Dinos finally beat Saskatchewan at home, remain perfect

The third-ranked University of Calgary Dinos finally emerged victorious over the Saskatchewan Huskies on home turf, dispatching the No. 7-ranked team in CIS back to Saskatoon with a 38-24 win Friday night at McMahon Stadium.

The win was Calgary’s first at home over the Huskies since Oct. 20, 2000, and it improves the Dinos to 4-0 on the season, assuring them of sole possession of first place heading into Week 5. The loss was the Huskies’ second straight, dropping them to 2-2 on the year.

The final score was not indicative of the play, as the Huskies were beneficiaries of two major plays on special teams that led directly to touchdowns. Calgary put up nearly 525 yards total offence while the Dinos defence held the Huskies to less than 200 total yards, giving the home side a significant time-of-possession edge. And, for the fourth straight game, the offence was led by a dominant performance along the ground.

“I was asked prior to the game what the key would be, and I said it would be our ability to run the football against their defence,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill. “We were able to move the ball on the ground, and that allowed us to eat the clock, but we also made some big plays on the ground.”

Calgary certainly answered the call in the run game, with the trio of Steven Lumbala, Anthony Woodson, and Matt Walter combining for 285 yards on the night against the Saskatchewan defence that had averaged just 75 run yards against in the first three games of the season.

Lumbala broke open a tight game midway through the third quarter with a 45-yard touchdown romp to give the Dinos some breathing room at 19-10 after Cole Samson’s 25-yard field goal had made it a two-point game. Two rapid-fire touchdowns in the fourth quarter all but sealed the game for Calgary – a 61-yard Matt Walter major on a nifty throw by Eric Dzwilewski, followed by Chris Dobko’s second TD of the night, a 12-yard strike from Dzwilewski.

Dobko had nine catches in the first half alone, finishing the night with 11 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Lumbala was the leading rusher for Calgary, gaining 107 yards on nine carries. In the passing department, Dzwilewski completed 20 of 28 attempts for 255 yards and three touchdowns while throwing a pair of interceptions.

Dexter Janke was the top rusher for Saskatchewan, gaining 47 yards on 11 carries. Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren started the game and played the first half at quarterback, completing four of nine passes for 41 yards before giving way to Calgary product Trent Peterson for the second half. Peterson fared little better, going just 6-for-15 for 49 yards and one touchdown. Rory Kolhert was the leading receiver for the Huskies, catching three passes for 55 total yards.

Two of the Huskies’ three touchdowns on the night came as the direct result of special teams plays. Late in the second quarter, Nico Higgs blocked a Johnny Mark punt and returned the ball to the Calgary one-yard line, setting up Janke for a one-yard plunge to the end zone. And in the fourth quarter, just after Garrett Bolen had scored Saskatchewan’s second major of the night, the Huskies lined up for an onside kick that Garrett Burgess caught smoothly, in-stride, and took to the Dinos’ 28-yard line. That set up a seven-yard Peterson touchdown throw to Jeffrey Moore.

Despite the late surge by the Huskies, Nill was pleased with his team’s effort as they improved to 4-0.

“Last year, I thought we just tanked and didn’t show up in both Saskatchewan games,” said Nill. “That was a disappointment, but this was a great effort for us to redeem ourselves here tonight.”

Saskatchewan head coach Brian Towriss will have to wait one more game to become the all-time CIS wins leader. Towriss remains with 169 victories in his illustrious 28-year career, tied with Western legend Larry Haylor. He will get his next chance at home when Saskatchewan hosts UBC next Friday night.

Calgary will enjoy a long week and host the Alberta Golden Bears in a rare Sunday matinee next week. That game goes Oct. 2 with a 1 p.m. kickoff at McMahon Stadium, live on Shaw TV and QR77 radio.

SCORING SUMMARY
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Quarter
No scoring.

2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Quarter
CGY – Chris Dobko 7-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark kick), 3:44, 7-0 CGY
CGY – Johnny Mark 27-yard FG, 7:31, 10-0 CGY
CGY – Team safety, 13:49, 12-0 CGY
SASK – Dexter Jenke 1-yard TD run (Cole Samson kick), 14:12, 12-7 CGY

3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Quarter
SASK – Cole Samson 25-yard FG, 3:22, 12-10 CGY
CGY – Steven Lumbala 45-yard TD run (Johnny Mark kick), 8:34, 19-10 CGY
CGY – Johnny Mark 32-yard FG, 14:38, 22-10 CGY

4[SUP]th[/SUP] Quarter
CGY – Matt Walter 61-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark kick), 1:26, 29-10 CGY
CGY – Chris Dobko 12-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark kick), 5:18, 36-10 CGY
SASK – Garrett Bolen 6-yard TD run (Cole Samson kick), 8:02, 36-17 CGY
SASK – Jeff Moore 7-yard TD catch from Trent Peterson (Cole Samson kick), 9:07, 36-24 CGY
CGY – Team safety, 11:48, 38-24 CGY