The Bisons football team pulled off a narrow 33-31 win over the University of Calgary Dinos on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Princess Auto Stadium.
The Dinos struck first with a single point from Vince Triumbari at 14:53 of the opening quarter. The Bisons answered when Maya Turner kicked a 17-yard field goal at 9:37, putting them ahead 3-1. The Dinos tied the game 3-3 after forcing a team safety at 6:21. Triumbari then added a 31-yard field goal at 1:42, giving the Dinos a 6-3 lead to close out the first quarter.
At the 11:39 mark in the second quarter, Braeden Smith caught a 10-yard pass from Jackson Tachinski to give the Bisons a 10-6 lead. Later, with 2:01 left, Jet Zakrzewski made a two-yard run for the Dinos, placing them ahead 13-10 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Evan Smith caught a 15-yard pass from David Jordan at 11:27, extending the Dinos’ lead to 20-10. The Bisons responded as Turner kicked a 25-yard field goal at 8:12, cutting the deficit to 20-13. Turner struck again with a 19-yard field goal at 3:14, narrowing the gap to 20-16. At 0:00, Bisons Tachinski made a two-yard run, giving the team a 23-20 advantage.
The Bisons widened their lead to 26-20 in the fourth quarter when Turner kicked a 26-yard field goal at 9:01. The Dinos answered at 6:45 with a 19-yard field goal from Triumbari, cutting the deficit to 23-26. With 1:44 left, Tachinski made a one-yard run to give the Bisons a 33-23 edge. At 1:28, Zion Grant received a 78-yard pass from Jordan, closing the gap to 30-33. At 0:00, Triumbari added a single point on a rouge for the Dinos, bringing the score to 31-33. The Bisons held on to seal the narrow victory.
Bisons football head coach Stan Pierre urged his players to stay committed to executing their game plan in order to win. “I think that [players, especially of this age,] tend to not want the bad thing to happen to them that costs the team the game, and I don’t want them ever thinking that way,” said Pierre. “I only want them thinking about the thing that they can do to help the team win. They practice, they’ve been through hundreds and hundreds of repetitions. They know what to do, they know how to execute, so I want them to execute and to win games.”
He pointed out the approach that should be taken to win the next game. “Our players need to match [the opponent’s] energy at the beginning of the game and put some doubt in their heads that they’re not going to roll.”
Bisons quarterback Tachinski expressed confidence in his teammates, noting that they always play with determination and never give up. “This team just doesn’t quit. I don’t really care what the score is at any point in the game, it doesn’t really matter to this team — we’re gonna play our hardest. Whether it’s first quarter, fourth quarter, we never quit and that’s the best part about this team […] These guys fight till the end.”
Bisons linebacker Dario Macchia outlined the key factors that have made an impact on the team this season. “Our communication’s gotten a lot better. We’re always on the same page, knowing what’s going on, so I think that’s the main thing.”
Macchia explained how he continues to build confidence in his career. “Every year [it just gets] more and more comfortable […] You get more and more reps in practice and more game time as well.”
In the league standings, the Bisons football team has eight points, with four wins and three losses from seven games.
The Bisons football team will play the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 25, 3 p.m. CT in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
