WINNIPEG – The No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos dug themselves a big hole early and couldn't recover, falling 43-29 to the University of Manitoba Bisons Saturday afternoon at IG Field.
A slow start on offence, coupled with a short field for the Bisons throughout most of the first half, put the Dinos down on the scoreboard early, and they stared a 24-point deficit in the face heading to the half. The second half saw a much better performance, but the Bisons held them off to pick up the upset win and clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in Canada West.
Despite the loss, the Dinos did clinch a home playoff game for the 12th consecutive season thanks to Regina's win over Alberta – not that it was any consolation for a subpar performance on the road.
"We weren't well-enough prepared," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris following the game. "We got off to a slow start, we made too many mistakes, and we took way too many penalties. Manitoba was well-prepared, better than we were.
"In the first half, field position absolutely hurt us."
The recipe for Manitoba's success came from their defence, who had two interceptions and a sack fumble at critical points in the game, allowing them to hold onto an early lead. The Dinos didn't help themselves with penalties, as they took 12 for 146 yards — compared to 13 for 73 on the Bisons side.
Manitoba opened the game strong, as Colby Kyliuk partially blocked a
Hunter Karl punt to set the Bisons up near the Dinos red zone. Bisons QB Des Catellier then capitalized on a bootleg, scampering for a five-yard score to put the home team up 7-0.
Bisons kicker Matt Riley would add two field goals, only offset by a Dinos rouge, to put Manitoba up 13-1 after a quarter. Early in the second quarter, the Bison would strike again, using a 56-yard reception by Macho Bockru to set up a touchdown pass-and-catch to Abdul Karim-Gassama, the first major of his U SPORTS career.
After another Riley field goal, the Dinos answered with their first major of the game as Sinagra connected with
Dallas Boath for a five-yard score, set up by seven completed passes by the outstanding Calgary QB.
The Bisons weren't done, though, as the Dinos took two bad penalties on a drive late in the quarter, then followed it up with a short punt. Set up at their opponent's 23, running back Michael Ritchott punched in a touchdown. After another Riley field goal, the Bisons went into halftime up 33-7.
To start the second half, the Dinos looked much more composed. After Manitoba missed a field goal on their first drive, Sinagra completed six of his next seven passes, concluding in a
Nathanael Durkan touchdown and a two-point convert to make it 33-15.
With momentum on their side, the second half's biggest play came when halfback Shae Weekes jumped a route on Calgary's next drive, got out of two tackles, and returned an interception 89 yards for a Bisons touchdown. Though the Dinos would score two more touchdowns on a
Josiah Joseph run and a touchdown pass to
Jalen Philpot — who led all players with 172 receiving yards — it wasn't enough to cut into the Bisons lead built to that point.
Calgary actually owned the game statistically, racking up 532 offensive yards against 285 for Manitoba. Sinagra threw for 341 yards with Joseph adding another 98, while
Nathanael Durkan picked up 97 receiving yards and
Hunter Karl 95.
The Dinos will wrap up the 2019 regular season next Saturday, Oct. 26 when they host the UBC Thunderbirds. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.
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