The UBC Thunderbirds host the Calgary Dinos for their home opener on Saturday. The T-Birds are coming off a 25-10 victory over Regina while the Dinos absorbed a loss in their home opener last week losing to Alberta by a score of 9-33.
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Calgary Dinos (0-1) @ #9 UBC Thunderbirds (1-0) 1 PM PT
Date/Location: Saturday, September 9/ Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, BC
Kickoff Time: 1 PM PDT (3 PM CT, 4 PM ET)
Ticket Price: Adult $15 | Youth (13-18) $5 | Alumni, Staff, and Seniors $10 | Students and kids (0-5) Free
UBC Season Tickets: Club $60, Reserved $40, General $40 (special pricing for students, staff, and alumni available)
Where to Watch: CanadaWest.TV
Calgary Dinos (0-1): The Calgary Dinos are coming off a tough loss to the Alberta Golden Bears in which they were limited to 179 yards of offense and allowed 528. Calgary has a young team with new starters that have a lot of potential. Dom Britton did not have a big game on the stats sheet in his first game as the starting quarterback for Calgary but did make some good plays that inspire hope for the future.
UBC Thunderbirds (1-0): UBC beat Regina on the road 25-10 in week 1. UBC put up 431 yards of offense while limiting Regina to 277. UBC played a complete game in week 1’s victory with great play from their quarterback Garrett Rooker.
Dinos to Watch
QB Dom Britton
Dom Britton completed 14 of his 27 passes for 118 yards and 2 interceptions in his first game taking over as the starting quarterback. While he had a poor game on the stats sheet there were several plays in which he did a good job making quick reads and getting rid of the ball quickly. A lot of his deep throws were overthrown including 1 to his brother but I expect some of those deep shots to start hitting in the future as this young group gels.
RB Nick Sua
Sua rushed 12 times for 55 yards. He had an 11-yard run through the middle and a 14-yard run that were both through good holes that he shot through.
OL John Bosse
Bosse is ranked 17th on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s 2024 draft prospect ranking.
WR Matt Sibley
Sibley led the team in yards and catches pulling in 6 receptions for 57 yards.
WR Ben Britton
Caught a short pass and turned upfield quickly for a 9-yard gain. Ben had 3 receptions for 30 yards.
MLB Liam Reid
Reid contributed 2 solo run stops, 3 shared run stops, and three tackles on short passes.
WLB Sauce Odemwingie
Odemwingie had 3 run stops, and 3 pressures, broke up a pass in the 4th quarter, and had 9 total tackles (4 solo)
DT Sylvester Ibelo
Sylvester Ibelo had 2 run stops and 2 pressures in week 1.
DB Steen Rasmussen
Rasmussen had a breakup in the second quarter and had 6 tackles (3 solo). He had 2 good tackles in the first quarter against short passing plays.
DL Franklin Ibelo
Franklin Ibelo had 2 run stops and a pressure.
Thunderbirds to Watch
QB Garrett Rooker
Rooker was very impressive in the season opener. He completed 19 of his 25 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. He demonstrated a great ability to make passes while rolling to his right as well as his left. Rooker was also calm under pressure and maintained a high level of accuracy when pressured. He also rushed 3 times for 19 yards.
RB Isaiah Knight
Knight rushed 20 times for 100 yards and had 3 receptions for 40 yards. He had a great run in the 2nd quarter spinning off a pair of tacklers on his way to a 15-yard run. He had a 20-yard reception he caught in the backfield and a 10-yard reception also caught in the backfield in which he broke a tackle on the play.
OL Theo Benedet
Benedet is ranked 3rd on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s 2024 draft prospect ranking. Benedet was a Canada West All-Star last year at tackle.
OL Giovanni Manu
Manu is ranked 8th on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s 2024 draft prospect ranking. Manu was a Conference All-Star last year at guard.
WR Sam Davenport
Sam Davenport transferred from Simon Fraser University following the football program’s closure. He caught a short pass and took off making a defender miss him and breaking a tackle on his way to a 61-yard touchdown. He had 3 receptions fr 80 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.
WR Edgerrin Willaims-Hernandez
Williams-Hernandez was 2nd in receiving yards catching 4 passes for 65 yards with his longest being 33 yards.
DT Kyle Samson
Samson generated 4 QB pressures in week 1 hitting the QB on 1. In addition, he had a sack in the 4th quarter, a run stop, and a shared run stop in the first.
SLB Mike Bangura
Bangura had 4 pressures, a knockdown, a run stop, a shared sack, and a shared run stop in week 1.
ZLB Mitchell Townsend
Townsend generated 2 quality pressures and some pressure on 3 other plays. He also shared a run stop in the 4th quarter.
CB Jerrell Cummings
Cummings was another SFU transfer to UBC this offseason. He made an immediate impact with a pass breakup and a forced fumble that he recovered in the 1st quarter. He also had a breakup in the 4th quarter and did not allow any big plays his way in coverage.
Prediction
Calgary has a young team with a lot of potential but they still have to figure out who they are as a football team. UBC is a contender right now. I predict UBC to win this game by a score of 30-10.
