RECAP (Canada West) Timmis sets Dinos record in win; Bisons spoil UBC’s Homecoming; Alberta wins first since 2010 [stats]

Andrew Buckley’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Brett Blaszko with 3:31 remaining propelled the No. 2 ranked Calgary Dinos to a 38-24 win over the No. 6 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.

Saskatchewan held a 24-21 lead at halftime, but the Huskies were stifled by the Calgary defence in the second half, failing to register a point. The Dinos managed to break through in the final minutes with the Blaszko major and a Mercer Timmis touchdown in the games final minutes. Both defenses improved in the second half after allowing a combined 652 yards in the first.

Andrew Buckley finished the night 21-of-32 for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air for the Calgary. Timmis rushed for three touchdowns on his way to racking up 208 yards on 22 carries. Jake Hardy and Rashaun Simonise both hauled in six passes.

Huskie pivot Drew Burko went 21-for-44 in the loss. Burko threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Brydon Ozmun caught two of those touchdowns, ending the night with seven catches for 77 yards. Jarvis James was the leading rusher for the Huskies with 155 yards on 21 carries.

Mark Ingram was once again solid in the Huskies secondary recording 10 tackles (7 solo), an interception and a forced fumble and recovery.

Cyril Iwanegbe led the Dinos with 10 tackles (6 solo) and a tackle for loss.

Calgary will host the Manitoba Bisons in Week 4 of the Canada West schedule. Saskatchewan will travel to Regina next week for its lone meeting with the provincial rival Rams.

GAME RECAP BY QUARTER

1^st Quarter

After recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff, it took Calgary just three plays to punch in the first major of the game on a three-yard Mercer Timmis rush at 1:17.

On their third possession of the game, Saskatchewan responded with a major of their own. Drew Burko connected with John Trumpy from 14-yards out at 10:26 to tie the

Jarvis James set the Huskies up on their very next drive with a 35-yard run deep into Dino territory. The run lead to a Denton Kolodzinski 16-yard field goal and the first deficit the Dinos have faced in 2014.

Mercer Timmis quickly restored the Dinos lead with a 23-yard rush on the final play of the first quarter. Timmis accumulated 71 rushing yards, including a 48-yard scamper, on the drive.

2^nd Quarter

A fake punt attempt by the Dinos was snuffed out by Saskatchewan, setting the Huskies up with the ball on Calgary’s side of half. From there Burko would cap off a drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Brydon Ozmun, his tenth passing touchdown of the season.

After already recovering a fumble in the first quarter, Mark Ingram got his second turnover of the game intercepting Dino quarterback Andrew Buckley. The second straight turnover by Calgary set up a 90-yard Huskie drive that ended with Ozmun’s second touchdown catch of the game at 13:07.

Jake Hardy returned the ensuing Huskie kickoff to midfield. Andrew Buckley would drive the Dinos down field as the game neared halftime finding Brendon Thera-Plamondon for a 20-yard touchdown to close the Huskie lead to three at 14:14.

3^rd Quarter

Calgary tied the game up early in the second half with a 37-yard Johnny Mark field goal. The kick at 4:55 was set up by Jake Harty’s 23-yard punt return to the Saskatchewan side of midfield.

4^th Quarter

Calgary scored the first touchdown of the second half at 11:31. Brett Blaszko got a short pass from Buckley, broke a tackle and found his way into the end zone from 18 yards out.

Mercer Timmis added to the Calgary lead in the closing minutes with a 35-yard touchdown run.

Source: Saskatchewan Huskies Sports Info

SASKATOON – Third-year tailback Mercer Timmis became the University of Calgary’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns Friday night as the Dinos scored a big road win by a 38-24 margin over the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Timmis, the reigning Canada West MVP, recorded a trio of rushing TDs on the night, giving him 30 in his career – one better than Matt Walter’s (2007-11) career total of 29. Timmis recorded the feat in just 17 conference games, and he did it on a night where each score was valuable to his team as the Dinos came back from a 10-point deficit in the second quarter to improve to 3-0 in his career.

“It’s just an honour to be up there with guys like Matt Walter,” said the understated Timmis. “A lot of credit goes to my offensive line and my teammates, and I just couldn’t be happier where I am with this program.”

In addition to his three touchdowns, Timmis picked up 208 rushing yards on 22 carries for his best performance of the season.

“It was a back-and-forth battle, just a physical game and I think everybody here is leaving with some bruises,” said Timmis. “Sask came out ready to play, and we didn’t match their tempo at the beginning of the game. It took a while for us to get going.”

After a see-saw first half that saw Saskatchewan lead by as many as 10 points, the Huskies took a three-point lead into the break. A Johnny Mark field goal for the Dinos accounted for the only points of the third quarter to tie it at 24-24, setting the stage for a stalemate that the Dinos finally broke late in the fourth.

With less than four minutes to play, Andrew Buckley found Brett Blaszko over the middle for an 18-yard major and what turned out to be the game-winning points. And after the Calgary defence held and forced a turnover on downs two drives later, Timmis waltzed in from 35 yards to seal it.

His first two scores bookended the first quarter. The opener came just 77 seconds in after the Dinos forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, leading to a three-yard Timmis TD. The second came just seconds after the Huskies took their first lead of the game: after Denton Kolodzinski hit a 16-yard field goal to put the home side up 10-7, the Dinos took the ball on the 35. Three plays and 75 yards later, they were in the end zone – with 71 of those yards coming courtesy of Timmis.

“We went in after the first half, and the fact was we were outplayed to that point,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill, who recorded his 99^thcareer regular season victory on the night the Dinos celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the team’s first-ever game in 1964. “Despite that, we were only three points down and we came out and a good second half. Defensively, we’re still a young team and we’re going to have some blips now and then – thankfully, they didn’t cost us the game tonight.”

Buckley finished the night 21-of-32 for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air for the Calgary. Jake Harty and Rashaun Simonise both hauled in six passes, while Brendon Thera-Plamondon was the leader in receiving yards with 95 on three catches – including a 20-yard TD late in the second quarter that brought the Dinos within three at the half.

Huskie pivot Drew Burko went 21-for-44 in the loss. Burko threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Brydon Ozmun caught two of those touchdowns, ending the night with seven catches for 77 yards. Jarvis James was the leading rusher for the Huskies with 155 yards on 21 carries.

Cyril Iwanegbe led the Dinos with eight tackles (six solo) and a tackle for loss, while Hunter Turnbull picked up 6.5 tackles and Adam Konar added six. Doctor Cassama added four tackles and a key sack, while Elie Bouka picked off Burko’s last-gasp effort in the end zone late to preserve the victory.

It was the first real test of the season for the Dinos, who had captured their first two victories over Alberta and UBC by a combined total of 116 points.

“These games are critical,” said Nill. “I think one of the reasons we were so prepared last year is that every game was like this. You don’t want to go through the league without competition and without being tested. Saskatchewan is a good football program, the culture here is one of excellence, and they’ll be there at the end for sure.”

“It really shows us that we need to play all four quarters,” said Timmis. “Our first two games we didn’t have to finish, and tonight we had to play 60 minutes and it came down to the end.”

Calgary returns home to face the Manitoba Bisons next Friday night at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV as the Dinos celebrate Student Appreciation Night, including a pre-game party at the Den on campus. The game will also be one of just two stops in Western Canada on the 50^th Anniversary Tour of the Vanier Cup, and fans will be able to interact and have their photo taken with the historic trophy.

GAME NOTES: It was the Dinos’ 12^th consecutive conference win, dating back to the end of the 2012 season … Calgary has now won its last six in a row against Saskatchewan … the game came 50 years to the day from the program’s first-ever game, a 16-7 win over RMC in Sept. 19, 1964 …

Source: Ben Matchett

No.9 Bisons win over UBC at annual Homecoming Game

WINNIPEG – The #9 ranked University of Manitoba Bisons football defeated the UBC Thunderbirds by a 20-10 score in 2014 CIS football action on Saturday, September 20 at Investors Group Field during the annual Homecoming Game.

With the win, the Bisons move to 2-1 in the season, while UBC drops to 0-3. In front of a hearty 1,826 crowd who braved rain for the majority of the game, the home side never were behind in a game that saw only two touchdowns but had three-time CIS All-Canadian Nic Demski churn out 224 all-purpose yards with receiving, rushing, punt return and kickoff return yards.

Manitoba took a 9-0 lead after the first when running back Kienan LaFrance had 22 yard TD rush for his fifth score of the season. UBC answered back in the second when Terrell Davis ran in from four yards out and a BC field goal closed the gap to 12-10 at half.

In the second half, the Bisons slated away the win with a couple more field goals by ryan Jones (40, 19) and a key interception by safety Tyler Fong that snuffed out a late T-Birds drive and secure a 20-10 home win for Manitoba.

Next week, Manitoba travels to play #2 Calgary on Friday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. MT in Canada West SHAW TV Game of the Week. UBC goes back home to host Alberta on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. PT.

Source:  Chris Zuk

UBC still winless, lose to Bisons 

Winnipeg  – The UBC Thunderbirds (0-3) remain winless on the season, losing 20-10 to the No. 9 ranked Manitoba Bisons (2-1) Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Thunderbirds trailed the entire game, but had their chances, trailing 12-10 at halftime. However, UBC was unable to score any points in the second half, resulting in the 20-10 loss.

Offensively the Thunderbirds struggled out of the gates. On their first five possessions, UBC went two and out three times, fumbled once, and then Alex Morrison dropped what would have been an easy touchdown pass from Carson Williams. Instead the Thunderbirds were forced to punt.

Leading 2-0, the Bisons scored the game’s first major of the afternoon as Kienan LaFrance made a pretty 22-yard touchdown run avoiding a number of would be tacklers to put the home side in front 9-0. That is how things would stand after one quarter of play.

Manitoba extended the lead to 12-0 on a 36-yard field goal from Ryan Jones.

Despite dropping an earlier pass, Morrison ended up being Carson Williams‘ go to guy on Saturday. He made a 40-yard grab taking the Thunderbirds inside the Manitoba five-yard line. That would set up a Terrell Davis four-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 12-7 for the Bisons with 4:53 left in the second quarter.

Quinn van Gylswyk, who earlier in the half missed a 38-yard field goal, would make good on his second attempt from the exact same distance to go into halftime down just 12-10.

Despite a number of opportunities the Thunderbirds could not sustain any offensive drives in the second half resulting in van Gylswyk giving up a safety and punting five times.

Jones hit a 40 yard field to increase the Bisons lead to 15-10 early in the third quarter and then UBC would surrender another safety to make it a one touchdown game, 17-10.

Jones would add one more field goal from 19 yards to extend the lead to 20-10.

Williams and the Thunderbirds offence pressed late, but he would be picked off by Tyler Fong in the Bisons red zone and then on their final possession UBC would go three and out to fall to 0-3 on the season.

Williams finished the day 23-38 for 279 yards passing and one interception. His counterpart Jordan Yantz went 12-29 for 149 yards and two interceptions. Bryan Rideout andJordan Bosa had the interceptions for UBC.

Morrison led all receivers with seven catches for 108 yards, while Brandon Deschamps was the Thunderbirds leading rusher with 37 yards on 13 carries.

Manitoba’s Nic Demski finished the day with 224 yards of total offence (45 rushing yards, 65 receiving yards, 92 punt return yards, and 22 kickoff return yards).

UBC will return home to take on the Alberta Golden Bears next Saturday, September 27 at 2:00 pm at David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.

Source:  UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information

Golden Bears grind out first victory

For the second time in two weeks, the fate of the game came down to a two-point convert. But, for the first time in nearly four years, it was the University of Alberta Golden Bears that made the game winning play. Fourth-year middle linebacker Connor Ralph sacked Regina Rams quarterback Noah Picton, preventing the two-point conversion from happening, which cemented a 44-42 victory for the Golden Bears on Saturday night at Foote Field.

“He’s one of the guys on this team we count on,” Bears head coach Chris Morris said of Ralph making the pivotal defensive stop. “He makes plays when it’s important for us, and it’s great that he made one at the end of the game.”

“To be honest,” said Ralph, “I was just kind of lucky. My back end and my coverage guys did a great job of making the quarterback held the ball, and I just put my motor going and got there.”

It is Alberta’s first win since November 3, 2010, when they defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West semi-finals, and it was the program’s first regular season, and home victory since October 26, 2010 when they defeated Manitoba.

The Golden Bears lost their home opener last weekend, 42-41 in OT to Saskatchewan, when their two-point convert attempt was snuffed out.

“It’s obviously just one win and we have to understand that,” Morris noted. “We got another game next week. We get to cherish this moment for the weekend, because come Monday, we’re back to work. It’s great to celebrate, and I hope they have a great time tonight, but we can do some things if we do it together and start playing well. We can’t just be satisfied with winning one.”

The Bears had built up a 28-13 half-time lead on the Rams, but quickly found themselves in a tie game, 29-29, heading into the fourth quarter.

Fifth-year quarterback Curtis Dell, who last week threw for the fourth highest passing yards total in Golden Bears history with 413 yards, tossed a 13-yard TD strike to Yembeh Moiba just 1:50 into the fourth to put Alberta up 36-29.

Sophomore runningback Ed Ilnicki then rumbled for a two yard touchdown plunge five minutes later, and the Bears were looking golden, up 43-29 with under nine minutes to go. Kicker Stephen Fabian then added a kick-off single to bump up Alberta’s score line by one.

After a pair of possession changes by both teams, Regina drew within eight points when quarterback Noah Picton marched the Rams on an eight play, 75-yard drive that culminated in an 11-yard touchdown toss to Jared Jonotta.

The Bears then appeared to shoot themselves in the foot by taking a pair of penalties on their next offensive possession and forcing a punt situation. But, after kicking back to Regina, Alberta’s defence stepped up. First it was fifth-year linebacker Tyler Greenslade almost intercepting a battered Picton pass, and then it was freshman defensive back Drew Belgrave with another near interception, and suddenly Alberta was getting the ball back with less than two minutes to play.
However, the offence could only chew up seven yards total, which forced Alberta to once again punt the ball back to Regina, now with just over a minute to go.

Facing a first-and-10 from their own eight yard line situation, Picton stunned the Foote Field faithful when he connected with a streaking Addison Richards, who burned through the Alberta secondary, en route to an 85-yard scoring play, as well as a 44-42 score line with just 57 seconds remaining in the game. The Rams then elected for the two-point convert, but a scrambling Picton was caught from the blindside by Ralph, ending the game and sending the crowd at Foote Field streaming onto the turf to celebrate the win.

“For a game like this to happen, obviously it’s been too long for this group, for this team, for this organization,” said Dell. “So, to finally get that win, there are so many things that go through your head, so many emotions, it’s tough to focus on one. But, obviously, we’re very excited and it’s been a long time coming.”

“It’s kind of mixed emotions,” added Ralph. “It’s feels good any time you get a win. But at the same time, we need to get past this and win more games, to be honest. I’m not satisfied with just one win. I think, internally, we believe that. Now, we’ve got to prove that. But for now, I’m just happy we got one.”

Dell finished his second consecutive start by completing 17 of 27 passes for 271 yards with four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Alberta’s offence totaled 462 yards on the night, including 192 rushing yards. Runningbacks Levon Hawreliak (64 yards) and Ilnicki (52) combined for 116 of those yards, while multi-tool threat Aundrey Webster added 63 yards hauling the rock. Ilnicki finished with a pair of TDs as well. Receiver Jimmy Ralph reeled in five passes for 62 yards, while Adam Zajdel had three catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Ralph recorded a game high eight tackles in the game, including the game winning sack on Picton.

The freshman Rams’ quarterback, who stepped in to play after starter Cayman Shutter was knocked out of the game with an injury in the second quarter, was very impressive in his CIS debut, as he completed 28 of 36 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 40 yards on seven carries. Regina, in fact, was superior on offence to Alberta, racking up an incredible 705 yards in a losing effort. They gained 191 rush yards, including 51 from Jens Johnson, but got big mileage from Janotta and Richards in the receiving corps. Janotta, a fourth-year, caught 12 passes for 154 yards, while Richards snagged nine passes for a whopping 225 yards. Richardson had two TDs, while Janotta had one, while runningback Dillon Dawson also picked up a major for the Rams. Before leaving the game, Shutter racked up 99 passing yards on eight completions.

But for the Golden Bears, the only numbers that really matter correspond to the end of their losing streak. First on-field win in 26 games, or three years, 10 months and 14 days. All of which were negative numbers that , in spite of blue chip recruiting classes and oodles of positivity around the rebuild, had the second year coach starting to doubt.

“Oh, absolutely,” Morris said. “I’ve only been here for 10 of the losses in a row, and even myself, you start doubting yourself and you start thinking, ‘OK, man, should we start doing this a little bit differently? What should we do?’ So, to get that win, it really justifies … it makes what you’re doing feel right. What we’re doing is right and I’m been saying that to them all along.”

The Golden Bears, now 1-2, will next be in action when they travel to Vancouver to take on the 0-3 UBC Thunderbirds on September 27th.

“I feel so happy for these guys that they get the win,” Morris continued. “We’re not a one-win team, we’re better than that. I hope they understand that. Let’s stay the course and believe in what we’re doing. Everything we’re doing is right here, and I’m glad we finally won, because it’s easier to sing that song when you win”

Regina, also 1-2, returns home to face their provincial rivals, the 2-1 Saskatchewan Huskies on September 27th.

Source: Matt Gutcsh

EDMONTON, Alta. – The University of Regina Rams erased a 16-point halftime deficit and nearly overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, but eventually fell 44-42 to Alberta on Saturday night at Foote Field.

After the Rams tied it up in the third, Alberta responded with 15 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter. Jared Janotta caught a touchdown pass with 4:44 left to get within eight, and Noah Picton connected with Addison Richards for an 85-yard major with under a minute left but Picton was sacked on the ensuing two-point conversion and Alberta held on for the win.

Curtis Dell was 17-for-27 for 271 yards and threw four touchdown passes for Alberta, while Levon Hawreliak, Aundrey Webster, and Ed Ilnicki each rushed for over 50 yards in the win for the Golden Bears. Adam Zajdel was Alberta’s leading receiver with three catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Picton ended up with 431 passing yards, tied for the ninth highest single-game output by a Rams quarterback. And he didn’t come into the game until midway through the second quarter, when starting pivot Cayman Shutter was injured after absorbing a hit following an attempted pass. Picton completed 28 of his 36 pass attempts, with his completion rate of 77.8% standing as the second highest in the school’s single-game record book.

Richards finished with nine catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns, with his 225 receiving yards also going down as the second highest single-game total in school history. Janotta had 11 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Riley Wilson had six receptions for 77 yards.

The Rams dominated most offensive categories, ending up with 705 yards of total offence to Alberta’s 463 and 36 first downs to the Golden Bears’ 20. But the Rams also had over 150 yards in penalties, including a 15-yard unnecessary roughness foul applied on the kickoff following Alberta’s final major that gave the Golden Bears an eight-point lead instead of a seven-point advantage. That extra point would eventually force the Rams into the two-point conversion attempt that failed with 57 seconds left on the clock.

Both teams move to 1-2 with Saturday’s result. Alberta hits the road next weekend for a game at UBC (0-3), while the Rams will prepare for aSaturday afternoon home game against Saskatchewan (2-1).

NOTES: The victory gave the Golden Bears their first victory since the 2010 season and also snapped Alberta’s six-game losing streak against the Rams … Janotta moved from sixth to fourth on the U of R’s all-time receiving yards list, passing former teammates Brenden Owens and Mark McConkey … Richards came into the game needing just 31 receiving yards to hit 1000 for his career and now has 1194.

Source: Braden Konschuh

Regina vs. Alberta at Edmonton, AB 9/20/2014 at 5:00 pm
Regina  42	Alberta  44

COMPLETE STATS BELOW:

UBC vs. Manitoba at Winnipeg, MB 9/20/2014 at 2:08pm
UBC  10	Manitoba  20

Calgary vs. Saskatchewan at Saskatoon,SK 9/19/2014 at 7:00
Calgary  38	Saskatchewan  24