CALGARY – The fifth-ranked Calgary Dinos (1-1) may have taken their collective foot off the gas a little too early but still managed to come on the top end of a 34-31 decision over the Alberta Golden Bears (0-2) on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.

BOX SCORE

In front of 3,494 fans at the University of Calgary's annual KICKOFF homecoming game, the Dinos opened up an 18-point lead with 2:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, a pair of quick touchdown drives by Dino-turned-Golden Bear quarterback Julian Marchand, who came in to relieve starter Quade Armstrong, brought the Bears within just three points and forced the Dinos to retrieve an onside kick attempt to seal the victory.

“It's a win, and we were fortunate enough to get it,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill after his team extended its home unbeaten streak to eight games, including the 2008 playoffs. “We sat back a little too much there at the end, but you sometimes see that early in the season.”

The teams combined for 40 points in a fourth quarter that blew the doors off what was to that point another low-scoring Battle of Alberta match-up. After Calgary took a 10-8 lead into the half, the Bears scored the lone points of the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Armstrong and led 15-10 heading into the final frame.

That's when the Dinos started to fire on all cylinders offensively. Quarterback Erik Glavic capped a four play, 52-yard drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown just 34 seconds into the final frame. On Calgary's next possession, Glavic hooked up with Anthony Parker, who shed four would-be Alberta tacklers en route to a 77-yard major strike, putting the Dinos up 24-15.

Matt Walter added a one-yard touchdown plunge and Aaron Ifield a 29-yard field goal on the next two Calgary possessions while Alberta managed just a 71-yard punt single by Hugh O'Neill, and the Dinos looked to be headed to an easy victory with a 34-16 lead and less than three minutes to play.

On the first play after Ifield's field goal, however, Marchand's first pass of the game ended up in the arms of Jess Valleau who ran it 60 yards to the end zone, and just like that the Bears were back within 11. The Calgary offence stalled, and Marchand directed a nine-play, 95-yard drive that ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass to Laine Rogers, with a two-point convert bringing the Bears within three.

The shootout ending overshadowed a game that Calgary dominated on the ground, rushing for 236 yards compared to the Bears' 86. Walter, the reigning Canada West MVP, chewed up 152 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries for the Dinos, with Glavic adding 67 yards and one major score on seven carries. Jeff Wollin, another former Dino who has headed up the QEII to suit up for Alberta, led the Bears' rushing attack with 74 yards on 22 carries.

Before being pulled late, Armstrong was 15-for-31 for 167 yards and two picks, but his numbers were nearly equaled by Marchand in just over two minutes' work. Marchand finished 6-for-9 for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Valleau was the top Alberta receiver on the day, hauling in six passes for 111 yards.

Glavic had a solid day in the pocket for Calgary, completing 18 of 28 passes for 332 yards and a touchdown. Parker was his favourite target, with 177 yards on seven catches, while Nathan Coehoorn was just seven yards shy of 100 on his six catches of the afternoon.

O'Neill won the battle of the top two punters in Canada West, averaging a spectacular 50.5 yards on 10 punts and adding field goals from 39 and 46 yards. Ifield had a punt partially blocked in the third quarter and was credited with just six yards on that attempt, bringing his average down to 35 yards on the afternoon. He was 2-for-3 in the field goal department, missing a 32-yard attempt before connecting from 27 and 29 yards.

Defensively, Alberta linebacker Jason Hetherington led all players with 10.5 tackles followed by teammate Craig Gerbrandt, while Deji Oduwole's seven and Chase Moore's five paced the home side. Geoff Paiement and Tye Noble hauled in interceptions for Calgary, with Duncan Morris answering for Alberta.

“I thought on the whole there were several positives in this game,” said Nill. “Our defence did a great job limiting the run, especially the interior of our d-line, and the offence really moved the ball well in the fourth quarter. We were also able to successfully defend two onside kick attempts, which is a very positive thing at this time of the year, and there were some very good individual efforts today.”

Both teams head on the road for Friday night contests next weekend. Alberta jets off to the Lower Mainland to face the 2-0 Simon Fraser Clan, while Calgary will head to Saskatchewan for the second time in three weeks to face the Regina Rams at Mosaic Stadium.

Calgary's next home action is Saturday, Sept. 26 when they face Simon Fraser in a rematch of the 2008 Hardy Cup final.

-UC-

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
ALTA – O'Neill 39-yard FG, 5:53, 3-0 Alberta

2nd Quarter
CGY – Walter 5-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 11:38, 7-3 Calgary
ALTA – TEAM Safety, 12:57, 7-5 Calgary
CGY – Ifield 27-yard FG, 14:48, 10-5 Calgary
ALTA – O'Neill 46-yard FG, 15:00, 10-8 Calgary

3rd Quarter
ALTA – Armstrong 1-yard TD run (O'Neill convert), 9:52, 15-10 Alberta

4th Quarter
CGY – Glavic 8-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 0:34, 17-15 Calgary
CGY – Parker 77-yard TD catch from Glavic (Ifield convert), 3:51, 24-15 Calgary
ALTA – O'Neill 71-yard punt single, 5:35, 24-16 Calgary
CGY – Walter 1-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 8:03, 31-16 Calgary
CGY – Ifield 29-yard FG, 12:30, 34-16 Calgary
ALTA – Valleau 60-yard TD catch from Marchand (O'Neill convert), 12:42, 34-23 Calgary             
ALTA – Rogers 18-yard TD catch from Marchand (Court 5-yard convert pass from Marchand), 14:38, 34-31 Calgary