Five stand-out players from the Mitchell Bowl

By Tommy Osborne, November 22 2016 —

The University of Calgary Dinos won a blowout 50–24 game against the St. Francis of Xavier X-Men in the Mitchell Bowl on Nov. 19. The Dinos cruised through the second half of the game and will now compete in the Vanier Cup in Hamilton on Nov. 26. The Dinos benefited greatly from the effort of five standout players, each of whom played a key role in their victory.

Quarterback Jimmy Underdahl:

After a lacklustre showing from the offence in the first half of the Mitchell Bowl, the Dinos only scored 18 points — five of which came from two safeties and a kickoff single — Underdahl entered the game to ignite the offence. His presence became immediately known as he connected on two deep throws on his first drive — 33 yards to Whitman Tomusiak and 41 yards to Hunter Karl — and led the offence to a quick touchdown. On the next drive, Underdahl completed another deep pass to Karl and threw another touchdown. Underdahl’s amazing performance gave the Dinos a huge confidence burst the X-Men couldn’t match.

Defensive lineman Joel Van Pelt:

Van Pelt scored the team’s first touchdown on a wide open pass where he was uncovered in the end zone. His touchdown gave the Dinos the lead and put the score up to 18–14 right before the half. On top of his touchdown reception, he also added three tackles and a sack to his impressive night.

Wide receiver Hunter Karl:

After having just two catches in the first half for 30 yards, Karl exploded in the second half with three deep receptions for a combined 88 yards. Most impressive of Karl’s deep catches was the 41 yard bomb he caught early in the third quarter, where he bolted past his defender to haul it into the end zone. Karl’s contributions in the deep game spread out the X-Men’s defence, allowing a lot of underneath plays to give the offence more variety.

Wide receiver Whitman Tomusiak:

Tomusiak led the team in both receptions and yards with seven catches for 139 yards. His presence in the passing game gave the Dinos many second down conversions, forcing the defence to put extra resources into stopping him and opening up the offence for other players. His most impressive play was a 45-yard catch early in the game
where he ran by his defender to catch a perfectly thrown ball.

Defensive back Hunter Turnbull:

Turnbull was a force all over the field with five tackles on the night. He positioned himself in key spots to prevent the X-Men from converting on second down or connecting on big plays. His interception in the third quarter allowed the Dinos to take a commanding 32–14 lead they would carry for the rest of the night.