Despite a lot of negatives in Sunday's 38-18 loss to the Edmonton Wildcats, the Regina Thunder is finding some positives.

During the contest at Mosaic Stadium, Regina allowed a blocked punt which Edmonton returned for a touchdown, a punt return touchdown by Jerit Lambert of the Wildcats, a defensive collapse in the second half and saw the end of the hopes for a home playoff game.

"It was a good football game and we know we can beat them," said linebacker Travis Junior. "We're a better team than what we showed out there. Things weren't clicking for us and bounces were going for them, not for us."

The worst bounce may have been quarterback Reid Quest leaving the game with a knee injury.

Quest suffered a blow to his left knee while diving for a first down in the third quarter. The injury is believed to be to the medial collateral ligament, but is to be re-assessed today. Quest was able to walk off the field with no assistance, but did not return. It is not yet known if he will be able to play Sunday when the Thunder plays host to the Winnipeg Rifles in the regular-season finale.

"Hopefully it's only a strain," an optimistic Quest said. "When it happened, it felt like every other hit I've ever taken. As soon as (the trainers) started bending it, it felt like someone was chiseling away at my knee cap."

Wyatt Catley was impressive in relief of Quest, going 8-for-19 for 140 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jay Smith, who led all players with 157 receiving yards.

But that touchdown -- the final score of the game -- came too little, too late for Regina (4-3). Edmonton (5-2) scored 24 consecutive points from the end of the second quarter to the start of the fourth.

"Every team, you have a niche with and our problem right now is we don't play very well against this team in the second half," said Regina head coach Erwin Klempner.

Regina's defence barely let the Wildcats move the ball during the first half, holding them to 11 rushing yards, 78 passing yards and six first downs even though Edmonton was often in good field position thanks to Ben Koot's struggles punting into the wind, which gusted up to 74 kilometres per hour.

In the second, half, however, Edmonton added 113 yards rushing (including 45 to Moose Jaw product Liam Dow), 115 passing and 12 more first downs.

"We came out a little bit flat in the second half," said Junior, who recovered one of the three fumbles lost by the Wildcats. "We have to come out flying. The third quarter is the most important quarter by far."

In addition to the fumbles, the Thunder also intercepted Edmonton quarterback Andy Pilon twice (one by Kurtis Sullivan and one by Cody Johnstone), but the offence failed to turn any of the turnovers into points.

Edmonton put Regina in an early hole when Dylan Little blocked Koot's punt and Dylan Graff took it back 17 yards for a touchdown. Regina inched a little closer in the first quarter with a 41-yard Koot field goal and a conceded safety.

Edmonton stretched its lead to five with a 41-yard field goal by Ben Hnidan to open the second before Quest gave Regina its first lead with a one-yard touchdown plunge. The Wildcats retook the lead in the final minute of the half when Hnidan hit from 44 yards out.

The third quarter saw Edmonton score two more majors -- Lambert's 92-yard punt return and a two-yard catch by Justin McEvoy -- and a single by Hnidan. Lambert caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Pilon to open the fourth and Hnidan added a 17-yard field goal.

The Thunder is almost assured of finishing fourth in the PFC after the Saskatoon Hilltops moved to 6-1 with a 27-2 win over the Edmonton Huskies and the Calgary Colts went to 5-2 after beating the Rifles 34-24. Regina lost the season series to the Wildcats and Colts.