarter,” Nill went on. “Our ability to control the ball in the third quarter was a significant factor.”
Calgary jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter, with all nine points scored in the final 26 seconds. After McIsaac conceded a safety, quarterback Deke Junior found Nathan Coehoorn on a 64-yard passing play to the end zone. It was the Dinos' first offensive touchdown in 136:18.
The wind – and the points – came from UBC's direction in the second quarter. McIsaac missed a 28-yard field goal for a single to put the T-Birds on the scoreboard, and Alex Betts followed that up with an interception on the Calgary 25 yard line. David Boyd found the end zone with a one-yard run on third down to bring UBC within one.
The third quarter was scoreless as Calgary limited UBC's ability to move the ball. The Thunderbirds' final drive of the quarter did produce points, however, as UBC took the 11-9 lead early in the fourth.
Less than a minute later, Junior connected with Taylor Altilio for a 25-yard touchdown pass. He found Jordan Flagel in the end zone just under three minutes later for a six-yard major. It was Flagel's first receiving touchdown in his CIS career after spending the 2007 season at quarterback. Flagel came into the 2008 season as the starter but was replaced by Junior at halftime of Calgary's season-opening game in Saskatchewan.
On the ensuing kickoff, Aaron Ifield sent a soaring kick into the end zone for an 81-yard single.
The win for Calgary extends UBC's losing streak to two games after their 18-16 loss at home to Regina last week. The Thunderbirds have not won a game at McMahon Stadium since Sept. 12, 2000 – a streak that will likely reach nine years. This was the only meeting of the season between the two teams.
At 3-2, Calgary moves into a three-way tie for first place with Saskatchewan (3-1) and Simon Fraser (3-1), pending the result of the Clan's visit to Regina. UBC falls to 2-3 on the season.
Junior finished the game 13-for-28 with three touchdowns and three interceptions. UBC starter Marc McVeigh threw 14-for-26 for 167 yards and was replaced by backup Billy Greene in the fourth quarter. Greene completed five of 13 pass attempts for 102 yards.
Andrea Bonaventura was a force on defence all afternoon for Calgary, recording 7.5 tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. He leads the team with 33 tackles on the season.
While the Thunderbirds make another trip east to face the Saskatchewan Huskies next week, the Dinos will enjoy a much-needed break as Calgary holds the bye in Week 7. And for the Dinos, the breather comes at a most advantageous time.
“We haven't had a day off since the start of training camp,” said Nill. “We're going to give the guys a couple of days off this week so that we can come back rejuvenated for the stretch. And it's good for our coaches to get a break too.”
The Dinos will next see action on Saturday, Oct. 11 when they host the Regina Rams at McMahon Stadium.
EXTRA POINTS: At halftime, the Dinos recognized the 1988 Vanier Cup championship team with a video presentation. More than 40 members of the team returned for the reunion…Calgary RB Matt Walter was stopped short of his third straight 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 80 yards on the ground as neither team was able to make up much yardage with the run game…
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Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
CGY – SAFETY 14:34, 2-0 Calgary
CGY – Coehoorn 64-yard TD pass from Junior, Ifield convert, 15:00, 9-0 Calgary
2nd Quarter
UBC – McIsaac 29-yard FG MISSED wide left, single, 9-1 Calgary
UBC – Boyd 1-yard TD run, McIsaac convert, 11:46, 9-8 Calgary
3rd Quarter
No scoring.
4th Quarter
UBC – McIsaac 32-yard FG GOOD, 0:08, 11-9 UBC
CGY – Altilio 25-yard TD pass from Junior, Ifield convert, 1:08, 16-11 Calgary
CGY – Flagel 6-yard TD pass from Junior, Ifield convert, 4:05, 23-11 Calgary
CGY – Ifield 81–yard kickoff single, 4:05, 24-11 Calgary
