SASKATOON – Adam Sinagra put up a jaw-dropping 569 passing yards to lead the No. 3 University of Calgary Dinos to a 37-28 win over the ninth-ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at Griffiths Stadium.
Sinagra's total was both the second-best in school history and the second-best ever in U SPORTS football, just 58 yards behind Greg Vavra's record of 627 also set against the Huskies way back on Oct. 7, 1983.
Two of Sinagra's three touchdown passes went to rookie
Jalen Philpot, who finished the night with eight catches for 135 yards.
Hunter Karl scored the other receiving major, finishing with 131 yards on five catches on the night. A fourth-year Pointe Claire, Que. native, Sinagra completed 32 of 40 passes on the night and extended his lead atop the U SPORTS passing leaderboard with his once-in-a-generation performance.
"Saskatchewan is a hard-nosed football team, so you just have to be physically and mentally prepared, and you have to go out to do your job," said a surprised Sinagra after being informed of his passing total. "We all did our jobs tonight – receivers, offensive line, running backs, everyone did their jobs and we got the W. It wasn't pretty, but we got the W.
"We kind of drifted off there in the fourth, we should have put them away. But they're a tough team to play, and we're just glad to get the W."
"Adam has really emerged as a premier quarterback, and he has played very well for us ever since he had to step in when
Jimmy Underdahl got hurt two years ago," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris. "He's really been a leader of this team and has owned that this year. It's nice to see him throwing the ball so well and hitting his targets – he has a lot of great receivers there, and it has been really exciting for the first three games."
Despite the massive offensive performance – the Dinos put up a total of 686 offensive yards on the night – the game was a tight affair, with the outcome in doubt until the fourth quarter in the battle of the only remaining undefeated teams in Canada West. The Dinos improve to 3-0 on the season, while Saskatchewan falls to 2-1.
It was a great start for the home team on the night the Huskies honoured longtime head coach Brian Towriss in a pregame ceremony. After returning the opening kickoff into Dinos territory, the Huskies got on the board first just 2:22 into the contest when Colton Klassen picked up the first of his two receiving touchdowns from Kyle Siemens. But the Dinos responded immediately, with
Jeshrun Antwi racing 69 yards to the end zone less than two minutes later to even the score at 7-7.
Calgary scored back-to-back TDs to start the second quarter, with Karl and Philpot picking up 9- and 12-yard Sinagra passes, respectively, building up a 21-7 lead. Three Saskatchewan field goals ensued as the Dinos were unable to score for nearly a full quarter, but Calgary wrapped up the third quarter in style with a 30-yard
Niko DiFonte field goal, followed by a highlight-reel 50-yard Sinagra-to-Philpot scoring play that made it 31-16.
The Huskies made it close with a 70-yard Klassen touchdown catch-and-run down the sidelines in the fourth, but the Dinos were able to keep the Huskies at arm's length en route to the win.
A week after taking fewer than 40 penalty yards, the Dinos were flagged 11 times for 225 yards in the contest.
"We expected a tough game – Saskatchewan is a good team and it's a really tough place to play," said Harris. "Nothing comes easy here – they're a proud team and they play physical in front of their crowd."
The Dinos and Huskies will meet again in two weeks at McMahon Stadium. First, though, Calgary will remain on the road next week when they visit Vancouver and the UBC Thunderbirds (2-1) next Saturday, Sept. 22, while the Huskies will host Regina (2-1) next Friday night.
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