Dinos top Huskies to remain undefeated

By Sonny Sachdeva, October 6 2015 —

The Dinos football team continued their banner season with a 59–19 victory over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at McMahon Stadium on Oct. 3.

After sprinting out to a league-best 4–0 record over the first month of the 2015 season, the Dinos kicked off October with another dominant win, overcoming a first quarter deficit to post 56 points over the final three frames.

Dinos quarterback Andrew Buckley put forth another exceptional performance, posting 486 passing yards alongside four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Teammate Austin Hartley led the University of Calgary’s receiving corps with 171 yards and two touchdowns, while Rashaun Simonise and Denzel Radford caught the club’s other two receiving touchdowns.

With the Dinos’ star runningback Mercer Timmis sidelined with an injury, replacement Bryce Harper rounded out the team’s unstoppable offence, rushing for 102 yards and one touchdown.

While Calgary’s outstanding offence continues to roll over the competition, their defence has also stepped up with some clutch performances. That was certainly the case against the Huskies, as defensive lineman Connor McGough contributed seven tackles and two sacks to shut down the Huskies offence.

Head coach Wayne Harris knew the Huskies would come out looking to take that number-one ranking away from the Dinos, but he praised his team’s ability to stay consistent in their effort.

“We knew Saskatchewan would come out strong and we knew we’d be challenged throughout the game,” Harris said. “They play a physical brand of football, and the first half was not pretty at all times. The offence struggled and defensively we gave up a few too many plays. But our guys played a full 60 minutes, and we’re starting to just wear teams down.”

With the fifth straight victory, the Dinos remain the only undefeated team in the Canada West division, and one of only three undefeated teams in the CIS, along with the University of Western Ontario and Université Laval.

The Dinos now look ahead to their final three games of the regular season, starting with a rematch against the Huskies on Oct. 16 in Saskatoon. U of C’s final two games will come against the University of Regina and University of Alberta — the Dinos have posted a combined 152 points against the two teams this season, and will enter both match-ups as the clear favourite.

The Canada West playoffs begin on Nov. 7, as the Dinos continue their quest to win their first CIS title since 1995.