EDMONTON – Daniel Sananes threw for 317 yards and two scores to lead the University of Calgary Dinos to a 24-11 win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears Saturday afternoon from Commonwealth Stadium.

Jordan Chizda picked off a pair of passes to lead the Dinos defence in a strong showing, holding Alberta to just 271 total yards without their starting quarterback Eli Hetlinger. Alberta punted the ball a season-high 10 times, earning just 13 first downs. 

The loss is the third-straight for the Bears, dropping them to 2-4 in conference play. Saturday's win was the first on the season for Calgary, as they move to 1-5.

"We were able to play well in all three phases of the game today," Calgary head coach Wayne Harris said. "Offensively, we were able to sustain drives and play well. Defensively, we forced a lot of two-and-outs, which we've struggled with at times this season. Seeing the progress from a lot of guys in many areas was really encouraging."

Coming in as a fairly heavy road underdog, Calgary opened the scoring early in a dominant opening quarter. Sananes found Zack Smith for a 33-yard TD just 3:29 into the game, before Chris MacLean connected on a 27-yard field goal to give the Dinos a 10-0 lead.

The Bears started to find offensive rhythm in the second, recording six first downs, thanks in large part to a couple long completions by Jonathan Ericson. Jonathan Giustini got the Bears on the board with a 21-yard field goal, before Jonathan Rosery tied the game with an 18-yard receiving touchdown. 

Calgary turned the tables late in the second, as a Luke Hornung pass intended for Rosery was picked off by Chizda. The rookie jumped an out route and easily returned it 33 yards for the score. 

Alberta never found their offence again in the second half, recording four first downs over the final 30 minutes of football. A missed Giustini field goal was the lone point for the Bears in the second, with Calgary icing the win with a Mikel-Ange Desjardins TD early in the fourth. Desjardins finished with eight catches for 118 yards – both career highs.

Three Dinos players were able to push their way to the backfield for takedowns of the Alberta QBs on the day, as Josh Hyer, Nate Beauchemin and Steen Rasmussen all finished with one sack, with Hyer racking up three tackles for loss in a strong showing by Calgary's defence.

"Josh really stepped up his game today," Harris said. "He's a leader for us and he was continually getting in the backfield today. Our D-line as a whole played significantly better and allowed our LBs to flow much better. That really helped to limit their run game."

The Bears, holding on to the 4th seed in CW, will visit the 5th place Manitoba Bisons next weekend, before hosting third-place UBC on October 29th. Calgary will return home for a meeting with the Regina Rams next weekend. Kickoff at McMahon Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.

-UC-