Laval – The Laval Rouge et Or had to work hard, but still won their duel pre-season deal with the Calgary Dinos 35-23 at Laval University’s TELUS Stadium Saturday in front 10,210 spectators.
The Albertans were leading 23-17 late in the third quarter, but Laval scored 18 unanswered points to run away with the win.
Rouge et Or Head Coach Glen Constantin said he was delighted that the team was able to hold its own.
“Overall, I’m satisfied with the game, but we are aware that we have a lot of work to do,” commented Constantin, who begins his 14th season at the helm. “I liked the effort and intensity, especially in the second half.”
“The cons is that you could see that it was a preseason game. Several players were in the first part, in front of a crowd and sometimes, some wanted to do too much. ”
Constantine also praised the performance of his rookie quarterback Hugo Richard, sent into the fray for much of the match.
“Hugo did very well, despite a few small mistakes,” said Constantin. “He showed a lot of composure and calm.”
Laval set the tone for the game, scoring a touchdown in their first attack sequence. Hugo Richard, himself carried the ball into the end zone to give Laval a 7-0 lead.
After a team safety, the Dinos set forward offensively. The Dinos drove for 69 yards and capped it off with Eric Dzwilewski connecting with Jake Harty for a 22 yard touchdown pass. It was 9-7 Calgary.
Both teams exchanged a touchdown in the second quarter – Julian Bailey (21 yard pass from Hugo Richard) and Brett Blaszko (14 yard pass from Andrew Buckley) scored for their respective teams. At halftime, it was 16-14 in favor of the Dinos.
In the third quarter, Boris Bede added an 18-yard field goal made the score 17-16 to Laval.
2013 Canada West MVP running back Mercer Timmis scored a major on the next series, but Laval replied immediately as Hugo Richard connected with Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau for a 100 yard touchdown pass.
Laval got on the scoreboard again few minutes later when rookie Vincent Alarie-Tardif rushed for a one yard major. Then, Bede added a 18-yard field goal midway in the fourth quarter, making the final score 35-23.
Hugo Richard completed his work day with 17 completions on 26 attempts for 272 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was another rookie Benoît Gagnon-Brousseau, who had four catches for 142 yards.
On the ground, Christopher Amoah did well as he had 12 carries for gains of 77 yards.
Defensively, Pierre-Luc Vallée was the best with four tackles, including two quarterback sacks.
Laval returns to action next Saturday at 7:00pm when they host the Montreal Carabins in the first game of the 2014 regular season.
QUEBEC CITY – The University of Calgary Dinos hung with their eastern nemesis for the better part of three quarters, but the defending national champions pulled ahead at the finish as the Laval Rouge et Or took a 35-23 non-conference victory in CIS football action Saturday afternoon.
In front of more than 10,000 spectators at Stade TELUS-UL in Quebec City, the home side responded to a 12-yard Calgary touchdown run by reigning Canada West MVP Mercer Timmis with a 100-yard pass-and-run TD by Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau on the very next play to put Laval up for good. The Rouge et Or scored the final 18 points of the game after Timmis’ TD had put Calgary up 23-17.
The Dinos return to Calgary Sunday to prepare for their first regular season contest Friday night at McMahon Stadium, when they host the University of Alberta Golden Bears. It’s KICKOFF 2014, the wrap-up party for the University of Calgary’s annual Fall Orientation Week, with tailgate festivities set to get underway at 3:30 p.m. in the east parking lot. The Canada West season-opener is slated to begin just after 5:30 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv.
Until the century-mark touchdown, the Dinos and Rouge et Or went blow-for-blow, with five lead changes in the first three quarters. Calgary’s scores came courtesy Jake Harty on a 22-yard TD pass from Eric Dzwilewski in the firsts quarter, while Brett Blaszko hauled in an Andrew Buckley toss from 14 yards out late in the opening half. Timmis’ second-half major and a first-quarter safety conceded by Laval rounded out the scoring for the Dinos.
“We held the lead at three different times in the game, but at the end we just weren’t able to close,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “That’s something we have to learn to do. I could talk about positives for two hours, but we have to have the mindset that we’re going to finish these games.”
Nill played both quarterbacks liberally through the first 45 minutes, with Buckley and Dzwilewski trading places on a nearly series-by-series basis. And both put up solid numbers: Dzwilewski went 13-for-18 for 140 yards and one TD, while Buckley completed 11 of 14 attempts for 124 yards and a major. After the game, Nill stopped short of naming his Week 1 starter.
“Both Eric and Andrew at times showed very well,” he said. “We will go over the film and make some decisions for next week.”
The tandem of Blaszko and Harty combined for the lion’s share of receptions for the Dinos, with Blaszko hauling in 8 catches for 84 yards while Harty grabbed six catches for 68 yards. On the ground, Timmis gained 44 yards on eight carries while Harty scampered for 43 yards on a trio of carries.
Defensively, Adam Konar and Cyril Iwanegbe each accounted for 7.5 tackles for Calgary with Tanner Doll adding four.
“I thought overall the defence played reasonably well,” said Nill. “We gave up three big plays that hurt us, but in between those we were right there.”
The Rouge et Or open RSEQ play next Saturday when they host the Université de Montréal Carabins.
(Source: Ben Matchett, Calgary Dinos Sports Information)
CALGARY (0-1) vs. LAVAL (1-0)
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| CALGARY | 9 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| LAVAL | 7 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 35 |
| SCORING SUMMARY | CGY -LAVA | |||
| 1st | 04:03 | LAVA | Hugo Richard 1 yd run (Felix Faubert-L kick) | |
| 8 plays, 83 yards, TOP 4:03 | 0 – 7 | |||
| 08:03 | CGY | TEAM safety | ||
| 2 – 7 | ||||
| 13:14 | CGY | Jake Harty 22 yd pass from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark kick) | ||
| 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:21 | 9 – 7 | |||
| 2nd | 05:03 | LAVA | Julian Bailey 21 yd pass from Hugo Richard (Felix Faubert-L kick) | |
| 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:55 | 9 – 14 | |||
| 09:04 | CGY | Brett Blaszko 14 yd pass from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark kick) | ||
| 9 plays, 81 yards, TOP 3:55 | 16 – 14 | |||
| 3rd | 03:34 | LAVA | Boris Bede 18 yd field goal | |
| 5 plays, 36 yards, TOP 1:54 | 16 – 17 | |||
| 10:40 | CGY | Mercer Timmis 12 yd run (Johnny Mark kick) | ||
| 7 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:45 | 23 – 17 | |||
| 11:13 | LAVA | B. G.-Brousseau 100 yd pass from Hugo Richard (Boris Bede kick) | ||
| 1 play, 100 yards, TOP 0:23 | 23 – 24 | |||
| 11:15 | LAVA | Boris Bede 0 rouge | ||
| 23 – 25 | ||||
| 4th | 02:17 | LAVA | Vinc. A.-Tardif 1 yd run (Boris Bede kick) | |
| 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:56 | 23 – 32 | |||
| 07:52 | LAVA | Boris Bede 18 yd field goal | ||
| 7 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:58 | 23 – 35 | |||
| Kickoff time: 13:08 • End of Game: 16:07 • Total elapsed time: 2:59 Referee: STEPHANE ROY • Umpire: RENALD DULAC • Linesman: MARTIN CAUX • Line judge: ERIC CLOUTIER • Back judge: WALTER BERRY • Field judge: YVES LEMELIN • Side judge: BRENT YOUNG • Scorer: ESTHER TURGEON • Temperature: 23 C • Wind: SO 15KMH • Weather: NUAGEUX |
Team Statistics
|
Team Statistics (Final)
| Team Totals | CGY | LAVA |
| FIRST DOWNS | 29 | 22 |
| Rushing | 12 | 10 |
| Passing | 15 | 9 |
| Penalty | 2 | 3 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 173 | 187 |
| Rushing Attempts | 25 | 33 |
| Average Per Rush | 6.9 | 5.7 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 1 | 2 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 176 | 191 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 3 | 4 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 266 | 272 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 27-37-0 | 17-27-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 7.2 | 10.1 |
| Average Per Completion | 9.9 | 16.0 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 2 | 2 |
| TEAM LOSSES | -40 | -15 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 399 | 444 |
| Total offense plays | 67 | 60 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 6.0 | 7.4 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 6-58 | 12-85 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 10-357 | 8-367 |
| Average Yards Per Punt | 35.7 | 45.9 |
| Net Yards Per Punt | 32.0 | 45.1 |
| Inside 20 | 3 | 3 |
| 50+ Yards | 0 | 2 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Fair catch | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 4-225 | 5-328 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 56.2 | 65.6 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 39.5 | 51.4 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 7-6-0 | 9-37-0 |
| Average Per Return | 0.9 | 4.1 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 5-71-0 | 4-67-0 |
| Average Per Return | 14.2 | 16.8 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Possession Time | 29:00 | 31:00 |
| 1st Quarter | 6:55 | 8:05 |
| 2nd Quarter | 9:02 | 5:58 |
| 3rd Quarter | 8:07 | 6:53 |
| 4th Quarter | 4:56 | 10:04 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 2 of 2 | 2 of 3 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 2-2 | 5-5 |
| Touchdowns | 2-2 | 3-5 |
| Field goals | 0-2 | 2-5 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 0-0 | 5-40 |
| PAT Kicks | 3-3 | 4-4 |
| Field Goals | 0-0 | 2-2 |
Photo credit: Mathieu Belanger
(With files from Stephane Jobin)
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