Rams fall to Dinos in Calgary

The University of Regina Rams suffered a 20-7 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Dinos in Canada West football action Friday at McMahon Stadium.

It was always going to be a tough ask for the Rams — their fourth-ranked hosts are 3-0 on the season with 12 straight regular-season wins to their name — but it was a respectable effort to keep the score down after a 44-9 thrashing against provincial rival U of S Huskies last time out.

Third-year quarterback Seb Britton returned from a shoulder injury, replacing rookie Josh Donnelly in the lineup. Britton completed just 13 of 36 pass attempts, racking up 218 yards for an offence that continues to struggle.

His favourite target was slotback Bennett Stusek, who had a good night hauling in seven catches for 133 yards, but worryingly the Rams were kept from the end zone for a second straight week.

Another trend the Rams will be looking to reverse is conceding scores early.

After giving up a major on the Huskies’ first possession in the Battle of Saskatchewan, this time it was the Dinos’ turn to take control of the game early. Defensive lineman J-Min Pelley powered in a one-yard run for the hosts to cap off an 88-yard drive just four minutes into the contest.

The defences took over after that and both teams were forced to punt multiple times. The Rams’ Ryder Varga got to Dinos quarterback Adam Sinagra for a first-quarter sack.

After Niko DiFonte added a field goal with a couple of minutes to go before the half, an ugly sequence followed from the Rams that realistically put the game beyond them.

On the very next play, Semba Mbesela fumbled the ball which was recovered by Calgary’s Sterling Taylor. The Dinos ultimately capitalized with Sinagra completing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Nathaneal Durkan.

The Dinos had the ball back 16 seconds later after recovering a second fumble in three Rams plays, this time by Britton. DiFonte’s last-second field-goal attempt went wide, the sides leaving the field with the hosts holding a 17-0 lead.

The Rams did not really get anything going on the ground all night, totalling just 41 net rushing yards. They did however put up a respectable effort in the second half.

Aldo Galvan’s chip shot from 17 yards put up the Rams’ first three points of the game before defensive back Jaxon Ford picked off Sinagra late in the third.

The visitors could only manage a rouge from the play, but Galvan would add three more with a 37-yard effort to make it a two-possession game at 17-7 with 10 minutes to go.

It was not to be, though, and despite their depleted receiving unit, the Dinos showed why they are the West’s No. 1 team with their defensive strength to keep the Rams at bay and see them fall to 1-3.

The Rams will get a chance to snap their three-game losing streak when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Manitoba Bisons next Saturday.