Box Score

The Calgary Dinos pulled away from the University of Regina late in the game and took a 46-27 win over the Rams in Canada West football action at McMahon Stadium on Friday night.

The loss eliminates the U of R's chances of qualifying for the postseason, as the Rams needed to win both this week and next week and receive help on the out-of-town scoreboard to lock up a playoff berth.

The Rams (2-5) were within 10 points of Calgary for the majority of the fourth until a pair of Mercer Timmis rushing touchdowns late in the quarter put the game away for the No. 3-ranked Dinos, who improve to 7-0 on the season with the victory.

Calgary quarterback Andrew Buckley completed 20 of his 34 passes for 235 yards, with Timmis ending up with 19 rushes for 92 yards including three touchdowns. Jake Harty was the Dinos' leading receiver with seven catches for 100 yards, while Calgary's defence recorded three interceptions with picks by Adam Laurensse, Adam Ballingall, and Thomas Spoletini.

With quarterback Cayman Shutter back under centre, it was almost exclusively through the air for the Rams as Shutter was 31-for-56 on the night for 430 yards and two touchdowns. Kolten Solomon caught six passes for a game-high 164 yards, exactly half of which came on an 82-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Jared Janotta also caught six passes as he moves past former teammate Brenden Owens for fifth on the school's all-time receptions list.

Justin Edralin led Regina's defence with seven solo and three assisted tackles, while Connor Ketchen was in on a total of nine tackles and recovered a fumble.

After Calgary's opening drive resulted in a single, Shutter led the Rams on a drive all the way to the Dinos' 10-yard line. Rams kicker Taylor Wandler was ready for a 17-yard chip shot, but a bad snap kept the U of R off the board and gave the ball back to Calgary. That sparked the Dinos, as a Jimmy Underdahl 32-yard rush finished off a Dinos drive that gave the home side an 8-0 lead with five minutes left in the first.

After another single for Calgary, the Rams got on the board early in the second quarter when a 45-yard pass from Shutter to Solomon set up Wandler for a 34-yard field goal that cut the lead to 9-3 for Calgary. A lengthy Dinos drive resulted in a Johnny Mark field goal midway through the second, but the Rams responded on the ensuing drive with their first major of the game. The big play was a Shutter pass over the top to Addison Richards for a 48-yard gain, and Shutter finished off the drive himself with a one-yard plunge that cut the Calgary lead to 12-10.

But just when it looked the Rams might have momentum on their side, that changed on the kickoff following the Shutter touchdown. A short kickoff was returned 56 yards for a touchdown by Michael Schmidt, which immediately restored the Dinos' nine-point lead. Another Mark field goal gave Calgary a 22-10 lead at the half.

The Dinos pulled out some special teams trickery on the first play of the second half. With the team seemingly huddled preparing to kick off, Mark approached the ball as if to take a practice swing and instead kicked it onside, where Brad Friesen pounced on it to give the Dinos possession. Calgary drove downfield quickly and finished it off with Timmis's first touchdown of the game to take a 29-10 lead.

Despite being down 19 points, the Rams gave themselves a chance by holding Calgary's offence off the board for the next 25 minutes. Solomon's long touchdown catch off a hitch coupled with a pair of conceded safeties brought the Rams to within eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they would come. The Rams conceded a safety of their own early in the fourth and a pair of Timmis touchdown runs just over a minute apart late in the quarter put the game out of reach.

The Rams added a late major with Richard Sindani's first career touchdown catch from 25 yards out and recovered the onside kick that followed but it was too little, too late as the Dinos were well on their way to a 19-point win.

Calgary will finish off its Canada West schedule next week at home against UBC, while the Rams will finish off their 2013 season next Saturday at Mosaic Stadium against Saskatchewan (4-3).