VANCOUVER – After giving up the first 13 points of the contest, the fourth-ranked University of Calgary Dinos stormed back to score 47 unanswered over the final 33 minutes of the game as they handed the UBC Thunderbirds a 47-13 defeat Saturday night at Thunderbird Stadium.
The Dinos remain alone in first place in Canada West with the victory, while UBC falls to 0-3.
Things didn't start out well for Calgary as UBC, playing in front of a large Homecoming crowd, blocked a
Niko DiFonte punt less than two minutes into the contest and ran it back for a major. A pair of Garrin McDonnell field goals from 27 and 43 yards made it 13-0 for the Thunderbirds with just five minutes left in the first half.
Adam Sinagra completed 26 of 38 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns as the Dinos found their rhythm late in the second quarter and scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-13 lead into halftime. The first came from
Jalen Philpot, who hauled in a 12-yards Sinagra pass to cap off an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
After sending the Thunderbirds two-and-out, the Dinos went on an 80-yard drive that
Josiah Joseph finished with a one-yard TD plunge with 20 seconds to go in the half.
Any halftime momentum UBC hoped to gained was snuffed out quickly by star corner
Deane Leonard, who picked off a Tommy Yanchuk pass that tipped off his receiver's hands and raced 72 yards to the end zone for his second pick-six of the young season early in the quarter.
From there it was all Dinos, despite depleting depth at receiver. Already missing
Hunter Karl,
Tyson Philpot, and
Dallas Boath from the lineup, the Dinos lost the services of
Alex Basilis and
Jack McDonald during the game – making room for others to step in. Joseph played much of the second half at receiver, making a pair of catches, while
Nathanael Durkan and
Matson Tulloch got significant action.
Durkan scored his first career touchdown in the third quarter, before Sinagra tossed back-to-back TD strikes to Tulloch – who ended the night as the Dinos' leading receiver, with seven catches for 78 yards.
"Matson is a very good receiver, he has been in the program for a while and worked really hard," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris. "We ask guys to be ready when they get the opportunity, he certainly did that today.
"We had some miscues, dropped passes, missed blocks…it comes down to execution," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris. "We didn't execute real well in the first quarter. The defence bent but didn't break, and credit to them – that's two straight games now without allowing an offensive touchdown."
Despite the lineup turmoil around him, Sinagra held his composure and settled in to deliver his best performance of the season – even contributing with his feet, picking up 47 yards on six carries.
"Adam is a big play guy," said Harris. "He's an All-Canadian for a reason, and he maintained his compusre really well, not allowing first quarter to fluster him. He's a veteran who handled the situation well, and when he took off to run he kept drives alive and put points on the board."
Calgary's defence allowed just 220 yards by UBC, with Sterling Taylor's six solo tackles leading the way. Yanchuk completed 14 of 22 passes for 112 yards for UBC, with Sharique Khan leading the Thunderbirds with 47 yards on 12 carries along the ground.
The Dinos host Regina (1-2) next Friday night at McMahon Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. live on TELUS Optik channel 997 and CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
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