Rouge et Or defeat Dinos 35–23 in pre-season tilt

By Ashton Chugh, September 4, 2014 —

In a preseason rematch of last year’s Vanier Cup, the Dinos saw their chance at redemption against Laval’s Rouge et Or slip away in the last stages of the game. The Rouge et Or quashed the Dinos 35–23 in front of 10,000 spectators in Quebec City.

With less than three minutes to go in the third quarter, reigning conference MVP runningback Mercer Timmis scored a 12-yard touchdown to give the Dinos a 23–17 lead. On the next play, Benoit Gagnon Brousseau drove the ball for a 100-yard score from Hugo Richard for the Rouge et Or.  The Rouge et Or then scored the final 18 points of the game and never looked back.

“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.”

The game served as an audition for the starting quarterback spot for Eric Dzwilewski and Andrew Buckley. Nill played both of his quarterbacks evenly throughout the game. Dzwilewski went 13-for-18 for 140 yards and one touchdown, while Buckley completed 11 of 14 attempts for 124 yards and a major.

“Both Eric and Andrew at times showed very well,” he said. “We will go over the film and make some decisions for next week.”

Nill has not yet named a starter for the home opener.

On the defensive end, 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,” Nill said. “We gave up three big plays that hurt us, but in between those we were right there.”

The Dinos will open their season at Kickoff, where they will host the University of
Alberta’s Bears at McMahon Stadium on Friday at 5:30 p.m.