SASKATOON – Third-year tailback Mercer Timmis became the University of Calgary's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns Friday night as the Dinos scored a big road win by a 38-24 margin over the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Timmis, the reigning Canada West MVP, recorded a trio of rushing TDs on the night, giving him 30 in his career – one better than Matt Walter's (2007-11) career total of 29. Timmis recorded the feat in just 17 conference games, and he did it on a night where each score was valuable to his team as the Dinos came back from a 10-point deficit in the second quarter to improve to 3-0 in his career.

"It's just an honour to be up there with guys like Matt Walter," said the understated Timmis. "A lot of credit goes to my offensive line and my teammates, and I just couldn't be happier where I am with this program."

In addition to his three touchdowns, Timmis picked up 208 rushing yards on 22 carries for his best performance of the season.

"It was a back-and-forth battle, just a physical game and I think everybody here is leaving with some bruises," said Timmis. "Sask came out ready to play, and we didn't match their tempo at the beginning of the game. It took a while for us to get going."

After a see-saw first half that saw Saskatchewan lead by as many as 10 points, the Huskies took a three-point lead into the break. A Johnny Mark field goal for the Dinos accounted for the only points of the third quarter to tie it at 24-24, setting the stage for a stalemate that the Dinos finally broke late in the fourth.

With less than four minutes to play, Andrew Buckley found Brett Blaszko over the middle for an 18-yard major and what turned out to be the game-winning points. And after the Calgary defence held and forced a turnover on downs two drives later, Timmis waltzed in from 35 yards to seal it.

His first two scores bookended the first quarter. The opener came just 77 seconds in after the Dinos forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, leading to a three-yard Timmis TD. The second came just seconds after the Huskies took their first lead of the game: after Denton Kolodzinski hit a 16-yard field goal to put the home side up 10-7, the Dinos took the ball on the 35. Three plays and 75 yards later, they were in the end zone – with 71 of those yards coming courtesy of Timmis.

"We went in after the first half, and the fact was we were outplayed to that point," said Dinos head coach Blake Nill, who recorded his 99th career regular season victory on the night the Dinos celebrated the 50th anniversary of the team's first-ever game in 1964. "Despite that, we were only three points down and we came out and a good second half. Defensively, we're still a young team and we're going to have some blips now and then – thankfully, they didn't cost us the game tonight."

Buckley finished the night 21-of-32 for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air for the Calgary. Jake Harty and Rashaun Simonise both hauled in six passes, while Brendon Thera-Plamondon was the leader in receiving yards with 95 on three catches – including a 20-yard TD late in the second quarter that brought the Dinos within three at the half.
 
Huskie pivot Drew Burko went 21-for-44 in the loss. Burko threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Brydon Ozmun caught two of those touchdowns, ending the night with seven catches for 77 yards. Jarvis James was the leading rusher for the Huskies with 155 yards on 21 carries.

Cyril Iwanegbe led the Dinos with eight tackles (six solo) and a tackle for loss, while Hunter Turnbull picked up 6.5 tackles and Adam Konar added six. Doctor Cassama added four tackles and a key sack, while Elie Bouka picked off Burko's last-gasp effort in the end zone late to preserve the victory.

It was the first real test of the season for the Dinos, who had captured their first two victories over Alberta and UBC by a combined total of 116 points.

"These games are critical," said Nill. "I think one of the reasons we were so prepared last year is that every game was like this. You don't want to go through the league without competition and without being tested. Saskatchewan is a good football program, the culture here is one of excellence, and they'll be there at the end for sure."

"It really shows us that we need to play all four quarters," said Timmis. "Our first two games we didn't have to finish, and tonight we had to play 60 minutes and it came down to the end."

Calgary returns home to face the Manitoba Bisons next Friday night at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT, live on Shaw TV as the Dinos celebrate Student Appreciation Night, including a pre-game party at the Den on campus. The game will also be one of just two stops in Western Canada on the 50th Anniversary Tour of the Vanier Cup, and fans will be able to interact and have their photo taken with the historic trophy.

GAME NOTES: It was the Dinos' 12th consecutive conference win, dating back to the end of the 2012 season … Calgary has now won its last six in a row against Saskatchewan … the game came 50 years to the day from the program's first-ever game, a 16-7 win over RMC in Sept. 19, 1964 …

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
CGY – Mercer Timmis 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 1:17, 7-0 CGY
SASK – John Trumpy 14-yard TD pass from Drew Burko (Denton Kolodzinski convert), 10:16, 7-7
SASK – Denton Kolodzinski 16-yard field goal, 13:49, 10-7 SASK
CGY – Mercer Timmis 23-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 15:00, 14-10 CGY

2nd Quarter
SASK – Brydon Ozmun 6-yard TD pass from Drew Burko (Denton Kolodzinski convert), 8:22, 17-14 SASK
SASK – Brydon Ozmun 17-yard TD pass from Drew Burko (Denton Kolodzinski convert), 13:07, 24-14 SASK
CGY – Brendon Thera-Plamondon 20-yard TD pass from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 14:14, 24-21 SASK

3rd Quarter
CGY – Johnny Mark 37-yard FG, 4:55, 24-24

4th Quarter
CGY – Brett Blaszko 18-yard TD pass from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 11:31, 31-24 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 35-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 13:24, 38-24 CGY

-UC-