VANCOUVER – The defending Canada West champion Calgary Dinos rained on UBC's Homecoming weekend on Saturday with a 59-11 win over the Thunderbirds in front of the biggest UBC football crowd in over 10 years. The attendance for the game on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium was 4,245.
The Dinos outgained the T-Birds 704 yards to 177 and had a 38-11 advantage in first downs. Andrew Buckley was 17-for-24 for 307 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers before giving way to his backup in the second half.
The game was virtually out of reach by the halftime whistle, as Calgary took a 45-4 lead into the locker room with a 430-106 advantage in offensive yards. The result was all the more shocking when compared to last year's season series between UBC and Calgary. Although the Dinos won all three games, including the first-round playoff matchup in Calgary, all three were close in the fourth quarter, with eventual victory margins of 10, 14 and 17 points.
"I don't think the talent difference is as big as the score today for sure," said UBC head coach
Shawn Olson. "We have a young, talented team, but we obviously have not prepared them to compete at the level they need to, so that's something we have to figure out."
The Dinos didn't allow a single offensive point on Saturday, as the 'Birds did all their scoring on two safeties and an interception return. This makes two straight games to start the season in which Calgary hasn't given up an offensive touchdown.
UBC quarterbacks
Carson Williams and
Greg Bowcott combined for just 57 yards through the air on 6-for-25 passing, which made for tough sledding once the team fell behind early. The ground game for UBC, which was one of the best in the league last year, didn't get a chance to find a rhythm, and has yet to score a touchdown through the first two games this season.
"We haven't been able to move people consistently," said Olson. "We had glimmers early in the game with
Brandon Deschamps having a couple runs. Some of it is scheme. We're not blocking people consistently. Calgary is a good team especially up front, but we have to be more consistently and have to be able to get our running backs going. We have three good ones there, but can't seem to consistently churn out first downs in the run game."
Williams led the team with 57 yards on the ground. Deschamps had 41 yards on eight carries, and rookie
Marcus Davis added 17 yards on three carries.
Davis also provided the lone bright spot of the first half for UBC, with a 79-yard kick return that set them up in the redzone. The offence was unable to capitalize on the chance, but after a turnover on downs the UBC defence held firm, leading to Calgary conceding a safety. Davis racked up 156 return yards for the day.
The lone UBC touchdown came early in the fourth quarter with Dzwilewski in at quarterback for the Dinos.
Chris Adams jumped the flat route on the right sideline and took the interception back 80 yards for the score.
"You saw glimmers of energy and some passion towards the end there, and that's what we're looking for," said Olson.
Calgary improves to 2-0 with the win, while the T-Birds fall to 0-2. Both teams will be on the road next weekend. Calgary heads into Saskatchewan to take on the Huskies on Friday, while the T-Birds are at the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday.
