CALGARY – Nate Beauchemin tied a program record with three interceptions – returning one for a touchdown – but the University of Calgary Dinos football team saw a two-point game midway through the fourth quarter turn into a 28-12 loss to the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night from McMahon Stadium.

In a game that was dominated by the defenses, the Dinos forced five turnovers in total on the night against the high-powered Huskies offence, but could never quite get anything going when they had the ball as Saskatchewan was able to grind the game out on the ground late for the win.

"I thought our defence played outstanding," Dinos head coach Wayne Harris said. "They worked hard. They got worn down at the end of the game. Saskatchewan's physicality and run game kind of took over there at the end, but (our defence) was the positive of the night. Special teams did okay, but offensively we have to take a serious look at what we're doing here because we aren't getting any offensive production whatsoever and it's just embarrassing." 

After a single on the opening kickoff by the Huskies, it looked like that would be the only scoring the opening quarter with both offences struggling to find rhythm early.

Cue Nate Beauchemin.

With just under two minutes left in the opening frame, the third-year defensive back stepped in front of an out route and made the easy interception and jogged 32 yards to the endzone for the score to get the Dinos on the board.

After a David Solie 42-yard field goal early in the second got the Huskies closer, the visitors took the lead just two plays later when Nixen Voll made a near mirror-image play of Beauchemin, jumping a Dinos out route and making the easy grab for a pick-six of his own to put his team back in front, 11-7.

Calgary forced a safety just before halftime to trail 11-9 at the break.

The defences continued to dominate after intermission. After another interception by the Dinos D – this time by Jacob Biggs at the Calgary 50-yard line late into the third – Calgary put together its best drive of the night. The team used 11 plays to march 54 yards – 46 of which came on the ground – before the drive stalled at the Saskatchewan 6-yard line and settling for a 13-yard Vince Triumbari field goal to keep the game tight at 14-12.

The Huskies responded with a concerted effort in the run game, as well, driving 75 yards on 12 plays and chewing up over six minutes off the clock on a score by Ryker Frank to go ahead, 21-12 with 8:36 to play. 

It was much of the same on the next possession, this time with Ted Kubongo capping a four-play, 46-yard drive with a seven-yard burst up the middle to make it 28-12.

Things got interesting late as Beauchemin hauled in his third pick of the day on the Huskies next drive, grabbing the ball at the nine and sprinting the 101 yards to the endzone for what looked to be his second pick-six of the day to draw the Dinos back into it late, but a pair of off-setting penalties during the play brought the ball back to midfield and the Calgary offence couldn't take advantage of the opportunity.

"We know that we're a young team, and that's been the issue – it's those fatal mistakes in the fourth quarter that keep us out of games," Harris said. "This fourth quarter was not our best quarter. We've got to learn to finish and play a through a complete game."

Offensively, Matthieu Clarke was the bright spot for the Dinos. The second-year back returned from injury for his season debut, carrying the ball 18 times for 80 yards. Xavier Vaillancourt completed 10-of-19 passes on the night for 76 yards.

Things didn't come much easier for his counterpart, as Anton Amundrud finished the night 20-of-30 for just 171 yards and four interceptions. The key performance of the night for the Huskies came from their ball carriers, as Frank finished with 105 yards on 14 carries, while Kubongo toted the ball 15 times for 90 yards.

The three picks by Beauchemin tied a program record for interceptions in a single game. It has previously been accomplished six times in program history – most recently by Steve Truzak back on Nov. 7, 2009 in a 45-13 win over Alberta in the Canada West Semifinals.

"This is my first game with a pick," Beauchemin said. "It all happened so fast. It really is just making your reads and doing what coaches say. That's really what it was - just staying in your playbook and playing the coaches' system and plays come. Truly. 

"I'm extremely proud of (our defence). We held the No. 5 team in the nation to 171 yards passing and 350 (yards) total. You can't complain about that. At the end of the day, mistakes are going to happen. It's a team sport, so if the full team isn't playing to their highest level, then a loss is going to happen. So, as a team, we have to come together."

With the result, the Dinos fall to 0-4 on the year, while the Huskies move to 3-1.

Up next, Calgary returns to the road next weekend with a trip to Manitoba for a rare Sunday contest inside IG Field. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. MT. Meanwhile, the Huskies head home to host UBC.

-UC-