Dinos robbed of a win against Bisons
By Rodrigo Verney, September 25 2024—
Boos from the stands, arguments on the field and indignation from the stands is how the game against the Manitoba Bisons ended on Saturday, Sept. 21, a stark contrast to the happy retirement wishes for Bisons’ coach Brian Dobie that started the evening. Unfortunately, this game was marked not by the memories of a tough battle between two great programs but by an uncalled touchdown that would have secured the Dinos’ comeback in the dying seconds of the game.
You dont need to be a hardcore fan to know how incredible it is for one play to change everything. This is the moment that makes a champion or exposes a team’s flaw. It is a major highlight in someones career. That is the very reason why it shouldn’t be influenced by anything else other than the skills of a player. Before we get to the part where we scream and kick about it, let’s set the scene a little bit.
It is the start of the second half. Calgary has a comfortable 15-7 lead with most points coming from a 13-0 second quarter. The Bisons look to be struggling to make meaningful plays but are somehow forcing the Dinos to third downs. The Bisons were able to return a punt in the beginning of the quarter to open the scoreboard. Still, the Dinos were putting up a fight and were able to sneak two points in the third by forcing a safety. This quarter also saw major plays by Calgary’s Don Britton, who consistently threw for 20 yards of more, extending their lead to 17-8 at the end of the third.
Trouble came in the final quarter. The Bisons exploded in a series of good plays, calculated interceptions and great rushes. The total damage summed to 14 points to overthrow the Dinos’ lead with only one minute and 26 seconds to go. A series of incomplete passes and near interceptions later, the Dinos found themselves on their own 47-yard line with 38 seconds left in the game and one final possession to make up a five-point deficit. In any other situation, the Dinos would have had to simply make it to the redzone however, the Dinos could not afford to give them another possession. There was only one way out of this.
Quarterback Dom Britton, also nicknamed the “Vice Mayor of McMahon”, returned to the field with his mind set on advancing as much as possible. He relied on his brotherly connection a lot throughout the game which was working just fine. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep it in the family this last quarter. His passes were not connecting and was forced to make a miraculous 16-yard first down. He continued to activate his brother, Ben, on the sides and was forced to a third down with around 20 seconds to go. Fans were picking up their trash as if they had already accepted defeat. The excitement in the arena shifted once Britton threw a reenergizing 20-yard pass to Luke Gutek to put them at the Bisons’ 27-yard line. The Dinos headed to another timeout to freeze the clock at nine seconds. This was it. The make or break moment people have been dying to see. The Dinos connected to Ben Britton for a much needed nine-yard pass.
Now, if you are counting with me, you might think that the fans in attendance were delusional. Nine yards just puts us within 20 yards. Not enough to hope for a touchdown on a scoreless half much less with less than nine seconds to go. Those feelings echoed loudly within the stands. Hope was at an all time low. The words “hail mary” were on everyone’s mind but no one dared to admit it. We all knew what had to be done and ewe were all focused in on Dom.
The Dinos reset. The clock starts. Britton has the ball.
He falls back into his pocket and spots a heavily guarded Jack Gutek on the far left side of the endzone and throws a 28-yard bomb. Gutek jumps higher than any of his defenders and grabs the ball. He returns to the ground as the people in McMahon scream and rejoice. They did it. One of the most impressive wins in the season so far. That was until an awkward silence took over the stadium as they witnessed one of the on-field referees signal a no catch.
Confusion simply wouldn’t leave the fans’ faces. It looked like a clean grab, but maybe we weren’t paying attention to Gutek’s foot placement and the line was closer to him than it seems. Replay footage clearly showed Gutek’s feet in bounds. The referees had left the field and the call stood. A bitter end to what would have been a win to write home about.
A lot of people turn to sport because in it we see a sense of justice. We are taught that we can minimize luck in sports—If we train hard enough, rewards are guaranteed. However, it is in times like these that we realize that not even the biggest effort in the world will grant us the win we so desperately crave if the system isn’t fair. This is not to be understood as a referee witch hunt but a grim reminder that luck is still part of the game. The Dinos have held back on mourning of this loss, choosing to look ahead to their next challenge against the UBC Thunderbirds on the Sept. 28.