Source: Ben Matchett, Calgary Assistant Athletic Director, Operations & Communications / Photo credit Mathieu Bélanger
QUEBEC CITY – The University of Calgary Dinos hung with their eastern nemesis for the better part of three quarters, but the defending national champions pulled ahead at the finish as the Laval Rouge et Or took a 35-23 non-conference victory in CIS football action Saturday afternoon.
In front of more than 10,000 spectators at Stade TELUS-UL in Quebec City, the home side responded to a 12-yard Calgary touchdown run by reigning Canada West MVP Mercer Timmis with a 100-yard pass-and-run TD by Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau on the very next play to put Laval up for good. The Rouge et Or scored the final 18 points of the game after Timmis’ TD had put Calgary up 23-17.
The Dinos return to Calgary Sunday to prepare for their first regular season contest Friday night at McMahon Stadium, when they host the University of Alberta Golden Bears. It’s KICKOFF 2014, the wrap-up party for the University of Calgary’s annual Fall Orientation Week, with tailgate festivities set to get underway at 3:30 p.m. in the east parking lot. The Canada West season-opener is slated to begin just after 5:30 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv.
Until the century-mark touchdown, the Dinos and Rouge et Or went blow-for-blow, with five lead changes in the first three quarters. Calgary’s scores came courtesy Jake Harty on a 22-yard TD pass from Eric Dzwilewski in the firsts quarter, while Brett Blaszko hauled in an Andrew Buckley toss from 14 yards out late in the opening half. Timmis’ second-half major and a first-quarter safety conceded by Laval rounded out the scoring for the Dinos.
“We held the lead at three different times in the game, but at the end we just weren’t able to close,” said Calgary head coach Blake Nill. “That’s something we have to learn to do. I could talk about positives for two hours, but we have to have the mindset that we’re going to finish these games.”
Nill played both quarterbacks liberally through the first 45 minutes, with Buckley and Dzwilewski trading places on a nearly series-by-series basis. And both put up solid numbers: Dzwilewski went 13-for-18 for 140 yards and one TD, while Buckley completed 11 of 14 attempts for 124 yards and a major. After the game, Nill stopped short of naming his Week 1 starter.
“Both Eric and Andrew at times showed very well,” he said. “We will go over the film and make some decisions for next week.”
The tandem of Blaszko and Harty combined for the lion’s share of receptions for the Dinos, with Blaszko hauling in 8 catches for 84 yards while Harty grabbed six catches for 68 yards. On the ground, Timmis gained 44 yards on eight carries while Harty scampered for 43 yards on a trio of carries.
Defensively, Adam Konar and Cyril Iwanegbe each accounted for 7.5 tackles for Calgary with Tanner Doll adding four.
“I thought overall the defence played reasonably well,” said Nill. “We gave up three big plays that hurt us, but in between those we were right there.”
The Rouge et Or open RSEQ play next Saturday when they host the Université de Montréal Carabins.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
LAV – Hugo Richard 1-yard TD run (Félix
Faubert-Lussier convert), 4:03, 7-0 LAV
CGY – TEAM safety, 8:03, 7-2 LAV
CGY – Jake Harty 22-yard TD pass from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny
Mark convert), 13:14, 9-7 CGY
2nd Quarter
LAV – Julian Bailey 21-yard TD pass from Hugo
Richard (Félix Faubert-Lussier convert), 5:03, 14-9 LAV
CGY – Brett Blaszko 14-yard TD pass from Andrew Buckley
(Johnny Mark convert), 9:04, 16-14 CGY
3rd Quarter
LAV – Boris Bede 18-yard FG, 3:34, 17-16 LAV
CGY – Mercer Timmis 12-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert),
10:40, 23-17 CGY
LAV – Benoit Gagnon-Brousseau 100-yard TD pass from Hugo
Richard (Boris Bede convert), 11:13, 24-23 LAV
LAV – Boris Bede kickoff single, 11:15, 25-23 LAV
4th Quarter
LAV – Vincent Alarie-Tardif 1-yard TD run (Boris
Bede convert), 2:17, 32-23 LAV
LAV – Boris Bede 18-yard FG, 7:52, 35-23 LAV