REGINA – The No. 5-ranked Calgary Dinos used a big second half to swing the momentum back in their favour as they went on to a 49-35 road victory over the Regina Rams on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

 

The Dinos roared out to a 21-0 lead thanks to three first-quarter touchdowns, only to have the Rams respond by scoring 29 of the final 31 points of the half as Regina took a 29-23 lead into the break.

 

But it was all Calgary in the second half. The Dinos scored three lengthy touchdowns, first on a Jeshrun Antwi 62-yard run early in the third quarter. Adam Sinagra then found Hunter Karl and Dallas Boath for two long catch-and-runs. Karl's went into the books as a 75-yard reception late in the third, and Boath's 74-yard touchdown catch in the fourth was a backbreaker after the Rams had battled back to again make it a one-possession game.

 

"It was just about getting settled again," Calgary head coach Wayne Harris said after his team was able to bounce back after the Rams took the lead heading into halftime. "We're a young team, and they let a few things get away from them. Regina is a good team and Picton is one of the best quarterbacks out there, and after they made a couple big plays our guys got dejected and didn't keep their focus. We talked about that in the locker room and they really did a good job coming out to start the third quarter."

 

The loss overshadowed Rams quarterback Noah Picton hitting a monumental career milestone as he became the first player in Canada West history to throw for 10,000 passing yards. Picton moved from eighth up to fifth on U SPORTS' all-time passing yards list, surpassing former Ottawa pivot Josh Sacobie along with McMaster's Ben Chapdelaine and Windsor's Austin Kennedy.

 

Sinagra finished with gaudy passing numbers for Calgary, completing 21 of his 30 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Karl, Boath, and Alex Basilis were his leaving receivers, led by Karl's six catches for a game-high 172 yards. Basilis also had six catches and finished with 85 yards, while Boath had four catches for 103 yards.

 

Antwi had 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Calgary, which moves to 1-0 with the win. The Dinos fell just short of the 600-yard mark offensively, finishing with 599 in the win. Defensive highlights for Calgary included a sack by Jacob Plamondon, an interception by Matthew Lucyshyn, and a pair of pass breakups by Deane Leonard.

 

Picton was 21-for-35 and finished with 329 yards including a five-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Schienbein. Kyle Moortgat was the U of R's leading receiver, catching eight passes for a career-high 130 yards. Atlee Simon had 16 rushes for 146 yards, including a 75-yard rumble for a touchdown which kick-started the Rams' furious second-quarter rally.

 

Bennett Stusek became the first U of R receiver ever to start for the Rams in Week 1 right out of high school and had a 65-yard reception in the fourth quarter. The Rams' Zach Moore had his first career interception, while both Eric Wicijowski and Ryan Warner had sacks. Warner's was a strip sack on Sinagra just after the long Simon run, and he recovered the fumble which led directly to the Schienbein major early in the second.

 

The Dinos will now prepare for their home opener next weekend against UBC, which will open up the season on Saturday at home against Manitoba. Regina (0-1) will also be in the province of Alberta next Friday night, as they'll travel up to Edmonton to face the Golden Bears (0-1).