BOX SCORE CALGARY – Record upon record fell Saturday night at McMahon Stadium as the third-ranked Calgary Dinos defeated the No. 10 Manitoba Bisons 78-54 in a crazy game, wrapping up the 2012 regular seasons for both teams – and setting up a playoff rematch in just seven days' time.

The Dinos (7-1) host the Bisons (4-4) in a Canada West semi-final game next Saturday night at McMahon Stadium, with a berth in the 76th Hardy Cup on the line. Kickoff goes at 5 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV.

Chances are it won't look anything like this one.

The Dinos got five touchdowns from first-year running back Mercer Timmis - tying the school and Canada West records for TDs in a game - while quarterback Eric Dzwilewski was almost flawless in the one half he played as the Dinos built up a 63-14 lead at halftime. With backups in the game for the entire second half, the score got silly as the Bisons made big play after big play to pull the score within 24.

The game set multiple Canada West records. Calgary's 78-point night beat Manitoba's 77-point outing against SFU in 2006, while the combined total of 132 points obliterates the previous mark of 108, also set in 2006 in a game between UBC and Regina. The Dinos' recordbook was also annihilated on the night, with numerous single game and season records shattered.

DINOS RECORD BOOK - As of Oct. 27, 2012

It was a crazy night in a game that had no bearing on the standings – and, despite giving up 54 points when his team had surrendered just 63 in the previous seven games of the season to that point, Dinos head coach Blake Nill was upbeat after the game.

“We decided to take a lot of our starters out in the second half, it's just not worth taking the chance of having injuries going into the playoffs,” said Nill, who has led the Dinos to back-to-back first place finishes for the first time in program history. “Don't get me wrong, we're not happy with the scoring that occurred in the second half, but it's not indicative of the way we played. I thought in the first half we showed what kind of team we can be on both sides of the ball. There are things we can work on for sure, but overall I told the guys to smile and that they did a good job.

“We're going to be ready, and we're healthy for next week.”

It was a solid bounce-back effort for Dzwilewski, who completed his first 18 consecutive passes and finished 25-for-27 on the night, tossing for 318 yards and a touchdown – all in the first half – after struggling in the previous two games of the season. And for Timmis, his five touchdowns came on 13 carries for 52 yards – an efficient night that improved his TD total to six on the season.

His first came midway through the opening quarter to put the Dinos up 7-0. Just over a minute later, senior Wyatt Getty picked off Manitoba pivot Cam Clark and ran it back 54 yards to the end zone to put Calgary up 14-0. The Bisons got one back when Anthony Coombs rounded the corner, found the sideline, and rumbled 41 yards to the house, but that was as close as the Bisons would come.

Beginning with Timmis' second major of the night, the Dinos scored 30 points in less than nine minutes on five-, three-, and one-yard runs by Timmis, a 10-yard Dzwilewski toss to Chris Dobko, and a conceded safety. Coombs's second of three touchdowns on the night cut the lead to 44-14 at the 8:53 mark of the second, but the Dinos would go on to score 19 more in the last five minutes of the opening half, taking a 63-14 lead into the break.

With the Calgary bench getting significant playing time, the second half was a much different story. It started with a 98-yard Coombs punt return touchdown four minutes into the fourth quarter followed by another safety conceded by the Bisons, a 16-yard TD toss by Dinos backup quarterback Andrew Buckley to Jerod Zaleski, and a 22-yard Johnny Mark field goal. Brendon Bowman hauled in a 27-yard touchdown from Ryan Marsch late in the third, and it was 75-28 Calgary heading into the fourth.

Manitoba's starters re-entered the game, and Clark engineered four touchdown drives in the fourth quarter: a 65-yard run by Kienan LaFrance, a 58-yard pass to Nic Demski, a seven-yard scamper by Andrew Barry, and a 28-yard pass to Xavier Johnson.

In all, 11 different players scored touchdowns on the night, led by Timmis and Coombs.

The Dinos racked up 776 yards of total offence on a night that saw them break or tie team single-season records in points (380), touchdowns (42), first downs (272), completed passes (213), total offence (4,720 yards), and sacks (25). Dzwilewski's 92.6 per cent completion ratio is the best single-game in school history, while Dobko's 14 catches on the night was also a school record – breaking his own mark of 13, set earlier in the year when the Dinos and Bisons played in Winnipeg. He finished with 171 yards receiving. Denzel Morrison was the Dinos' rushing leader with 77 yards, while Steven Lumbala picked up 71 on just five carries – a 14.2-yard average.

Demski's three-catch, 114-yard performance led the way for the Bisons, while LaFrance had 71 yards on the ground. Clark threw six completions for 183 yards and two majors.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CGY – Mercer Timmis 2-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 7:13, 7-0 CGY
CGY – Wyatt Getty 54-yard interception return TD (Johnny Mark convert), 8:28, 14-0 CGY
MAN – Anthony Coombs 41-yard TD run (Nick Boyd convert), 11:32, 14-7 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 5-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 13:40, 21-7 CGY

2nd Quarter
CGY – Chris Dobko 10-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 2:15, 28-7 CGY
CGY – TEAM safety, 3:33, 30-7 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 4:20, 37-7 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 7:27, 44-7 CGY
MAN – Anthony Coombs 7-yard TD catch from Ryan Marsch (Nick Boyd convert), 8:53, 44-14 CGY
CGY – TEAM safety, 10:19, 46-14 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 6-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 11:57, 53-14 CGY
CGY – Taylor Nill 11-yard TD catch from Eric Dzwilewski (Johnny Mark convert), 13:33, 60-14 CGY
CGY – Johnny Mark 22-yard FG, 15:00, 63-14 CGY

3rd Quarter
MAN – Anthony Coombs 98-yard punt return TD, 4:04, 63-21 CGY
CGY – TEAM safety, 6:16, 65-21 CGY
CGY – Jerod Zaleski 16-yard TD catch from Andrew Buckley, 7:30, 72-21 CGY
CGY – Johnny Mark 16-yard FG, 11:22, 75-21 CGY
MAN – Brendon Bowman 27-yard TD catch from Ryan Marsch (Nick Boyd convert), 14:58, 75-28 CGY

4th Quarter
MAN – Kienan LaFrance 65-yard TD run, 1:33, 75-35 CGY
MAN – Nic Demski 58-yard TD catch from Cam Clark (Nick Boyd convert), 4:10, 75-42 CGY
MAN – Andrew Barry 7-yard TD run (Cam Clark pass failed), 7:42, 75-48 CGY
CGY – Johnny Mark 22-yard FG, 12:57, 78-48 CGY
MAN – Xavier Johnson 28-yard TD catch from Cam Clark (Cam Clark pass failed), 13:37, 78-54 CGY

-UC-