WINNIPEG – They didn't take the lead until there were just two and a half minutes to play, but the No. 2 University of Calgary Dinos found a way to overcome the big-play University of Manitoba Bisons with a 48-36 win Friday night at Investors Group Field.

Led by an incredible second-half performance by tailback Mercer Timmis, who racked up 276 yards on 27 carries to go with three touchdowns, the Dinos scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to avenge their Hardy Cup loss to the Bisons and, more importantly, move to 2-0 on the young season.

The offence moved in fits and starts until the second half, when Andrew Buckley found his rhythm in the pocket, Rashaun Simonise made catch after catch, and Timmis kept making things happen with the football – including a 79-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the third quarter. In the fourth, Simonise scored from 15 yards out after another big Timmis run, Johnny Mark made his third field goal of the night, and Timmis capped it off with a 17-yarder as the Dinos caught and passed the Bisons, then held on to the lead.

"We know the offence is going to ignite eventually, we have so much talent over there," said Dinos head coach Wayne Harris. "Buckley threw it hard, Simonise will win the majority of the battles when they're one-on-one…and Mercer. What more can you say? We just need to get the ball in Mercer's hands and he'll make things happen."

Timmis' 276-yard night was three off his career high of 279, set against the Bisons in the 2013 Hardy Cup. Buckley finished the night completing 26 of 36 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown, while Simonise had the best night of his career with 13 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown as Buckley looked to him again and again to get key first downs.

The exciting finished matched the intensity of an outstanding football game between two of the top programs in the nation, one that the Bisons held the advantage in for more than 57 minutes. And that started with the opening kickoff, which Jamel Lyles returned 107 yards to the end zone as the Dinos gave up a long TD in the opening seconds for the second week in a row.

Bisons quarterback Theo Deezar looked deep early and often, connecting on four plays of more than 50 yards through the air. He finished with 364 passing yards on just 13 completions.

"You never want to start down, that's two bad starts in a row, and we have to clean it up," said Harris. "But the team responded, they believe in themselves, they trust each other, and they played like a team tonight.

"We hurt ourselves with penalties again, and after what should have been a stop we gave them another chance to play. Credit to them, though, they executed at times, and we knew it would be a challenge for our DBs."

Calgary safety Michael Schmidt had an impressive night with four solo tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass knockdown, while Micah Teitz was in on six tackles and added the Dinos' lone sack of the night.

It was the only meeting of the season between the two sides – a fact that wasn't lost on Harris.

"You have to win these big games – playing Manitoba just one time this season, this game was crucial and could have big implications at the end of the season," he said. "We knew what was on the line."

Sixth-ranked Manitoba (1-1) remains home next weekend to face the UBC Thunderbirds. The Dinos return home on a short week to take on the Alberta Golden Bears in a rare Thursday night contest – dubbed the 'Whiteout' – at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff time is 7 p.m. MT.

EXTRA POINTS: With five converts and three field goals, Calgary kicker Johnny Mark ended the night with 14 points, giving him a total of 422 for his career. That ties him with Western's Lirim Hajrullahu for the all-time CIS career scoring record – one Mark will look to break at home Thursday night against Alberta. As well, with three field goals on the night, Mark passed Aaron Ifield's career total of 71, setting new school and conference records for all-time field goals … Timmis, meanwhile, added three more to his school record for touchdowns, giving him 39 on his career.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
MAN – Jamel Lyles 107-yard kickoff return TD (Ryan Jones convert), 0:14, 7-0 MAN
CGY – Andrew Buckley 1-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 4:24, 7-7
MAN – Alex Christie 11-yard TD run (Ryan Jones convert), 5:21, 14-7 MAN
CGY – TEAM safety, 7:01, 14-9 MAN
CGY – Johnny Mark 40-yard FG, 8:56, 14-12 MAN

2nd Quarter
MAN – Alex Vitt 28-yard TD catch from Theo Deezar (Ryan Jones convert), 1:49, 21-12 MAN
MAN – Ryan Jones 16-yard FG, 6:15, 24-12 MAN
CGY – Mercer Timmis 3-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert),8:23, 24-19 MAN

3rd Quarter
MAN – Jesse Walker 64-yard TD catch from Theo Deezar (Ryan Jones convert), 8:59, 31-19 MAN
CGY – Mercer Timmis 79-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 14:56, 31-26 MAN

4th Quarter
CGY – Johnny Mark 23-yard FG, 4:37, 31-29 MAN
MAN – Theo Deezar 11-yard TD run (Ryan Jones convert), 6:21, 38-29 MAN
CGY – Rashaun Simonise 15-yard TD pass from Andrew Buckley (Johnny Mark convert), 8:00, 38-36 MAN
CGY – Johnny Mark 26-yard FG, 12:29, 39-38 CGY
CGY – Mercer Timmis 17-yard TD run (Johnny Mark convert), 13:38, 46-38 CGY

-UC-