CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos put up a smothering defensive effort to capture the 18th Canada West championship in program history, defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies 29-4 in the 83rd Hardy Cup Saturday at McMahon Stadium.
It's the ninth conference title in the last dozen years for the Dinos, and avenges the Huskies' upset win on the same field in 2018.
Calgary's defence, which has been the driving force for this team all season, was outstanding again, giving up just four points, forcing two turnovers, as well as stopping Saskatchewan on both their third down attempts.
"They bent a lot, but we didn't let them in the end zone, and that was a real key," said Dinos head coach
Wayne Harris. "Our confidence continued to grow into the second half, we knew this game was going to come down right to the bitter end and it proved to be that way."
Both defences came to play in the first half, as after two quarters of football the scoreboard read 4-1 for the Dinos.
The offences had their opportunities in the first half, with both offences being inside the opposing teams five-yard line, and coming away with zero points. For Calgary, a fumble by Calgary's short-yardage quarterback
Josiah Joseph on the Huskies' one-yard line took almost sure points off the board, while Saskatchewan gambled at the end of the half, electing to go for the score from the two-yard line and seeing the pass attempt sail incomplete.
The Dinos finally put the ball in the end zone 5:20 into the third as
Adam Sinagra stood in, took a hit, and delivered his best throw of the game for a 30-yard touchdown strike to
Tyson Philpot. It was also the last throw of the day for Sinagra, who was shaken up on the play and gave way to
Josiah Joseph.
After the Huskies kicked their lone field foal of the game to make it a one score game, Joseph led a 10-play 75-yard drive that he finished off himself with a one-yard plunge.
A
Niko DiFonte 37-yard field goal made it a three-possession game, and with the Saskatchewan offence unable to gain any traction all half, the Dinos added another Joseph touchdown for good measure in the dying seconds of the game to take the 29-4 lead.
While much of the talk was about the Saskatchewan star running back Adam Machart, who did have a solid day with 16 carries for 122 yards, the Dinos actually outrushed the Huskies 168 to 132 on the day. It was a team effort for the Dinos, as
Robinson Rodrigues carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards, while Sinagra added 53 yards of his own, and Joseph had 27.
Deane Leonard and
Grant McDonald were everywhere for the Dinos defence, each finishing with 5.5 tackles.
"What was the score? They got four points? Are you kidding me?" Sinagra said after the game. "For our defence to show up that big and hold us in it for the first half…offensively we didn't do them any favours. I'm just so proud of everyone, the way we battled. Scoring on the first drive of the second half was huge for us, and it just set the momentum for the rest of the game."
With the win, the Dinos will now turn their attention to the OUA Yates Cup champions, the McMaster Marauders, who they will host next weekend at McMahon Stadium in a national semifinal.
"We will have to go to study on McMaster, it has been a long time since we have seen them, and they were a much different team back then," said Harris.
The U SPORTS Mitchell Bowl kicks off at 1 p.m. local next Saturday, Nov. 16.
NOTES: It's the 154th Canada West championship in UCalgary history, the 18th in football, and the third so far in 2019-20 (men's cross country, women's soccer) … four is the lowest point total by a team in the Hardy Cup since 2010, when Calgary defeated Alberta 56-3 …the Dinos improve to 17-8 in Hardy Cup games, with the 18th title coming before the playoff was instituted in 1975 …
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