EDMONTON - The University of Alberta Golden Bears football team started strong, and finished even stronger, but were beaten in the middle quarters as the No.2 ranked Calgary Dinos posted a 52-37 victory over the Bears on Saturday afternoon at Foote Field.
Alberta, now 3-3 on the season, combined to outscore the Dinos 27-12 in the first and fourth quarters, but was in turn outscored 40-10 in the second and third quarters by the nation's second ranked team. Fifth-year quarterback Curtis Dell completed 20 of 36 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing three times for 30 yards. Sophomore receivers Jimmy Ralph and Tylor Henry had a tremendous day against the Dinos' secondary, with Ralph hauling in seven catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, while Henry, the conference's top receiver last season, finished with six catches for 163 yards and one touchdown in his biggest game of the season so far. Henry's TD catch was a spectacular one-handed diving catch in the back of the end zone in the second quarter, on a pass thrown by Ralph. Rookie runningback Levon Hawreliak also plunged into the Calgary end zone, while David Beard, an offensive lineman and long-snapper, also hauled in a TD catch.
The now 5-1 Dinos received a stellar game from quarterback Andrew Buckley as he rushed 10 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns, while also completing 18 of 30 passes for 307 yards and a pair of TDs. Runningback Quentin Chown, starting in place of the injured Mercer Timmis, churned up 125 rush yards, before getting hurt, as Calgary amassed 431 total rushing yards on the day. Receiver Brett Blaszko hauled in six passes for 101 yards and two TDs as well.
Calgary now sits atop the Canada West standings, alone, at 5-1, while Alberta is tied for third place with the Manitoba Bisons. Saskatchewan, at 4-2, remains in second place.
Alberta opened Saturday's afternoon tilt with a roaring start as second year receiver Aundrey Webster returned the opening kick-off 82 yards to the Calgary 33-yard line. After a pass interference call on the Dinos, the Bears were sitting pretty on the Calgary 9-yard line, but penalties killed the drive, and Alberta had to settle for a 16-yard Stephen Fabian field goal. Calgary matched when Johnny Mark nailed a 24-yarder seven minutes later, but the Bears headed into the second quarter leading 6-3 thanks to another successful Fabian field goal.
The Dinos jumped ahead 12-9 midway through the second when Buckley scampered 10 yards into the end zone, but the Bears responded on their next possession by marching 60 yards on four plays, capped off with the razzle dazzle of Ralph to Henry which made the score 16-12.
Buckley took his team on his back from there on out, as he again rushed for a touchdown, the beginning of 31 straight points for the Dinos, followed by a TD pass to Blaszko, a pass that was nearly intercepted by the Bears, but instead fell right into Blaszko's lap, as Calgary stormed into half-time with a 26-19 lead.
Calgary then added their third consecutive touchdown in the third quarter, just 3:52 in, when Blaszko reeled in another TD catch. Buckley then dashed 61-yards through the Alberta defence for his third rushing touchdown of the game, and suddenly, and insurmountably, the Dinos were up 40-16. Mark added his second field goal of the game as Calgary put the cap on a 17-0 third quarter to head into the fourth leading the Bears by 27 points.But there was no quit in Chris Morris' Golden Bears on this afternoon as Alberta put up 21 fourth quarter points on Calgary. It all began when Hawreliak, the leading rusher in the CJFL in 2013, scored on a two yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter, and then Dell found Ralph on a 28-yard TD pass, after the Bears recovered a short kick-off to set themselves up in Calgary's half.
The Dinos came right back, however, as they recovered Alberta's second straight short kick-off, and then marched down field where third-string runningback Bryce Harper pounded his way into the Alberta end zone from three yards out at the 7:11 mark to make the score 50-30.
Dell and the Bears' offence just kept marching, however, as the veteran QB called his own number and juked and jived for 20 yards, and then on the next play connected with Henry 31-yards down the sideline to set Alberta up on the Calgary 15-yard line. The Bears capped off the 79-yard drive when Dell found David Beard, a converted offensive lineman, who also long-snaps, wide open in the end zone for a 15-yard TD strike to make the score 50-37. The Bears got another chance to put some points on the board late in the fourth, but were stuffed by the Dinos' defence and forced to concede the safety, making the final score 52-37.
Golden Bears linebacker Connor Ralph led all defensive players in tackles, with 11, while Calgary's Adam Konar recorded nine. Bears' defensive back Brandon Foster picked up the game's only interception, while Calgary defensive lineman Connor McGough had the game's only sack.
The Bears are on the road for their next two games, travelling to Saskatchewan next weekend (October 25th) and then Regina on November 1st to close out the regular season. The Bears will need at least one more win to guarantee a playoff spot. Calgary, on the other hand, is locked into a playoff berth, but needs one more victory to secure first place in Canada West and home field advantage through the conference playoffs. They are at home next weekend to UBC, before closing out the year on the road in Manitoba.