Like a hot air balloon shot down by a crossbow, the University of Calgary Dinos football team deflated in their final regular season game.
Calgary lost 20-9 against the University of Alberta Golden Bears as they fought the wind and were susceptible to turnovers all game long. Thankfully for the Dinos, the game had no impact on the standings as Calgary clinched second place when the University of Regina Rams beat the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday. Calgary will host the Canada West semi-final against the Rams on Nov. 3, with the winner going on to the Canada West final. To have success in the playoffs Calgary will have to limit their turnovers, move the ball more efficiently on offence and pray for a windless day as Calgary went 0-2 in field goals and gained little yards on punts.
“The special teams didn’t really struggle, it was more our attempts to kick into the wind,” remarked Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “At the end of the game we were against the wind and their punts would go 70 yards and ours would go 20, which had a lot to do with it.”
The bulk of Calgary’s nine points came midway through the first quarter. Calgary used the wind to their advantage in the first half and went into the locker room up 8-1.
But Calgary performed a disappearing act in the second half. On the first offensive play of the half, Junior was intercepted by Bears linebacker Scott Stevenson who ran the ball back 25 yards for a touchdown. Calgary had trouble all day protecting the football and committed four turnovers.
“The main thing again is we turned the ball over four or five times . . . yep, that was it right there,” said Nill. “If you look at a telling sign, this has been our issue all year– turning over the football. We can’t do that; no team can do that and expect to win.”
The Dinos got a boost as star runningback Anthony Woodson returned and gained 44 yards on the ground, showing no lasting effects from his rib injury that left him sidelined for most of the season.
“He played really well,” said Nill. “Obviously his endurance is a little bit in question, but his power and abilities to make the reads . . . he did really well. It looks like he almost didn’t miss a beat.”
Walter claimed the Canada West rushing crown this season as he had 75 yards on 14 carries giving him 904 yards on the year. The individual performances, as well as strong defensive play, show that there was a small silver lining for the Dinos.
The Dinos continued to struggle on offence and only put one point on the board in the second half. Alberta added three singles and a safety to their total before breaking the game wide open late in the fourth quarter. Bears quarterback Quade Armstrong carried the ball 20 yards for the their only offensive touchdown on the day.
Sunday Calgary will look to win its first playoff game since they won the Vanier Cup in 1995. Nill was very direct when he stated what needed to be done to win.
“I think defensively we are right on track and special teams-wise we’re going to be fine,” he said. “My concern is making sure we protect the football. Again, if you look at the games we won we were able to protect the ball and have limited turnovers, the games we lost we weren’t. We need to play it safe and make sure we don’t do anything too high risk.”