CALGARY – With first place in the Canada West on the line, a depleted University of Calgary Dinos were led by backup quarterback
Josiah Joseph to a convincing 34-16 win over their rivals from the north, the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.
Usual starter and reigning Hec Crighton winner
Adam Sinagra was sidelined for the contest, giving the reins to fourth-year pivot Joseph, who threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
"It's a huge win, I mean it was for first place," said Joseph on the importance of this game. "I tried not to think about that too much, I just tried to focus on what I could do, but this means most likely playoffs will be coming through here."
Alberta was clearly ramped up for the battle of the two 4-1 teams and scored on their opening drive, taking just two minutes and 19 seconds before quarterback Brad Launhardt found Tanner Buchanan for a two-yard score to give the Bears a 7-0 lead.
Calgary would answer right back on its opening drive. After feeding
Jeshrun Antwi early, Joseph was able to find
Jalen Philpot wide open down the sideline for a 49-yard score.
With the score 10-9 for the Dinos, Alberta would put together an incredible 109-yard drive into a brisk wind, capped off by another Buchanan touchdown snag, and the Bears would lead 16-14 at halftime.
From there on out it was all Dinos, outscoring the Bears 20-0 in the second half, with Joseph throwing two more touchdowns to
Nathanael Durkan and
Dallas Boath.
The Dinos offence received a huge boost this week as receivers
Hunter Karl and
Dallas Boath returned to the lineup, and Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris was happy to have those two back.
"Having Hunter in the lineup, along with Dallas takes some of the pressure off of Jalen, so that really helped a lot," said Harris. "Hunter has been a team leader for us for a few years now, and has always been a clutch receiver."
Karl caught seven passes for 86 yards, to go along with Philpot's eight catches for 132 yards. Antwi had a solid day on the ground, with 13 carries for 82 yards.
The Dinos defence, which was superb especially in the second half, was led by middle linebacker
Charlie Moore, who had six tackles and one sack in the game.
Launhardt had a solid day, completing 20 of 30 passes for 257 yards and two TDs. His top target was Ben Kopczynski, who hauled in five passes for 73 yards, while Buchanan's two catches both went for touchdowns.
Calgary will now enjoy a much-needed bye week as they try and get healthy before heading to Manitoba to take on the Bisons. Following the conference-wide bye, the Golden Bears will host Regina Oct. 19 at Foote Field.
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