The University of Regina Rams lost a 20-7 road decision to the No. 4-ranked Calgary Dinos on Friday night in a Canada West game at McMahon Stadium.
J-Min Pelley and Nathanael Durkan both had touchdowns for Calgary, helping the Dinos improve their Canada West-leading record to 4-0 on the season.
For the second straight week, the Rams (1-3) gave up a touchdown on the game's opening drive as Pelley rumbled into the end zone from one yard out. But the U of R defence hung tough the rest of the night, allowing only one other major – and that came after a Regina fumble gave Calgary the ball in Rams territory just before halftime. The performance of the defence was especially impressive given the time of possession, which was heavily slanted in Calgary's favour. The Dinos had the ball for 36:21, compared to just 23:39 for the Rams.
Calgary quarterback Adam Sinagra finished 31-for-49 in the win, throwing for 347 yards including a 34-yard touchdown strike to Durkan. Jalen Philpot led all receivers with 13 catches for 138 yards, while Nick Statz led the Calgary defence with an interception and two additional pass breakups.
Bennett Stusek finished as Regina's leading receiver, catching seven passes from starting pivot
Seb Britton for a total of 133 yards.
Robbie Lowes led the Rams in tackles with seven solo and two assisted, while
Jaxon Ford had a second-half interception and
Ryder Varga collected a sack.
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QUOTABLE: COACH BRYCE
"Our defence was outstanding tonight, but we were inconsistent again on offence. Frustratingly, we also had two great opportunities with a short field and weren't able to take full advantage. We've got to be able to find a way into the end zone, and that will be one area of focus when the second half of the season starts Monday."
THE PICK SIX THAT WASN'T
The Rams thought they had a game-changing defensive play late in the third quarter after Ford picked off a Sinagra pass and took it back 80 yards to the house. It would have been the Rams' first pick six since 2010 and the fourth longest interception return in school history, but was called back because of an unnecessary roughness penalty whistled against
Josh White for a block on Sinagra during the return.
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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Calgary had a pair of bad long snaps on punt attempts in the fourth quarter, both of which resulted in huge losses for the Dinos. But the Rams were only able to put a total of three points on the board because of those two plays despite taking over on the Calgary 20 following the first fumble and on the Dinos 32 after the second.
IN THE RECORD BOOK
Fifth-year slotback
Ryan Schienbein had a 12-yard reception in the third quarter. The catch moved him past Jason Clermont into fourth on the U of R's all-time receiving yards list (2181) and also pulled him into a tie with
Mitchell Picton for fourth on the school's receptions list (169).
NEXT UP
The Rams will hit the road for the second straight game next weekend. They'll play against Manitoba, a team that's currently 1-2 but has an opportunity to pull up to .500 for the season as the Bisons host UBC on Saturday.
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