SASKATOON β The five-time defending Hardy Cup champion University of Calgary Dinos will have home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs after clinching first place in Canada West with a 24-12 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night.
With their fifth consecutive victory over the Huskies, the Dinos improved to 6-0 on the season and will finish first in the conference, holding the tiebreakers over the only two teams that could catch them in the standings. Saskatchewan is one of those teams, falling to 4-2 on the campaign.
It wasnβt always pretty, and it was tight until the very end β but Mercer Timmis picked the perfect time to make his biggest play of the year. With Calgary leading 17-12 and just under three minutes on the clock and the outcome still very much in doubt, Timmis took the handoff on the Dinosβ 30-yard line and ran roughshod over the Saskatchewan defence, taking it 80 yards to the end zone to seal the victory.
It was Timmisβ 14th rushing touchdown of the season, giving him sole possession of the school single-season record in that category. The sophomore tailback finished the night with 172 yards on 17 carries, his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game this year.
His touchdown, tied for the fourth-longest run in school history, capped off a second half that saw the Dinos dominate in all facets of the game after the Huskies held a slim 11-6 advantage at the break.
βWe made some adjustments in the second half, and we felt that we had the conditioning and the mental capacity to come out and start the second half tough,β said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. βWe certainly didnβt make it easy on ourselves tonight, but our young kids pulled it out.β
A 19-yard Chris Dobko touchdown just under five minutes into the third quarter gave Calgary its first lead of the night at 13-12 as the Dinos offence finally got things going after picking up just 174 yards in the opening half. They finished with 592 on the night.
A trio of Johnny Mark field goals from 19, 23, and 34 yards β along with a punt single β rounded out the scoring for the Dinos.
Saskatchewan got on the board first thanks to a 15-yard TD grab by Charlie Power just 3:29 into the contest. The teams traded field goals as the kickers had a busy night, and at the half the score was 11-6 for the Huskies.
After Denton Kolodzinski scored a single on a blocked field goal three minutes into the third quarter, the Dinos took over and scored the gameβs final 18 points unanswered to lock up top spot.
The blocked field goal was the third kick blocked by the Dinos on the night, with two Saskatchewan field goals and a punt knocked down by an aggressive Calgary defence. On a big night for special teams, running back Quentin Chown took a fake field goal 32 yards to the Huskiesβ 10-yard line in the fourth quarter as well.
βIt was a big night for us on special teams,β said Nill, βand Coach (Taylor, a former Saskatchewan Huskie player) Altilio had the teams prepared, and they were certainly a difference-maker tonight.β
Andrew Buckley improved to 5-0 as a starter in CIS, completing 23 of 48 passes for 355 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. His Huskie counterpart, Drew Burko, went 17-for-38 for 267 yards, a major, and a pick.
Buckleyβs top target was Rashaun Simonise, who picked up 145 yards on six catches. Brett Blaszko added 69 yards on five catches. Defensively, Thomas Spoletini led the way for Calgary with seven tackles and an interception.
Calgary was flagged 13 times for 235 yards on the night, while Saskatchewan was penalized seven times for a total of 91 yards. The Dinos enjoyed a wide margin in time of possession, having control of the ball fo 36:09 on the evening.
The Dinos enjoy the Thanksgiving Day bye next week before closing out the regular season with back-to-back-home games Oct. 18 against Regina and Oct. 25 against UBC. Both games will kick off at 6 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
SASK β Charlie Power 15-yard TD catch from Drew Burko (Denton Kolodzinski convert), 3:29, 7-0 SASK
2nd Quarter
CGY β Johnny Mark 19-yard FG, 1:08, 7-3 SASK
SASK β Denton Kolodzinski 42-yard FG, 9:24, 10-3 SASK
CGY β Johnny Mark 23-yard FG, 12:29, 10-6 SASK
SASK β Denton Kolodzinski 38-yard punt single, 13:06, 11-6 SASK
3rd Quarter
SASK β Denton Kolodzinski missed FG single, 3:03, 12-6 SASK
CGY β Chris Dobko 19-yard TD catch from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 4:52, 13-12 CGY
CGY β Johnny Mark 34-yard FG, 11:16, 16-12 CGY
CGY β Johnny Mark 61-yard punt single, 14:58, 17-12
4th Quarter
CGY β Mercer Timmis 80-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 12:15, 25-12 CGY
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By Daniel Herrick, Sports Information Student Assistant
The No. 3 ranked University of Calgary Dinos outscored the No. 6 University of Saskatchewan Huskies 18-1 in the second half en route to a 24-12 win Friday night in Saskatoonβs Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.
After managing just 174 yards in the first half, the Dinos offence exploded for 418 yards in the final 30 minutes.
With the win Calgary moves to 6-0 on the season, securing first place and a home playoff date. Saskatchewan drops to 4-2 and needs to defeat the Manitoba Bisons on October 18 to have a shot at a home playoff date.
Chris Dobko scored the game-winning touchdown at 4:52 of the third quarter on a 19-yard pass from quarterback Andrew Buckley. Dinosβ running back Mercer Timmis sealed the Calgary win late in the fourth quarter avoiding a Huskie tackler in the backfield before racing 80 yards to the end zone. Timmis finished the game rushing for 172 yards, his sixth straight 100-yard game.
Saskatchewan sputtered on offence in the third quarter managing just three first downs and scoring only on a Denton Koldozinski rouge. The Huskies gained just 44 yards to Calgaryβs 215.
Calgary recorded both a blocked field goal and a punt, deep in Huskie territory, in the first 30 minutes. The latter led to a 20-yard Johnny Mark field goal. Mark opened the scoring for the Dinos a minute into the second quarter with a 19-yard kick.
Calgary once again penetrated the Huskie front line in the third quarter blocking their second field goal of the game.
Saskatchewan looked crisp as they game began, scoring on their opening drive of the game. A 31-yard Dexter Janke run set up a 15-yard Drew Burko to Charlie Power touchdown pass and the home squad jumped out to an early lead.
Despite the quick start, Saskatchewan could not find the end zone again on the night failing to gather any momentum in the second half to finish with just 100 yards rushing on the game to Calgaryβs 268.
Burko completed 17-of-38 pass attempts for 269 yards including one touchdown and one interception.Β Dexter Janke rushed for a team high 57 yards on 10 carries, while Garrett Burgess led the receiving corps with 91 yards on six receptions.
Kolodzinski went 1-for-2 on field goals hitting from 42 yards in the second quarter. Mark went 3-for-3 on the night hitting from 19, 23, and 34 for the Dinos.
Buckley completed 23-of-48 attempts for 355 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown.Β Rashaun Simonise caught six passes for 145 yards to lead the Dinos while Brett Blaszko and Michael Klukas caught five passes for 69 yards and 49 yards respectively.
Both Saskatchewan and Calgary will rest with the league-wide bye next week. The Dinos return to action on October 18, hosting the University of Regina Rams.
Saskatchewan also returns to the field on October 18 hosting the Manitoba Bisons.
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