CALGARY – The fourth-ranked University of Calgary Dinos grabbed sole possession of top spot in Canada West Saturday, using a blazing start to outgun the Simon Fraser Clan 49-22 in front of 1,346 fans at McMahon Stadium.

BOX SCORE

The win, Calgary's tenth straight victory at home, vaults the Dinos to 3-1 on the 2009 season, while the loss was the second in as many weeks for the Clan and drops them to 2-2, putting them in a four-way tie for second place with Saskatchewan (2-1), Alberta, and Regina (both 2-2).

All but seven of Calgary's 49 points came in the opening half as the Calgary starters dominated in all facets, holding Simon Fraser to just three first downs in the first 30 minutes while racking up more than 350 yards of offence. It was the quick start the Dinos had been searching for all season after failing to score a single point in the first quarter through three games.

“We talked this week about how this was going to be a defining game, not only for Simon Fraser, but also for us,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill, who saw his conference record evened at 14-14 since joining the Dinos in 2006. “I was worried that they (Simon Fraser) would come out with fire and brimstone this week, but I was very pleased with how our players prepared. We were more than ready for the intensity that they brought today.”

The Clan forced a two-and-out by the Dinos on their first drive of the game, but Jerod Zaleski fumbled the ensuing punt to set up a nine-yard Matt Walter touchdown catch, and Calgary kept firing from there. Walter added a second major on the ground six minutes later, and Nathan Coehoorn wrapped up the opening quarter with a 28-yard TD catch from Erik Glavic, giving the Dinos a 21-3 lead after just 15 minutes.

The vaunted Clan return game continued to struggle on the ensuing kickoff, which Rob Coombs fumbled and Calgary halfback Matt Grohn recovered. Two plays later, Anthony Parker scored Calgary's second touchdown in 45 seconds on a five-yard run. Glavic added a two-yard major score with just under three minutes to go in the half and capped off a sterling performance with a 43-yard touchdown pass, his third of the afternoon, to Coehoorn in the final seconds. Only a 27-yard field goal by Jason Cook late in the first quarter kept the Clan from posting a goose egg in the opening half, and Calgary took a 42-3 lead into the break.

The game ground to a snail's pace in the second half as both teams committed penalty after penalty and the Dinos were content to run the ball with reserve players seeing significant action. A 34-yard Cook field goal and an intentional safety by the Dinos gave SFU the only points of the third quarter, which was delayed for nearly 30 minutes when line judge Glen Haner was injured on the Calgary sideline and taken to hospital by ambulance with a leg injury.

The Clan used quarterbacks Bernd Dittrich and Caleb Clark interchangeably throughout the afternoon, and each led SFU on a lengthy touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Clark wrapped up his with a six-yard pass to Zaleski, while Dittrich capped his off with a one-yard run with just 11 seconds left on the clock. In between was a third turnover on special teams by Calgary, when Jeff Thompson booted an Aaron Ifield punt right into the arms of Sam Hurl, who ran it back 44 yards for the Dinos' only points of the second half.

“I know the second half dragged out there, but we got a chance to play a lot of different guys today, and that's really the perfect situation for us,” said Nill. “It's also our tenth home win in a row, and teams are starting to realize that this is becoming a place where you're going to have to bring your 'A' game to even be close.”

In just 30 minutes' work, Glavic completed 11 of 16 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns while adding 44 yards along the ground. His top target was Coehoorn, who nearly doubled his season total with 149 yards on just five catches – an average of nearly 30 yards per completion – and hauled in a pair of touchdowns. Walter posted his third straight 100-yard game with 121 on 17 carries, scoring majors through the air and along the ground, while Parker carried the ball 33 yards and a touchdown while adding 38 receiving yards.

The tag-team of Clark and Dittrich finished the day with 273 yards through the air, with Dittrich going 20-for-28 for 161 yards, including a streak of 16 consecutive completions. Mathis Baumbach was the Clan's leading receiver with 84 yards, followed by Victor Marshall with 47. Simon Fraser also managed to become the first team to run for more than 100 yards against the Calgary defence, led by 66 from Brandon Halverson and 35 from Dittrich.

Ray Wladichuk led all players with seven tackles in a losing cause for the Clan, with Anthony DesLauriers adding six – including the lone sack of the night against Calgary backup pivot Deke Junior. Chase Moore and Chudi Nzekwu had 6.5 each for Calgary, with Matt Grohn right behind them with six. Grohn also added one interception, as did Andrea Bonaventura. Nicholas Shuster and David Eshleman replied with picks for Simon Fraser.

The Dinos will put their home record on the line when they face the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday, Oct. 10. First, however, they head west to face UBC (1-3) at Thunderbird Stadium for the first time since Nill's first game as head coach back in 2006. That game goes at 3 p.m. MT next Saturday, Oct. 3 live on The FAN 960 and www.fan960.com. One night earlier, the Clan will host the Saskatchewan Huskies at Terry Fox Field on their Burnaby, B.C. campus in a key match-up as the second half of the Canada West season kicks off.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CGY – Walter 9-yard TD catch from Glavic (Ifield convert), 3:26, 7-0 CGY
CGY – Walter 6-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 9:12, 14-0 CGY
SFU – Cook 27-yard FG, 13:00, 14-3 CGY
CGY – Coehoorn 28-yard TD catch from Glavic (Ifield convert), 15:00, 21-3 CGY

2nd Quarter
CGY – Parker 5-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 0:45, 28-3 CGY
CGY – Glavic 2-yard TD run (Ifield convert blocked), 12:11, 34-3 CGY
CGY – Ifield 75-yard kickoff single, 12:14, 35-3 CGY
CGY – Coehoorn 43-yard TD catch from Glavic (Ifield convert), 14:39, 42-3 CGY

3rd Quarter
SFU – TEAM safety, 3:08, 42-5 CGY
SFU – Cook 34-yard FG, 11:55, 42-8 CGY

4th Quarter
SFU – Zaleski 6-yard TD catch from Dittrich (Cook convert), 42-15 CGY
CGY- Hurl 44-yard fumble return for TD (Ifield convert), 49-15 CGY
SFU – Dittrich 1-yard TD run (Cook convert), 49-22 CGY

-UC-