VANCOUVER – Forced to play late in the game without conference MVP Eric Dzwilewski, the third-ranked University of Calgary Dinos survived a scare from the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday to escape with a 41-31 victory Saturday afternoon.

Calgary scored 10 points in the final 3:16 of the fourth quarter to break a 31-31 tie, opening the season with its 10th consecutive victory over the Thunderbirds. Johnny Mark's 42-yard field goal was followed up by a two-yard Mercer Timmis touchdown with just 43 seconds to go to seal the victory for the Dinos.

With Dzwilewski out with an injury sustained late in the third quarter, Andrew Buckley earned the victory for Calgary with an impressive performance in relief, going 6-for-11 for 80 yards through the air while adding another 10 yards on the ground, including his first career touchdown.

"There were some good things today, and a lot of things that scared me," said Dinos head coach Blake Nill of his youthful team's performance. "We needed to pick up a win here today, and next week we're going to be better. When week eight comes, we want to be in a position where we're able to compete in the playoffs. There are no freshmen in week eight.

"The defence did its part for success, the special teams did their part for success. And Buckley…he's a guy that could start for a lot of CIS teams, and we're lucky to have him. Looks like there could be a lot of weight pressed upon his shoulders here in the next week."

VIDEO: Blake Nill postgame

The game started slowly on both sides, with a scoreless draw and just 131 yards of total offence between the teams through the first quarter. Timmis finally opened the scoring 3:20 into the game with his first of three touchdowns on the afternoon, and by halftime the Dinos held a 10-7 lead.

That momentum lasted all of 14 seconds as Alex Morrison collected the opening kickoff of the second half and returned it 102 yards to the end zone for UBC, giving the Thunderbirds a 14-10 lead as the third quarter got underway. The Dinos took a lead into the fourth, however, after a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brett Blaszko by Dzwilewski along with Timmis' second score.

UBC managed to tie the score twice in the fourth quarter, leading to the final scoring surge for the Dinos in the late stages.

Turnovers played a key factor in the game, with Adam Laurensse picking off two errant UBC passes and Hunter Turnbull adding a third. And early in the fourth, Mac Sarro recovered a fumbled punt to give the Dinos great field position, setting up Buckley's touchdown to break what was then a 24-24 tie.

After a slow start to the run game, Timmis finished with 24 carries for 115 yards and the three majors. Dzwilewski had a solid day with 21 completions on 35 attempts for 240 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Buckley late in the third. The quarterback tandem spread the ball out, with eight different Dinos receivers catching at least one pass. Elie Bouka and Michael Klukas shared the team high with 64 receiving yards each.

For UBC, Brenden Deschamps had a big day with 22 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown along the ground along with two catches for 25 yards and another major. Carson Williams and Greg Bowcott split the pivot duties for the Thunderbirds, combining to go 11-for-26 for 139 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

UBC (0-1) heads to Edmonton to face the Alberta Golden Bears (0-1) next weekend. No. 3 Calgary (1-0), meanwhile, remains on the road next weekend to face the Regina Rams (0-1) Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. Kickoff goes at 7 p.m. MT, live on http://cgy.canadawest.tv.

The Dinos open at home on Saturday, Sept. 14 when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies at McMahon Stadium.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
No scoring.

2nd Quarter
CGY – Mercer Timmis 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 3:20, 7-0 CGY
UBC – Greg Boctoww 1-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 7:20, 7-7
CGY – Johnny Mark 16-yard FG, 14:54, 10-7 CGY

3rd Quarter
UBC – Alex Morrison 102-yard kickoff return TD (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 0:14, 14-10 UBC
CGY – Brett Blaszko 22-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 11:23, 17-14 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 15:00, 24-14 CGY

4th Quarter
UBC – Brenden Deschamps 59-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 0:56, 24-21 CGY
UBC – Quinn Van Gylswyk 17-yard FG, 5:17, 24-24
CGY – Andrew Buckley 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 7:45. 31-24 CGY
UBC – Brenden Deschamps 22-yard TD catch from Greg Bowcott, 10:07, 31-31
CGY – Johnny Mark 42-yard FG, 11:44, 34-31 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 2-yard TD run, 14:17, 41-31 CGY

-UC-