The previously 3-2 U of M Bisons football team was on the road in Calgary this weekend, and fell 34-16 against the now 6-0 Calgary Dinos.
The Dinos went to work early, as Boston Rowe recovered a Manitoba fumble and charged 68 yards down field for the touchdown to give Calgary a 7-0 lead less than four minutes in.
Hunter Karl followed this up with 2:47 left in the opening quarter. He snagged a 2 -yard pass from Dinos quarterback Adam Sinagra for the 14-0 Calgary lead.
Alex Basilis added another touchdown and the Dinos nabbed a safety in the second quarter — extending the lead to 22-0 — before the herd finally got on the board.
Bisons Brad Mikoluff notched a single with 30 seconds left in the first half, but Niko DiFonte responded with a field goal as time expired. Calgary stood on a massive 25-1 lead at halftime.
Things went from bad to worse for Manitoba in the third quarter, as DiFonte grabbed two singles and Calgary scored another touchdown for a 34-1 lead.
Only in the final quarter did the Bisons showed any sign of life. Jamel Lyles took the ball on a 17-yard run for the touchdown, but the Bisons only scored six on the play as a two-point convert pass from quarterback Des Catellier missed its target.
Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette ran a 24-yard touchdown to make it 34 -14 and Mikoluff had two more singles for the 34-16 final score.
Manitoba’s Calgary-born quarterback — Catellier — had a tough night in his hometown, throwing for only nine completions on 23 attempts, while being sacked five times. Sinagra, meanwhile, went 30 for 45 and was sacked just once.
Manitoba drops back to .500 on the season at 3-3, while Calgary remains perfect.
With two games remaining on the schedule, Manitoba can clinch a playoff spot with a win next week. But they need the 2-4 Alberta Golden Bears to lose against the 3-3 UBC Thunderbirds that same night.
The Bisons will be back out on the road next weekend, in Saskatoon, to take on the Saskatchewan Huskies. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. CDT.
