In another wild contest that saw five lead changes and once again came down to the final moments, UBC was able to just do enough to squeak out a 32-30 win over the Calgary Dinos football team Saturday afternoon on a picture-perfect fall day from McMahon Stadium.
Trailing 25-16 entering the fourth quarter, Calgary (1-4) quarterback Dom Britton connected with receiver Matt Sibley for a 30-yard score before running one in on his own to flip the game into a 30-25 advantage for the Dinos.
But UBC (3-2) was able to muster just enough on a pair of drives that finished in Kieran Flannery-Fleck field goals – including the final one with just 59 seconds left – to give the Thunderbirds the late lead and the eventual win.
“This was classic Can West. It’s very wild right now,” Calgary head coach Ryan Sheanan said postgame. “We saw it last night and we’ll see what happens later today. But, we talk about it because it’s so appropriate – anybody can win on any given Friday night or Saturday in this conference.
“Moving forward, we have to learn how to finish. We had a chance to punch them out today and we just came up short. But there was some great effort and great football played today. I’m really proud of our guys. We can and will need to play better, because now our back is up against the wall and we’ll have a lot of must-win scenarios in front of us, but I’m confident this group is going to do it.”
After an opening rouge by Vince Triumbari, UBC marched down the field on their opening drive that was capped by a 10-yard catch by Sam Davenport to make it 7-1. The Dinos responded with a 40-yard field goal from Triumbari before D. Britton connected with brother Ben Britton on a strike of 39 yards to give the Dinos the 11-7 edge.
The T-Birds scored the only 10 points in the second quarter and nearly made it more, but Nate Beauchemin blocked a field goal attempt just before halftime to keep the Dinos’ deficit at 17-13 at the break.
Triumbari added a chip-shot 23 yarder before UBC running back Isaiah Knight had a two-yard score to give UBC the 25-16 lead going into the final frame.
After Calgary’s scores from Sibley and D. Britton, the Thunderbirds started with the ball on their own 7 yard line and were able to begin to move the ball before Beauchemin once again came up with a big play by hauling in his nation-leading fourth interception of the season.
But, the Dinos were unable to do much following the turnover, punting the ball back to UBC with 3:01 left to play. A 41-yard run by Knight put the T-Birds at the Calgary 18 yard line before taking the lead on a 22-yard kick by Flannery-Fleck.
Calgary was able to get the ball to midfield on their last gasp drive before time expired on their comeback effort.
“I’m very, very proud of the way that our team battled,” Sheahan said. “That was an excellent football game. There were big plays on defence. There were big plays on offence. There was scoring. Our quarterback played strong. Matthieu Clarke played excellent. It’s always mixed emotions when you’re giving positive comments after a loss, but there were a lot of great takeaways from the contest and things that we can build on during this next phase.”
In a battle of big-play running backs, Clarke finished the day with a season-high 188 yards rushing on a career-high 26 carries. Meanwhile, Knight had his second straight big showing, racking up a career-high 235 yards – 117 of which came on two runs – on 24 carries.
The 188 yards rushing marks the second most for Clarke in a single game, outdone only by his 203-yard performance on just 18 carries also against UBC back in his rookie campaign in 2022.
“It was a combination of him (Clarke) being very talented and having a great week of practice,” Sheahan said. “The offensive line absolutely was dominating up front at certain points in the game. We had 35 rushes for 218 as a team. That’s our best output of the season on the ground. I thought that Matthieu battled their running back – who is also an excellent ball carrier – very well.”
D. Britton closed Week 5 going 15-22 for 225 yards, two passing scores, one running and a pair of interceptions. Sibley led all pass catchers on the day with a career-best 93 yards receiving, while B. Britton added 84 on six catches.
Garrett Rooker had 268 yards passing on 20-31 for two scores and one pick. Dane Kapler was Rooker’s favourite target on the day, catching five balls for 71 yards.
The Dinos now hit the road for their next two games, starting next Saturday with a trip to Regina to take on the Rams. Kickoff from Mosaic Stadium is set for 2 p.m.