The University of Regina Rams suffered a 25-9 loss to Calgary on Wednesday night in a non-conference neutral-site game at the Methanex Bowl in Medicine Hat, Alta.

The Dinos opened up the game with three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead by the six-minute mark of the second quarter. The Rams replied with the longest drive of the night for either team capped by a Davin Johnston touchdown reception, but that would be the last major of the game as the teams combined for just six points in the second half - all on safeties.

"I'm disappointed in the outcome, but in a game like this you can measure wins and losses in more ways than just the scoreboard," said Rams head coach Mike Gibson. "It took our first offence a while to get on track, but they had a couple real good drives against what I thought was a pretty good defensive football team."

The Johnston touchdown was the final play on an eight-yard, 79-yard drive that was almost exclusively through the air. Second-year quarterback Noah Picton hit Richard Sindani, Mitchell Picton, and Atlee Simon to get to Calgary's 24-yard line, then back-to-back receptions by Johnston got the Rams on the board.

Calgary had touchdown runs by Andrew Buckley and Quentin Chown in the first quarter, and added to its lead with a 28-yard Jimmy Underdahl pass to Denzel Radford in the second.

Noah Picton played the entire first half, completing 10 of 21 passes for 163 yards including the 14-yard touchdown to Johnston. Mitchell Picton finished as the game's top receiver with three catches for 75 yards.

Fifth-year defensive lineman Tyler Perkins (pictured) had a stellar game for the Rams, finishing with three tackles for loss (including two sacks) and a pass breakup.

Chown rushed 14 times for 109 yards for Calgary, which will open up its Canada West schedule next weekend at home against UBC.

Tyler Vieira came in under centre for the Rams after halftime and played all of the third quarter and the first drive of the fourth. Vieira engineered a long 10-play, 62-yard drive that took just under five minutes off the clock in the third quarter, but it didn't result in points as the Rams weren't able to convert on a 3rd-and-10 deep in the Calgary zone.

Rookie quarterback Ellis Richards finished off the game for the Rams, notching a 22-yard completed pass to fellow rookie Josh Tipton and an 18-yard pass to Brady Eurich.

The Rams' defence combined for a pair of second-half interceptions, as Luke Wilson came up with a deflected ball in the end zone for a turnover and Robbie Avram had a pick near midfield. Mason Rossler led the U of R in tackles with five solo and two assisted.

Penalties marred the contest, especially for Calgary as the Dinos were flagged 28 times for a total of 230 yards. The Rams lost a total of 113 yards on 13 penalties.

"We've got a chance to be a pretty good football team, but not if we continue taking all these penalties," Gibson said. "The undisciplined play really hurt us tonight, and we'll make that a point of emphasis next week."

The Rams host the University of Alberta next Friday, Sept. 4 in both teams' first Canada West game of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.