VANCOUVER – After a strong start and a two-possession second quarter lead, the UBC Thunderbirds (0-3) surrendered 47 unanswered points to the No. 4 Calgary Dinos (3-0) while falling 47-13 at Thunderbird Stadium in UBC's annual Homecoming game.
A blocked punt touchdown return on the first drive of the contest was followed by a pair of
Garrin McDonnell second quarter field goals as the T-Birds dominated the scoreboard early with a 13-0 lead.
The Dinos woke from a sleepy start late in the second quarter when Adam Sinagra found Jalen Philpot in the end zone on a 17 yard touchdown pass, one of four throwing majors for the veteran quarterback.
Calgary took a 14-13 lead with 20 seconds remaining in the half on a one-yard Josiah Joseph touchdown run, before leaving the T-Birds in the dust following the second half kickoff.
"Give UBC some credit, they got a young team and came out fired up and playing hard," said Calgary head coach Wayne Harris. "We got a couple big plays there in the second quarter, started connecting on some of those passes and moving the ball down the field, I think that was the key to getting some of our confidence back."
Sinagra finished the game with 237 yards passing, completing 26 of his 38 attempts. The Dinos added 181 yards rushing, nearly equalling UBC's total net offence of 192 yards.
UBC starting quarterback
Tommy Yanchuk managed 112 yards passing going 14-for-22 with one interception.
After holding the Dinos to a two-and-out in the game-opening series, converted quarterback
Michael Calvert blocked Nico DiFonte's punt while rookie UBC linebacker
Mitchell Townsend picked up the ball for the 17 yard scoop and score as the hometown 'Birds took the early lead, less than two minutes after kickoff.
Much like their start to the opening frame, the 'Birds started strong in the second quarter, getting close to the red zone with a 19 yard catch by
Edgerrin Williams. The T-Birds got the ball down to the Calgary 20 where McDonnell split the uprights with a 27 yard field goal, his first in the Canada West having taken over kicking duties in this, his second season with UBC.
After forcing Calgary to punt from deep within their own territory, Williams made a 26 yard return to get UBC right back into striking distance. But after a penalty backed the 'Birds back to the Dinos' 45 yard line, it was McDonnell time once again, this time nailing a 43 yard field goal to give the home side a 13-0 lead.
After a frustrating opening half for the conference leading Dinos, Calgary got on the board late in the second quarter thanks to a 17 yard Adam Sinagra touchdown pass to second year receiver Jalen Philpot, cutting UBC's lead to six after the successful convert.
The Dinos weren't content to head into halftime trailing. UBC went two-and-out on their next possession giving Calgary plenty of time to work with. Sinagra worked his way deeper into 'Birds territory and with some help from a pair of T-Bird pass interference penalties, eventually got the ball down to the one yard line. Joseph ran it in to tie the game with 20 seconds left in the half and the visitors took the 14-13 lead on the successful convert.
UBC started the second half with a strong drive by
Tommy Yanchuk who strung together five consecutive completions to get to the Calgary 43 yard line. After a dropped pass at the goal line, the rookie pivot looked for
Sharique Khan out of the backfield but the ball deflected off the running back's hands and right to Deane Leonard who went untouched for 72 yards to the end zone as the Dinos went ahead 21-13.
Things went from bad to worse for the T-Birds as their ensuing drive ended by McDonnell having his punt blocked, picked up by Calgary's Alessandro Molnar at the UBC five yard line. Sinagra found Nathanael Durkan on the very next play for the major score as the Dinos took a two possession lead, more than enough to seal the victory.
"We need to win a game," said a disheartened UBC head coach
Blake Nill after falling to 0-3 for the first time with the Thunderbirds. "And if we win a game you may see a quick turnaround but the reality is as we falter like this we dig ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole and it's going to take a Herculean type effort to get out of it."
The 'Birds will attempt to start to get out of that hole next week when they pay a visit to the Manitoba Bisons (1-2) on Saturday, September 21
st.
Calgary will aim to keep their undefeated record intact when they host the Regina Rams (1-2) on Friday, September 20
th at McMahon Stadium.
