REGINA – Adam Sinagra threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns Friday night to lift the fifth-ranked University of Calgary Dinos to a 49-35 season-opening win over the University of Regina Rams at Mosaic Stadium.
Sinagra connected with
Hunter Karl for more than 160 yards in the third quarter alone as the Dinos came back from a 29-23 halftime deficit, outscoring the Rams 26-6 in the final two quarters to pick up their eighth-straight season-opening win.
The third quarter mirrored the first, which saw the Dinos jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first 12 minutes of the contest. But a 75-yard TD run by Regina tailback Atlee Simon, the first of four big-play scores in the game, shattered the Dinos' momentum late in the first and the Rams kept pounding away, taking a 24-23 lead in the final 90 seconds of the half.
"It was just about getting settled again," said Dinos Head Coach
Wayne Harris. "We're a young team, and they let a few things get away from them. Regina is a good team, (Noah) Picton is one of the best quarterbacks out there, they made a couple big plays, and 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."
Jeshrun Antwi got things started for the Dinos in the third, scampering for a 62-yard major before Karl caught a short Sinagra pass over the middle and took it 75 yards to the end zone for what turned out to be the winning points.
Calgary added another long touchdown in the fourth to ice it, this one to
Dallas Boath – the fourth-year receiver who missed all but the first week of the 2017 season due to a leg injury. Friday, he finished with 103 yards on four catches to go with two touchdowns.
"Dallas was an inspiration to the whole team tonight," said Harris. He made some clutch catches and had two huge touchdowns. It's great to have that experience and that leadership back in the lineup."
For his part, Karl picked up 172 receiving hards – all in the second half – while Antwi ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Sinagra's 444-yard passing total was just 13 off his career high, set in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs.
For Regina, quarterback Noah Picton became just the fifth player in U SPORTS history to reach 10,000 career passing yards with his 329-yard performance. Ryan Scheinbein and Kyle Borsa also scored touchdowns for the Rams, who fall to 0-1 and will face the Alberta Golden Bears (0-1) next week in Edmonton.
Calgary (1-0) faces UBC (0-0) next weekend in their home opener, a rematch of the 81st Hardy Cup last fall. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MT next Friday, Sept. 7 at McMahon Stadium.
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