BOX SCORE VANCOUVER – The anticipated wild west shootout materialized at first but quickly became a one-sided affair as the No. 2 Calgary Dinos improved to 4-0 with a dominant 62-7 win over the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium.

The game was tied 7-7 after just 2:40 of the first quarter – but Calgary went on to score 55 unanswered points to drop the Thunderbirds to 0-4 on the season. The Dinos racked up 710 yards of total offence on the afternoon, and Johnny Mark was not called on to punt until there were less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Dinos quarterback Eric Dzwilewski set a school single game record with his 88.9 per cent completion rate, going 24-of-27 for 388 yards – his third career high in four games – and three touchdowns on the afternoon. Five different receivers had at least five catches, seven different players scored touchdowns, and the Dinos out-gained the vaunted Thunderbird offence by 433 yards.

As good as the Dinos offence was on the day, their defence matched it stride-for-stride. Reigning Hec Crighton winner Billy Greene, the UBC quarterback, opened the game going 2-for-2 for 64 yards on the opening drive – but after that, he managed just four completions on 17 attempts for 35 yards and an interception.

“I thought the defence played very well,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill. “They're a top offensive unit, and initially there may have been a case of nerves as we were playing perhaps the best player in CIS. But once they started settling down, we were fine.

“And the offensive unit is getting more and more confident with our new scheme each and every week. We try to spread out the ball and take what the defence will give us, and then we have good athletes who will make plays when they get the ball.”

The Dinos started with the ball, and a lengthy Jake Harty return put them in great field position right off the hop. Just 62 seconds into the game, Steven Lumbala was in the end zone with a two-yard run after UBC linebacker Domenic Mercuri was ejected for rough play, and the Dinos took a 7-0 lead.

The Thunderbirds responded by marching downfield themselves, with Greene running it in himself for what turned out to be the T-Birds' only score of the day on a four-play, 83-yard drive that took just 91 seconds – and with just 2:40 elapsed on the clock 14 points had been scored.

From there, though, it was all Dinos. Johnny Mark hit a 22-yard field goal to put Calgary up for good, and what followed was a parade of touchdowns as the Dinos scored on six consecutive drives stretching from the end of the first quarter through the third, not including a kneel-down at the end of the first half.

Chris Dobko's 7-yard TD catch from Dzwilewski opened the floodgates and put the Dinos up 17-7 after one. Richard Snyder scored on a 12-yard reception early in the second, and a Wyatt Getty interception of Greene gave the ball right back to Calgary. Lumbala's second of the night from nine yards out capped off a stretch of 4:15 where the Dinos found the end zone three times.

Cuong Thai Lieu's first CIS rushing major, a Jake Harty catch, a one-yard run by Dzwilewski, and a 17-yard reception for Snyder from backup QB Andrew Buckley rounded out the touchdowns, and Mark added a 39-yard field goal in the fourth to complete the scoring.

Lumbala rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries before giving way to Lieu and Mercer Timmis for the second half as the Dinos racked up 250 rushing yards. In the receiving department, Snyder's six catches for 116 yards and two scores led the way, while Taylor Nill added 105 yards on 5 receptions and Dobko gained 93 yards on six catches.

For the fourth game in a row, Mike Edem was the defensive leader with 10 tackles, including a pair for loss. He leads Canada West with 38 tackles through just four games, 14 tackles ahead of his nearest opponent in the conference standings. Jesse Zimmer and Michael Klassen added 4.5 tackles each.

UBC heads to Edmonton next week to take on the Alberta Golden Bears in a battle of 0-4 teams, while the Dinos return home to face the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2) in what could be a first-round playoff preview. Following that game, Canada West takes the Thanksgiving weekend off for a bye – and Nill knows the Dinos have a tough one in store for them against the Huskies.

“We're still below .500 against Saskatchewan since I've been here, and that's because they always have a solid program,” said Nill. “They have a lot of tradition, and we need to make sure we go out and play our game and prepare all week for what's going to be another tough, tough week.”

Kickoff goes Saturday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. from McMahon Stadium, live on Shaw TV and QR77 radio.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CGY – Steven Lumbala 2-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 1:02, 7-0 CGY
UBC – Billy Greene 1-yard TD run (Thomas Moult convert), 2:40, 7-7
CGY – Johnny Mark 22-yard FG, 5:05, 10-7 CGY
CGY – Chris Dobko 7-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 14:31, 17-7 CGY

2nd Quarter
CGY – Richard Snyder 12-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 2:11, 24-7 CGY
CGY – Steven Lumbala 9-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 3:44, 31-7 CGY
CGY – Cuong Thai Lieu 6-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 8:30, 38-7 CGY
CGY – Jake Harty 8-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 13:39, 45-7 CGY

3rd Quarter
CGY – Eric Dzwilewski 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 5:52, 52-7 CGY
CGY – Richard Snyder 17-yard TD catch from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 12:57, 59-7 CGY

4th Quarter
CGY – Johnny Mark 39-yard FG, 2:29, 62-7 CGY

-UC-