CALGARY – After falling victim to a red-hot start by UBC, the third-ranked University of Calgary Dinos overcame 17- and six-point deficits to defeat the Thunderbirds 42-28 in the second of two Canada West semifinals Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.
The victory moves Calgary (8-0, 1-0) into the 77th Hardy Cup, where they will look to extend their run of five consecutive Canada West championships. The Dinos will host the Manitoba Bisons (5-3, 1-0) for the conference title next Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV.
It was the third victory in as many games for the Dinos over the Thunderbirds this season, but it was certainly the most hard-fought. UBC blazed out to a 17-0 lead in just over 10 minutes of the first quarter, by far the largest deficit the Dinos faced all season. It started with a 38-yard bomb from Carson Williams to Alex Morrison on UBC’s first offensive play of the game to set up a one-yard Greg Bowcott touchdown, which they followed up with a 15-yard field goal by Quinn Van Gylswyk and, then, a 35-yard TD strike from Williams to Josh Kronstrom on the first play after Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley was intercepted.
But Calgary slowly chipped away, starting with an 8-yard touchdown strike from Buckley to Jake Harty on the final play of the opening quarter. A safety and three Johnny Mark field goals later, the Dinos held an 18-17 lead at half time.
“More than anything I think it’s a belief amongst the team,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “I believe the kids just know that if they calm down a bit and make some plays they’ll come back and have a chance to win. We had issues on defence, we had a couple guys out of position, but our offence kept moving the ball and Johnny Mark kicked well and we made the plays when we had to.”
The second half started as the first had, with UBC taking the early momentum. On their second possession of the third quarter, the Thunderbirds started right at midfield. Two runs by Brandon Deschamps later, they were in the end zone with a 24-18 lead.
Again, however, the Dinos would come back – this time for good. Another field goal by Mark brought them within three, and Mercer Timmis finally found the end zone 98 seconds into the fourth to give Calgary the lead for good.
UBC, however, still had some fight left. On the next offensive play, Williams found Patrick Bull for a massive 67-yard gain to set up the Thunderbirds on the Calgary 15-yard line – but only after a touchdown-saving tackle by Dinos linebacker Thomas Spoletini. UBC ended up with only a field goal, however, and Timmis’ second major of the night came on the next Calgary drive to put it out of reach.
Buckley rounded out the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run in the final minute.
The footing was unsteady at best and the yard lines and hash marks were virtually undetectable, but the teams still managed to combine for nearly 900 yards of offence. Deschamps had another big night with 184 yards on 22 carries, while Williams picked up 256 passing yards on just 13 completions in a losing cause for UBC. Bull was the game’s top receiver with six catches for 134 yards.
Timmis was hard at work for the Dinos all night, touching the ball 36 times. Of those, 32 came along the ground for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while he added four catches for 44 yards to that total. Buckley completed 22 of 31 passes for 218 yards, along with one touchdown and one interception. His top target was Chris Dobko, who caught eight passes for 78 yards.
Defensively, Yianni Cabylis had a monster night for the Thunderbirds with 15 solo and 16 total tackles, while Bryan Rideout added nine. Calgary’s defence was led by Cory Roboch’s 9.5 tackles, with Tanner Doll chipping in with 5.5 as well.
Mark had a solid night kicking for Calgary, especially given the snowy field conditions. He went 4-for-4 on field goals from 41, 34, 10, and 30 yards while punting for a 41.8-yard average. Van Gylswyk made good on both his field goal tries and averaged 37.2 yards on six punts.
The only team left standing between the Dinos and their sixth straight conference title are the Manitoba Bisons, who edged Saskatchewan 37-36 in a wild semifinal Friday night in Winnipeg. The Bisons will be the sixth different opponent to face Calgary in the conference final since 2008, and they have an explosive offence that the Dinos will need to be ready for.
“I haven’t had much time to think about the next game but it’s certainly something we’ll prepare hard for,” said Nill. “We’re playing the right team. Manitoba was my pick to win it and they have two very good players in Demski and Coombs as well as a very good young quarterback. It’s going to be a great game and a great challenge for us.”
The Dinos defeated Manitoba 48-24 on Sept. 20 in the teams’ only meeting of the season in Calgary. The Hardy Cup champion will host the Ontario champion in the Mitchell BowlNov. 16 for a chance to advance to the Vanier Cup.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
UBC – Greg Bowcott 1-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 3:37, 7-0 UBC
UBC – Quinn Van Gylswyk 15-yard FG, 9:15, 10-0 UBC
UBC – Josh Kronstrom 35-yard TD pass from Carson Williams (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 10:26, 17-0 UBC
CGY – Jake Harty 8-yard TD pass from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 15:00, 17-7 UBC
2nd Quarter
CGY – TEAM safety, 1:24, 17-9 UBC
CGY – Johnny Mark 41-yard FG, 4:38, 17-12 UBC
CGY – Johnny Mark 34-yard FG, 11:22, 17-15 UBC
CGY – Johnny Mark 10-yard FG, 14:29, 18-17 CGY
3rd Quarter
UBC – Brendan Deschamps 22-yard TD run (Quinn Van Gylswyk convert), 5:12, 24-18 UBC
CGY – Johnny Mark 30-yard FG, 8:53, 24-21 UBC
4th Quarter
CGY – Mercer Timmis 2-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 1:38, 28-24 CGY
UBC – Quinn Van Gylswyk 19-yard FG, 3:45, 28-27 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 2-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 7:54, 35-27 CGY
CGY – Andrew Buckley 10-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 14:03, 42-28 CGY
Source: Ben Matchett, Calgary Dinos Sports Information
Calgary – The Calgary Dinos overcame an early 17-0 deficit to defeat the UBC Thunderbirds 42-28 Saturday afternoon in the Canada West semi-final at McMahon Stadium. With the victory the undefeated Dinos will play host to the Hardy Cup Championship game next weekend against the Manitoba Bisons.
A see-saw game, the Thunderbirds gave the Dinos all they could handle Saturday in less than ideal conditions, as snow covered the field from the opening kickoff and continued to come down throughout the game. After going down 17-0, the Dinos were able to rattle off 18 straight points to lead 18-17 after the first half.
The ‘Birds re-took the lead in the third quarter as Brandon Deschamps rattled off a 22 yard touchdown run to put the visitors in front 24-18.
After the Dinos kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 24-21, they would get the break they were looking for late in the third quarter as Rashaun Simonise returned a UBC punt 52 yards down to the Thunderbirds 17. However, because the officials missed the first year return man step out of bounds at midfield on the return, Calgary was in business. Mercer Timmis would punch it in from the one yard line on third and goal early in the fourth quarter to give the Dinos a 28-24 lead. A lead they would never relinquish.
On the ensuing possession the Thunderbirds would have to settle for a 20-yard Quinn Van Gylswyk field goal to once again make it a one point game, 28-27 Calgary.
As the game wore on the Dinos and Timmis seemed to pick up steam, wearing down the UBC defence. Timmis would score again on a one yard touchdown run to give the Dinos their biggest lead of the day, 35-27.
After Calgary surrendered a single to make it a seven point game, the Thunderbirds got the ball back at their own 20 yard line with 2:35 left. Unfortunately, Deschamps would be stuffed on third and two to end the drive and turn the ball over.
Andrew Buckley would add a late touchdown, running it in from 10 yards out to make it a 42-28 final.
“This game was a metaphor for our entire season, close on so many occasions, but just not quite there in the end,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “We play in such a tough, competitive conference where every game comes down to two our three plays and tonight I look at the two times where we had to settle for field goals as opposed to touchdowns as being a big factor.”
UBC got exactly the start they were looking for as Greg Bowcott capped off a five play, 56 yard opening drive with a one yard touchdown plunge to put the Thunderbirds up 7-0.
On their next drive, Deschamps rattled off his longest run of the day, running 63 yards and into Calgary territory. Van Gylswyk kicked a 15-yard field goal to make it 10-0 UBC.
Calgary would give the ball right back to the Thunderbirds on the next drive as Jordan Bosa picked off Buckley and returned it inside the Dinos 40 yard line. Carson Williams didn’t waste anytime, connecting with Josh Kronstrom on a 35-yard touchdown strike with 4:30 left in the opening quarter. 17-0 UBC.
The No.3 ranked Dinos would have an answer. A Jake Harty touchdown grab cut the lead to 17-7. Then UBC gave up a safety after a bad snap on a punt to make it 17-9. From there Johnny Mark would kick three straight field goals (41, 34, 10) to give the Dinos an 18-17 lead at the half.
Deschamps finished the day with 184 yards on the ground on 22 carries and one touchdown. His counterpart from Calgary, Mercer Timmis, was just as impressive racking up 164 yards on 32 carries and two touchdowns.
Carson Williams went 13-for-22 for 256 yards passing and a touchdown. Andrew Buckley finished 22-for-31 for 218 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Patrick Bull led all receivers with six grabs for 134 yards.
UBC finishes the season 4-5 and 0-3 against the Dinos. Calgary will host the Hardy Cup Championship next weekend against the Manitoba Bisons.
Photo credit: Rich Lam
Source: UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information
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