Dinos manage to edge UBC in season opener

VANCOUVER – Forced to play late in the game without conference MVP Eric Dzwilewski, the third-ranked University of Calgary Dinos survived a scare from the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday to escape with a 41-31 victory Saturday afternoon.

BOXSCORE

 

Calgary scored 10 points in the final 3:16 of the fourth quarter to break a 31-31 tie, opening the season with its 10th consecutive victory over the Thunderbirds. Johnny Mark’s 42-yard field goal was followed up by a two-yard Mercer Timmis touchdown with just 43 seconds to go to seal the victory for the Dinos.

With Dzwilewski out with an injury sustained late in the third quarter, Andrew Buckley earned the victory for Calgary with an impressive performance in relief, going 6-for-11 for 80 yards through the air while adding another 10 yards on the ground, including his first career touchdown.

“There were some good things today, and a lot of things that scared me,” said Dinos head coach Blake Nill of his youthful team’s performance. “We needed to pick up a win here today, and next week we’re going to be better. When week eight comes, we want to be in a position where we’re able to compete in the playoffs. There are no freshmen in week eight.

“The defence did its part for success, the special teams did their part for success. And Buckley…he’s a guy that could start for a lot of CIS teams, and we’re lucky to have him. Looks like there could be a lot of weight pressed upon his shoulders here in the next week.”

The game started slowly on both sides, with a scoreless draw and just 131 yards of total offence between the teams through the first quarter. Timmis finally opened the scoring 3:20 into the game with his first of three touchdowns on the afternoon, and by halftime the Dinos held a 10-7 lead.

That momentum lasted all of 14 seconds as Alex Morrison collected the opening kickoff of the second half and returned it 102 yards to the end zone for UBC, giving the Thunderbirds a 14-10 lead as the third quarter got underway. The Dinos took a lead into the fourth, however, after a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brett Blaszko by Dzwilewski along with Timmis’ second score.

UBC managed to tie the score twice in the fourth quarter, leading to the final scoring surge for the Dinos in the late stages.

Turnovers played a key factor in the game, with Adam Laurensse picking off two errant UBC passes and Hunter Turnbull adding a third. And early in the fourth, Mac Sarro recovered a fumbled punt to give the Dinos great field position, setting up Buckley’s touchdown to break what was then a 24-24 tie.

After a slow start to the run game, Timmis finished with 24 carries for 115 yards and the three majors. Dzwilewski had a solid day with 21 completions on 35 attempts for 240 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Buckley late in the third. The quarterback tandem spread the ball out, with eight different Dinos receivers catching at least one pass. Elie Bouka and Michael Klukas shared the team high with 64 receiving yards each.

For UBC, Brenden Deschamps had a big day with 22 carries for 175 yards and a touchdown along the ground along with two catches for 25 yards and another major. Carson Williams and Greg Bowcott split the pivot duties for the Thunderbirds, combining to go 11-for-26 for 139 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

UBC (0-1) heads to Edmonton to face the Alberta Golden Bears (0-1) next weekend. No. 3 Calgary (1-0), meanwhile, remains on the road next weekend to face the Regina Rams (0-1) Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. Kickoff goes at 7 p.m. MT, live on http://cgy.canadawest.tv.

The Dinos open at home on Saturday, Sept. 14 when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies at McMahon Stadium.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

No scoring.

 

2nd Quarter

CGY – Mercer Timmis 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 3:20, 7-0 CGY

UBC – Greg Boctoww 1-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 7:20, 7-7

CGY – Johnny Mark 16-yard FG, 14:54, 10-7 CGY

 

3rd Quarter

UBC – Alex Morrison 102-yard kickoff return TD (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 0:14, 14-10 UBC

CGY – Brett Blaszko 22-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 11:23, 17-14 CGY

CGY – Mercer Timmis 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 15:00, 24-14 CGY

 

4th Quarter

UBC – Brenden Deschamps 59-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 0:56, 24-21 CGY

UBC – Quinn Van Gylswyk 17-yard FG, 5:17, 24-24

CGY – Andrew Buckley 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 7:45. 31-24 CGY

UBC – Brenden Deschamps 22-yard TD catch from Greg Bowcott, 10:07, 31-31

CGY – Johnny Mark 42-yard FG, 11:44, 34-31 CGY

Source:  University of Calgary Sports Information

VANCOUVER – The CIS No. 3 Calgary Dinos took advantage of a special teams miscue in the fourth quarter to spoil UBC’s bid for the upset in the season opener, as the Thunderbirds fell 41-31 on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium.

A 42-yard field goal from Dinos kicker Johnny Mark ended up being the real difference with just over three minutes remaining. The T-Birds looked like they were about to take control of the game a few different times on Saturday, and always seemed to have a response when the Dinos were surging ahead, but on UBC’s next drive, Greg Bowcott was picked off by Hunter Turnbull to essentially end the comeback hopes.

“That’s football,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “You don’t always leave feeling good.”

 

But the ‘Birds did have plenty to feel good about on Saturday until the game slipped away late. They outrushed the Dinos 283-158 and seemed to be winning the battle in the trenches for most of the game, particularly on offence where they rushed for 7.9 yards per carry.  The defensive line also helped hold the Dinos out of the redzone entirely in the first quarter, and forced the Dinos to turn more to the passing attack.

“That was an area of focus on the offseason, ” said Olson. “We added some guys on the defensive line that could add depth and spell other guys. The guys that were here already worked really hard and substantially improved their strength and quickness.”

The ‘Birds also saw some promising things from Bowcott, who played most of the second half after Carson Williams got the start. Bowcott ended up 5-for-12 for 59 yards passing and one touchdown, but really showed his versatility on the ground running for 76 yards on 10 carries.

“He’s a gamer. He’s played some football and that’s the benefit of having a guy that’s been in football games,” Olson said of Bowcott. “Still a lot of things we need to clean up at that position, but both guys showed some heart and toughness. Its not easy replacing (former UBC quarterback) Billy Greene, but those guys are as good as it gets as far as young men leaving it on the line for a football team. I was happy with both of them.”

Williams was 6-for-14 for 31 yard, adding 26 yards on the ground on three carries.

After Alex Morrison started the second half with the second-longest kickoff return touchdown in UBC history at 102 yards to give the ‘Birds a 14-10 lead, an interception later in the quarter gave the Dinos a short field to work with, and Eric Dzwilewski capitalized with a touchdown toss to surge ahead. He also appeared to be injured on the play, as Andrew Buckley took over at quarterback the rest of the way for the Dinos. Dzwilewski finished 21-for-35 for 240 yards and a touchdown.

The Dinos’ next touchdown came after a pass interference call went against UBC in the endzone on second and 10 to make it 24-14 Calgary.

But UBC running back Brandon Deschamps responded with a 59-yard touchdown run up the middle on the next drive to swing the momentum back in favour of the home side. Deschamps provided the bulk of UBC’s offensive production with 175 yards on 22 carries,

After Quinn Van Gylswyk hit the game-tying field goal for the ‘Birds, they got a quick defensive stop and seemed to have all the momentum in their favour as they forced the punt. But David Scott wasn’t able to field it cleanly as it drifted toward the sideline, and the Dinos jumped on the fumble to take over at the UBC 28.

“He’s very secure with the football but the ball just hung up and he misjudged it a bit and made a tough decision,” said Olson, who says the mistake doesn’t change a thing for Scott going forward. “He’s one of our leaders and one of our captain-type guys. He’s a great kid and nobody wants to do well for this program more than him, and I wouldn’t hesitate a blink to go back to him.”

After a couple runs from Mercer Timmis to get in range, Buckley finished the short drive for the Dinos with a nine-yard scramble to the goal line on first down, then a keeper up the middle to cap it off.

The T-Birds still managed one last answering drive, taking advantage of a couple long Calgary penalties before Deschamps took a screen pass from Bowcott to the house. But the Dinos also benefited from a key penalty on their next drive, getting into field goal range on a facemasking call for Mark to hit the game-winner.

Next up for Calgary is a trip to Regina. The Thunderbirds also head out on the road next week to take on Alberta. The next home game for the T-Birds is the homecoming game on September 14th against Manitoba.

Photo Credit:  Rich Lam

Source:  UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information