File Photo by Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf

The 10th-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies walked out of McMahon Stadium in Calgary humbled after being crushed 45-4 by the second-ranked Dinos on Sept. 29 .

The win improves Calgary’s record to 5-0 and officially grants them a playoff spot regardless of how they perform in the remaining three games of the season. Saskatchewan drops to 2-3 and will need to use the Thanksgiving bye week to solve some of the team’s struggles.

“We have to make our blocks, we have to be patient, and if we want to win we have to complete our drives without stalling on the 20-yard line; we need to get it in the end zone,” Huskies head coach Brian Towriss said.

Saskatchewan actually had a 3-2 lead midway through the first quarter against Calgary following a 41-yard field goal by Denton Kolodzinski, but the Dinos soon took over all facets of the game.

The teams on both sides of the ball were missing key players. Saskatchewan was without starting quarterback Drew Burko, who broke a bone in his wrist, and his favorite target, conference-leading receiver, Kit Hillis. Veteran defensive lineman Zach Hart was also gone from the Dogs lineup while the Dinos were without receiver Chris Dobko and running back Steven Lumbala.

“Both sides sat out impact players today and I think if this game had been played in a couple of weeks from now it would have been a very different type of game,” Dinos head coach Blake Nill said in a press release following the game.

Wide receiver Richard Snyder lead the Dinos with eight catches for 238 yards and a touchdown on the night. Quarterback Eric Dzwilewski found Snyder behind coverage for a 90-yard major, making the game 19-3 Calgary. The pass-and-run play was the third-longest in Dino’s history.

On Calgary’s next possession Dzwilewski went deep again on the first play, this time for rookie receiver Brett Blaszko. Blaszko caught the ball for a 75-yard touchdown and put the Huskies down 23 points less than 19 minutes into the match.

“We gave up two turnovers in the first quarter [that led to touchdowns], and Calgary had two long passes in the second quarter to score, that’s 28 points right there,” Towriss said.

“You have to be mistake free in order to compete against Calgary and we made four big mistakes in the first half,” the Huskies coach added.

The Dogs tightened up on defence in the second half, holding Calgary out of the end zone and forcing them to settle for field goals. Dinos kicker Johnny Mark took full advantage, however, making all six of his field goal attempts. The feat tied the Dinos’ club record, matching Bruce Parsons’ six-field goal performance in the 1992 Hardy Cup.

While the Huskies defence improved at the half, the offence did not. The Dogs managed just one first down and 15 yards of total offence in the second half and a dismal 123 yards of total offence in the entire game. Due to the injury to Burko backup quarterback Chase Bradshaw started the game at the helm for Saskatchewan.

Bradshaw struggled in his first CIS start, completing just five of 25 attempts for 81 yards and two interceptions. Running back Jeremy Andrew picked up 33 of the Huskies’ 59 rushing yards, while Bradshaw added 21 to the total.

For Calgary, Dzwilewski recorded a career-best passing performance, completing 21 of 36 attempts for 394 yards, two passing touchdowns, one running touchdown and one interception. Dzwilewski accomplished all that despite only playing one fourth-quarter series before making way for backup Andrew Buckley to finish the game.

The Dinos and Huskies join the remainder of Canada West in the bye next weekend. Both teams return to action on Friday, Oct. 12. Saskatchewan will play host to Manitoba in a crucial game while the Dinos play the University of Alberta.