The Huskies put up a good fight but ultimately fell to the Calgary Dinos in a tight game.

In a matchup of the top two teams in the Canada West, it was the University of Calgary Dinos who walked away still undefeated.

The Huskies surprised a lot of people by being in the game right until the bitter end against the second ranked team in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport. A couple of late touchdowns ended up being the difference as the Dinos prevailed 38–24 in a very close and exciting game.

Dino running back Mercer Timmis was the difference maker as he scored early and often, recording 208 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He accounted for almost half of the Dinos offence and was a force to be reckoned with all night long.

The Dogs countered with a balanced attack headed by running back Jarvis James who had 153 rushing yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Drew Burko also threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

John Trumpy was the leading receiver for the Huskies as he hauled in five passes for 101 yards and also scored a touchdown. Brydon Ozmun had a big day recording seven catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Timmis opened the scoring just 1:17 into the contest with a three-yard touchdown run that gave the Dinos an early 7–0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Burko would connect with Trumpy who made a nice catch over the middle to even the score at seven apiece.

Kicker Denton Kolodzinksi would connect from 16 yards out on his only field goal of the night to give the Dogs a three-point advantage. Then on the final play of the first frame Timmis would score again, this time from 23 yards out to make it 14–10 after 15 minutes of action.

In the second quarter Ozmun would score twice, just 4:45 apart, to give the Dogs a 24–14 cushion. But in the dying seconds of the half Dinos quarterback Andrew Buckley would find Brendon Thera-Plamondon for a 20 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 24–21 at the intermission.

It was all Dinos in the second half as they outscored the U of S 17–0 to win the contest 38–24.

Entering the game, all the talk was about how good Calgary’s high-flying offence was and for the most part, the Dogs held their own and even exceeded some expectations. The Dinos came in averaging 65 points a game as well as running for 305 yards. Led by safety Mark Ingram, the green and white held them to just 38 points and 247 rushing yards.

The fifth year safety did everything he could do guide the Huskies to victory. Ingram recorded 8.5 tackles, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble and a diving interception of Buckley. His incredible performance earned him Canada West defensive player of the week honours.

The Huskies offence sputtered in the second half as they had trouble sustaining drives, moving the ball downfield and ultimately put up a goose egg in the final 30 minutes of play.

There are plenty of positives to pull away from this game as the Dogs proved they can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country. Even with the lack of production in the late going, the Huskies very much still had a chance to win the game. However, it just wasn’t in the cards on this night and the loss drops the Huskies record to 2–1 and they are now tied for second place in the Canada West conference with the University of Manitoba Bisons. The win puts Calgary at 3–0 and they sit alone atop the conference standings.

The Huskies now focus their attention on a provincial showdown with the University of Regina Rams. The Rams have dropped two straight decisions, including a heartbreaker last week against the University of Alberta Golden Bears where the final score was 44–42.

Regina is carried by a decently strong aerial attack that features Canada West’s leading receiver in Addison Richards. Not only is Richards averaging 149 yards a game, he also leads the conference with four receiving touchdowns. Look for Ingram to be a big factor in stopping the key to the Rams offence.

The game goes Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

—

Photo: Jeff Glasel