CALGARY – Just a week into the season, it's already a battle for first place Friday night at McMahon Stadium as the University of Calgary Dinos host the University of Manitoba Bisons in Week 2 action.

It's KICKOFF XIV, UCalgary's annual celebration to get the school year underway. Festivities begin at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon with the Students' Union Funzone and the UCalgary Alumni Block Party in the east parking lot of McMahon. The tailgate event features a barbecue, carnival games, and much more. 

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Stadium gates open at 4:30, with a highly-anticipated top-10 battle in U SPORTS football set to take the field at 5:30 p.m. CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op will have exclusive broadcast coverage of the game.

It's Manitoba's first-ever appearance at KICKOFF, which in its 14 iterations has seen 12 Dinos victories, all of them in succession.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

The upstart Bisons will be looking to prove that their takedown of then-No. 4 Saskatchewan by a whopping 43-19 score last week in Winnipeg was no fluke, while the Dinos are out to extend their KICKOFF win streak to 13 games. One team will have at least a share of first place at 2-0 when the dust settles Friday night.

HEADLINES

• It's the first of two meetings between the Dinos and Bisons in 2019. The return match is set for Oct. 19 at IG Field in Winnipeg
• The Dinos are 12-2 all-time at KICKOFF, dating back to the first event in 2006. More than 65,000 fans have come through the McMahon turnstiles over that time, with an average of more than 6,500 over the past three seasons
• The Dinos and Bisons met in a conference semifinal last November, which the Dinos won 37-13.
• Friday's tilt will match up the only two starting quarterbacks in Canada West that return from 2018 in Manitoba's Des Catellier and Calgary's Adam Sinagra. Catellier, a Calgary product, threw for just 163 yards against the Huskies last week but still managed three TDs. Both QBs spent time at CFL camps in the off-season, with Sinagra in Edmonton and Catellier in Saskatchewan.

No. 4 CALGARY DINOS (1-0)
Last week: defeated Alberta 41-31
Next week: at UBC

 

• It wasn't the prettiest start to the season last Friday night in Edmonton as the Dinos took a 41-31 win in a penalty-filled contest over Alberta. Deane Leonard sealed the W with his 62-yard pick-six on the final play of the game.
• Sinagra completed 17 of 33 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown against the Bears, with Jalen Philpot leading the way with five catches for 77 yards and the major. Jeshrun Antwi had a solid outing along the ground, picking up 79 yards on 17 carries.
• The Calgary coaching staff will want to nip some discipline issues in the bud heading into Week 2. The Dinos were flagged 25 times, costing them 210 yards last week in Edmonton. The Bears did add 26 penalties for 192 yards of their own, but those kind of numbers aren't sustainable.
• Calgary's defense came up with three interceptions in Edmonton, including Leonard's game-winner. Safety Matthew Lucyshyn had seven tackles to lead the way, with Charlie Moore and Joe Cant each adding five.
• Next week the Dinos will play another big game in front of a huge crowd as they head to Vancouver for UBC's Homecoming next Saturday night. 

No. 6 MANITOBA BISONS (1-0)
Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 43-19
Next week: at Alberta
 

• The Bisons made a statement in their opener, knocking off defending Canada West champion and then-No. 4 ranked Saskatchewan 43-19 last Friday in Winnipeg.
• Manitoba was honoured with two of the three weekly CW awards, with receiver Macho Bockru earning the offensive nod while defensive end Derek Dufault took the defensive award. Bockru had six catches for 99 yards and three touchdowns, while Dufault had five tackles, including two sacks and a tackle for loss, as the Bisons shut the Huskies down effectively.
• Manitoba came into the season ranked third in the CW coaches' poll, two behind consensus favourite Calgary.
• The Bisons remain on the road in Wild Rose Country next week, with a Friday night date against the Alberta Golden Bears at Foote Field in Edmonton on the slate.

-UC-