Bears hug the Dinos for a playoff win

By Britany Bingham

On Sat., Nov. 6 in front of 2,103 freezing fans, the Dinos football team looked for their first playoff win since 1995. Unfortunately, they didn’t find it in Edmonton. The University of Alberta Golden Bears beat the Dinos 39-13.


Despite the fact that Calgary fought valiantly, their efforts were repeatedly pushed down by poor refereeing and a strong U of A defense. The Dinos thought they had caught a needed break in the first quarter when U of A star tailback Jarred Winkle suffered an apparent knee injury. Winkle was Canada West MVP last year and has a tendency to run the score up for the Bears. He also led the conference with 1,107 rushing yards.


Unfortunately for the Dinos, second string David Bissett was more than ready to see some field time. Bissett scored three touchdowns and rushed for 85 yards in 11 carries. This gives the Bears their second playoff win in two years. Before last year they hadn’t won a playoff game since 1981.


For the Dinos it was an astringent end to their trying season. The Dinos finished the regular season with a 4-4 record, which included a win against the Bears in early October. Calgary was the only team to beat U of A all season.


“This team worked hard all season and that didn’t change on Saturday night. The defense continued to play hard all game, while the offense did what they could to move the ball,” said quarterback Charles Guedo. “You can’t forget that U of A is a good team. They played a whole game, we only played three quarters.”


Statistically, both teams played quite evenly. Both Calgary and Alberta had 28 first downs. Calgary rushed for 168 yards and passed for a total of 285 yards. Alberta rushed for 234 yards and passed for 266 yards.


Statistical leaders for the Dinos included Jeff Williams, who rushed for 44 yards with 12 carries, and Guedo, who completed 22 of 42 passed for 285 yards while rushing eight times for 77 yards. The offensive receivers did their jobs this game. Joel Ford caught seven passes for 77 yards, Dave Holowaychuk caught five balls for 85 yards and Sean Bunting (back from an injury earlier in the season) caught four balls for 49 yards.


On defense, Dan Federkeil crushed Bears quarterback Darryl Salmon more times than I could count! This intimidating lineman led his team along with linebacker Jeff Montgomery who racked up 11 solo tackles. Ryan Saurette contributed with a few huge hits of his own to unexpecting offensive Golden Bears, accumulating a total of seven solo hits.


Alberta will host the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Sat., Nov. 13 for the Hardy Cup, which decides the 2004 champion of Canada West football.


Congratulations to the Dinos football team for playing hard through all kinds of adversity this season. As a team, they were able to stick together, work things out and play some outstanding games of football. These gentlemen don’t get a lot of respect for the things they accomplish out there, but they played a great season. Thanks from all your fans!