By Bo Rhodes
Fate truly smiled upon the Dinosaurs last Saturday at McMahon Stadium when they faced arch-rivals, the University of Alberta Golden Bears. When it was announced that Lincoln Blumell would be the starting quarterback for this season, veteran QB Darryl Leason decided to separate himself from the team. Leason’s brother, Michael, a second-year starting wide receiver also walked away from the team. Despite the defections, the 1999 version of the University of Calgary football team systematically disassembled the visiting Bears in front of 2, 134 boisterous fans.
In his first start ever, Lincoln Blumell led the team to an early lead in the first quarter after an interception by fourth-year defensive back Ian Schafer. Capitalizing on the turnover, Blumell handed off to running back Alan Giacalone who scored his first of two touchdowns for the day.
With the Dinos leading 21-13 at the start of the second quarter, the Golden Bears utilized their ground attack, led by fourth-year running back Mike Munoz, resulting in a touchdown which narrowed the gap between the two Alberta sides.
Leading 21-13 at the start of the second half, the Dinos turned to running back Dean Fisher late in the third quarter to stomp a path deep into enemy territory. A 42-yard carry helped set up slotback Jordan Valgardson for his second touchdown of the day. Fisher continued to run amok in the fourth quarter and ended the day with 85 yards under his belt, second only to Munoz who ran for 120 yards and a touch-down.
The Dinos’ defense was on fire in the second half allowing the Bears into the end zone only once on a short pass to fifth-year wide receiver Jamie Stoddard. Dino linebacker David Swagar led with six tackles, followed by Schafer with four special teams tackles and an interception. The defense showed excellent cohesion and displayed a tenacity and work ethic which will allow the Dinos to maintain a winning form. When combined with an offensive side led by Blumell, Fisher and Gicacalone, the Dinos truly present a formidable challenge for the other teams of the Canada West Football League.
After the game, head coach Tony Fasano commented that, "it was a good chance to see the team perform after two weeks of practice." With only seven games remaining in the regular season, there is little room for mistakes. For the upcoming game against the University of Manitoba, Fasano said that, "the basics will stay the same" and that we can expect to see, "a well-balanced team."
The next home game will be Sept. 17 at 7:00 p.m. against the defending Vanier Champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
Bring a friend, bring your folks, bring a date, whatever, just make sure you’re there.