CALGARY – All-Canadian running back Matt Walter scored three of Calgary’s four touchdowns as the fourth-ranked Dinos held off the UBC Thunderbirds by a 33-16 score Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium, clinching a playoff spot in the process.
Walter scored on a one-yard pass, a one-yard run, and a 62-yard scamper as the Dinos broke open a two-point game with 15 points in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
Once again the Dinos did just enough to get the victory, improving to 4-1 and guaranteeing themselves at least a share of first place heading into the Thanksgiving-week bye. UBC falls to 1-4.
“We haven’t had that breakout game we want yet, but we’re still winning football games,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “Overall I thought the offence played pretty well, we just need to continue to get better.”
The late surge came after the Thunderbirds continually chipped away at what was as much as a 16-point Dinos lead, scoring 14 unanswered points to make it an 18-16 game with just under 11 minutes to play. Following Bill Pavolpoulos’ second field goal of the game, the Dinos marched downfield on a seven-play, 75-yard drive leading to Walter’s second major to give the hosts some breathing room. On just the second play of Calgary’s next drive, Walter found a hole and took off, running 62 yards untouched into the end zone.
Calgary went out in front early on Anthony Parker’s first major of the year after the star receiver made an impressive athletic play in the end zone. Quarterback Eric Dzwilewski just got the pass away with pressure in his face, and the ball was tipped by a Thunderbird defender. Parker went airborne and reached behind his head to haul in the loose ball, putting the Dinos up 7-0.
Walter’s first TD came midway through the second quarter and was set up by a monster 53-yard run by Steven Lumbala to give the Dinos a 17-2 lead after a pair of field goal misses by Pavlopoulos. After Aaron Ifield responded with a rouge of his own on a missed field goal, Billy Greene and the Thunderbirds finally put a drive together, grabbing the momentum with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 13-yard major score on a quarterback draw with just four seconds left in the opening half.
UBC put up better offensive numbers, with 550 total yards to the Dinos’ 532, but the Thunderbirds were unable to sustain drives and settled for field goal attempts five times. Only two of those were successful for Pavlopoulos, who settled for a trio of singles in addition to his makes from 30 and 27 yards. Ifield, meanwhile, went 1-for-2, connecting from 41 yards.
Greene threw for 281 yards and added 132 along the ground to pace the UBC attack. Tibi Banica added 125 rushing yards on 16 carries as the teams combined for 622 yards along the ground.
Ryan Couper had six catches for 80 yards to pace the Thunderbirds, with Marc McVeigh adding four catches for 66 yards.
Dzwilewski improved to 4-0 as a starter in CIS football, completing 12 of 20 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns for Calgary. Anthony Parker, who returned to the Dinos lineup after a three-game absence, had Calgary’s other touchdown, catching five passes for 82 yards and rushing four times for 54 yards.
Walter finished with 96 rushing yards, two-thirds of which came on the one touchdown run, with Dzwilewski adding 67 and Steven Lumbala 65. Nathan Coehoorn had his top receiving day of the season with 73 yards, while Anthony Woodson had two catches for 24 yards for the Dinos.
The Dinos (4-1) enjoy the bye next week before an Oct. 15 contest in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Huskies. UBC (1-4) hosts Simon Fraser in the annual Shrum Bowl next weekend and returns to Canada West action Oct. 16 when they visit Alberta.
NOTES: For the first time since Week 1 vs. Saskatchewan, the Dinos had all eight of their former All-Canadians dressed. All but QB Erik Glavic saw action … Calgary kicker Aaron Ifield inched closer to the CIS all-time field goal record with the 63[SUP]rd[/SUP] of his career. The national mark is 70, while the Canada West record sits at 68 … Walter passed Tim Petros for second place on the Dinos’ all-time rushing attempts list, now with 468 on his career. Elio Geremia’s school record is 577 …
SCORING SUMMARY
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Quarter
CGY – Parker 3-yard TD pass from Dzwilewski (Ifield convert), 10:33, 7-0 CGY
UBC – Pavlopoulos rouge (missed FG), 14:36, 7-1 CGY
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Quarter
CGY – Ifield 41-yard FG, 1:56, 10-1 CGY
UBC – Pavlopoulos rouge (missed FG), 6:04, 10-2 CGY
CGY – Walter 1-yard TD pass from Dzwilewski (Ifield convert), 8:42, 17-2 CGY
CGY – Ifield rouge (missed FG), 12:58, 18-2 CGY
UBC – Greene 13-yard TD run (Pavlopoulos convert), 14:56, 18-9 CGY
3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Quarter
UBC – Pavlopoulos 30-yard FG, 6:34, 18-12 CGY
UBC – Pavlopoulos rouge (missed FG), 10:12, 18-13 CGY
4[SUP]th[/SUP] Quarter
UBC – Pavlopoulos 27-yard FG, 4 :08, 18-16 CGY
CGY – Walter 1-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 7:12, 25-16 CGY
CGY – Ifield 63-yard rouge (kickoff), 7:20, 26-16
CGY – Walter 62-yard TD run (Ifield convert), 10:51, 33-16
UBC 16 |
Calgary 33 |
Calgary (4-1) | 7 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 33 |
UBC (1-4) | 1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
Calgary, AB | McMahon Stadium |
1 | 04:27 | Calgary – Anthony Parker 3 yd pass from Eric Dzwilewski. (Aaron Ifield kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards in 3:18. |
0 – 7 |
1 | 00:24 | UBC – | 1 – 7 |
2 | 13:04 | Calgary – Aaron Ifield 41 yd field goal. | 1 – 10 |
2 | 08:56 | UBC – | 2 – 10 |
2 | 06:18 | Calgary – Matt Walter 1 yd pass from Eric Dzwilewski. (Aaron Ifield kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards in 2:38. |
2 – 17 |
2 | 02:02 | Calgary – | 2 – 18 |
2 | 00:04 | UBC – Billy Greene 13 yd run. (B. Pavlopoulos kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 1:58. |
9 – 18 |
3 | 08:26 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 30 yd field goal. | 12 – 18 |
3 | 04:48 | UBC – | 13 – 18 |
4 | 10:52 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 27 yd field goal. | 16 – 18 |
4 | 07:48 | Calgary – Matt Walter 1 yd run. (Aaron Ifield kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 3:04. |
16 – 25 |
4 | 07:40 | Calgary – | 16 – 26 |
4 | 04:09 | Calgary – Matt Walter 62 yd run. (Aaron Ifield kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 70 yards in 0:41. |
16 – 33 |
29 | FIRST DOWNS | 24 |
12 16 1 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
8 15 1 |
60% (3 of 5) | THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY | 50% (1 of 2) |
0% (0 of 0) | FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY | 0% (0 of 0) |
551 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 532 |
83 6.6 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
57 9.3 |
281 | NET YARDS PASSING | 180 |
23-43 6.5 1 for 1 0 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
12-20 9.0 0 for 0 1 |
270 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 352 |
40 6.8 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
37 9.5 |
5 for 230 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 5 for 215 |
46.0 | Average | 43.0 |
128 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 56 |
5 for 42 6 for 86 1 for 0 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
5 for 27 2 for 29 0 for 0 |
11 for 80 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 9 for 99 |
1-1 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 0-0 |
33:26 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 26:34 |
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2 | Levar Hayden | 5 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||||
4 | Ellis-Mcdermi Ellis-Mcdermid | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
8 | Tibi Banica | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
9 | Sam Carino | 5 | 0 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
14 | Alex Babalos | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
17 | J. Carpenter | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
28 | Jeff Burt | 4 | 2 | 6 | – | 1-3 | – | 1-0 | ||||
29 | Bryan Rideout | 1 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
41 | Mark Bailey | 2 | 3 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
44 | Devin Kavanagh | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
50 | Serge Kaminsky | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
51 | Zack Kotilla | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | 1-3 | – | – | ||||
55 | Brett Knull | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
58 | Thomas Harris | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
88 | Joey Gabrick | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
91 | Connor Flynn | 3 | 2 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
98 | James Haddad | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
99 | Martin Park | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
TOTALS | 39 | 18 | 57 | 0-0 | 2-6 | – | 1-0 | 1 | ||||
2 | Andrea Bonaventura | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
4 | Tye Noble | 4 | 4 | 8 | – | – | 1-0 | – | 2 | |||
14 | Brian Hagen | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | ||||
16 | Michael Lau | 5 | 1 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
21 | Steve Truzak | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
22 | Anthony DesLauriers | 8 | 1 | 9 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
23 | Wyatt Getty | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
25 | Doctor Cassama | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
28 | Sam Hurl | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0-1 | 0-1 | – | – | ||||
31 | Adam Driedger | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
33 | Anthony Parker | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
34 | Richard Snyder | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
39 | Chris Folk | 4 | 5 | 9 | – | – | – | – | ||||
44 | Geoff Paiement | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
47 | Travis Payne | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
84 | Milos Zivkovic | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
92 | Brandon Rockhill | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
93 | Linden Gaydosh | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
94 | Byron Roberts | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
95 | Carlos Guglielmi | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
97 | Josh Symons | 2 | 3 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
98 | Martin Kalonji | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | 1-1 | – | – | ||||
TOTALS | 58 | 28 | 86 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 1-0 | – | 2 |
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