On Sat., Oct. 30, the Dinos football squad played their final regular season game against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in what is affectionately known as the UBC mud pit. Now, after a long and hard year, our Dinos have finally made playoffs, but the road to qualifying wasn’t easy. In order for the Dinos to cinch the fourth and final spot in the playoff, two things had to happen. First, Calgary had to beat UBC and second, the University of Manitoba Bisons had to beat the Simon Fraser University Clan.
The Dinos did their part by beating UBC 26-17 while the Bisons celebrated a first of the season with a 41-36 win over the Clan. Dinos Head Coach Tony Fasano knew the result of the Bison-Clan game before his own battle was over and let his boys in on the good news at half time. That was a pivotal moment with respect to the Dinos energy levels. The team was really fired up in the second half due to the news of a possible playoff spot.
“Once we heard the news, we knew we had to step it up. We had to win at any cost,” said Dinos Quarterback Charles Guedo.
Two key momentum shifts seemed to make all the difference Saturday afternoon. A 61-yard UBC interception which could have given them a touchdown, was called back due to a late hit on Guedo. This consequently led to Dinos defensive back Ryan Saurette picking off a ball irresponsibly thrown by UBC Quarterback Blake Smelser. He ran it back 32 yards to the one-yard line. This resulted in a touchdown by Dinos running back Jeff Williams one minute into the second quarter.
Soon after the beginning of the fourth quarter, Calgary defensive back Dan Zubkowski blocked a UBC field goal attempt. Next came a three-play, 65-yard drive and touchdown pass to Dinos wide receiver Dave Holowaychuk.
“We knew UBC was a good team. There was a lot on the line with this game for us. We did what we had to and luckily everything just clicked at the right time,” said Holowaychuk
During the game Guedo threw 18 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while Jeff Williams rushed for 124 yards in 22 carries.
Wide receiver Joel Ford had a career game Saturday afternoon. Guedo’s new favourite target caught 11 passes for 125 yards. This just happens to be the second most receptions in a game in Dinos history. Ford now has 44 catches for 697 yards this season, the fifth-highest total ever for a Dino.
To make this quiet sophomore blush even more, it might be nice to mention that this 62, 195-pound humanities student fired a 39-yard pass to Stephen Hughes to set up a critical scoring drive that helped secure the big win. For his efforts, Ford was named CIS Offensive Player of the Week.
The Dinos head north Sat., Oct. 6 to fight the battle of Alberta against the 7-1 University of Alberta Golden Bears. Calgary beat the Bears 25-23 in Edmonton on Oct. 2 during their regular season.
If the Dinos beat U of A this weekend, they advance to the Canada West Championships. To ensure they win, check out the website at www.godinos.com for information about a fan bus travelling to Edmonton for the game.