LETHBRIDGE – The top seeded Calgary Dinos punched their ticket to the Canada West Championship game Sunday afternoon with a convincing 50-12 win over the host Lethbridge Pronghorns.
 
They will now face the Victoria Vikes in the finals, who happen to also be the host of the national championships, Nov. 3-6. Because the Vikes made the final, the Dinos automatically qualify as the second team to represent Canada West at the championship. This is the first time in program history that the Dinos will have a presence on the national stage.
 
A year after the undefeated Dinos were upset by the Pronghorns in the semifinal, the Dinos were not going to allow that to happen again this season. In the opening minute, the Dinos marched the ball down the field and Elyse Sandron opened the scoring with the try and convert.
 
The Temi Ogunjimi show began from there. She scored two quick tries, the first coming off a maul that the Dinos pushed into 'Horns touch area. Sandron converted one of the two tries to give the Dinos a 19-0 lead.
 
After a nervous opening 15 minutes, the 'Horns finally put some pressure on the Dinos, holding them deep in their own end but the 'Horns struggled to maintain possession and the Dinos were able to shut down the 'Horns attack.
 
In the back half of the opening 40 minutes, Ogunjimi was back at it for the Dinos. After putting the Dinos up 26-0 with another convert from Sandron, Ogunjimi intercepted an errant Pronghorn pass and was off to the races for her fourth try of the day.
 
Ogunjimi rounded out the first half scoring just before the half time whistle for her fifth of the half. The try was unconverted and put the Dinos up 38-0 at the break.
 
Out of break, the 'Horns looked to get back into the game but the Dinos defensive play remained strong, shutting down the 'Horns with strong tackling and forcing turnovers.
 
Sandron picked up her second try of the day, racing along the sideline to beat the 'Horns defenders to the touch line and converted her own try with a strong kick from the sideline.
 
Pronghorn fans finally got something to cheer about in the 58^th minute. Emiola Olalekan took the ball at the 'Horns own 20-yard line and scampered the length of the field to score the 'Horns first try. Stefani Lutterotti kicked the try to make the score 45-7.
 
With six minutes remaining, Taejah Thompson added to the Dinos lead, sprinting down the side lines, the try went unconverted to push the score to 50-7.
 
The 'Horns would hit the scoreboard with fifth-year #8 Frederique Tremblay touching the ball down in the corner for a unconverted try to conclude the scoring.
 
The Dinos now move on to the Canada West final Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm versus the winner of the second semifinal between the Victoria Vikes and Alberta Pandas, while the 'Horns will play in the third place game at 11:00am. Both games will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
Scoring Summary
 
First half
Dino Try – Elysa Sandron (convert good – Sandron) 7-0
Dino Try – Temi Ogunjimi (convert good Sandron) 14-0
Dino Try – Temi Ogunjimi (convert missed) 19-0
Dino Try – Temi Ogunjimi (convert good – Sandron) 26-0
Dino Try – Temi Ogunjimi (convert good – Sandron) 33-0
Dino Try – Temi Ogunjimi (convert missed) – 38-0
 
Second half
Dino Try – Elysa Sandron (convert good) 45-0
Horns Try – Emiola Olalekan (convert good- Stefani Lutterotti) 45-7
Dino Try – Taejah Thompson (convert missed) 50-7
Horns Try – Frederique Tremblay (convert missed) 50-12