RAMS ROUT GOLDEN BEARS 51-13

Photo: 620CKRM.com

EDMONTON, Alta. – The University of Regina Rams were nothing short of dominant in the second half on Friday night, turning a one-possession game at halftime into a 51-13 victory over Alberta at Foote Field.

It was a one-point game until late in the second quarter, when Noah Picton found Bennett Stusek for the rookie slotback’s first career touchdown which put the Rams up 21-13 at halftime. But it was all U of R from there, with the defence pitching a shutout in the final two quarters and the visitors scoring three second-half majors to put the game away.

Picton and Schienbein both had massive games for the Rams. Picton was 32-for-41 and finished with 449 passing yards and three touchdown throws while also running one in himself for a major, while Schienbein tied his career high with 13 receptions, had 176 receiving yards, and set a new career high with three touchdown catches.

Stusek, Daniel Scraper, and Kyle Moortgat also had big games for the Rams. Scraper more than doubled his career totals with six catches for 90 yards, Moortgat finished with six catches for 73 yards, and Stusek continued the strong start to his U SPORTS career with four catches for 91 yards including the major.

Cole Benkic, Robbie Lowes, and Ryan Warner all had sacks for the U of R defence.

The Rams (1-1) will head back to Regina and prepare for a big Week 3 home game against UBC, which is also 1-1 after a road loss to Calgary on Friday.

CHART CLIMBING
Picton moved from fifth up to fourth on the U SPORTS all-time passing yards list, overtaking former McGill quarterback Matt Connell during the game. He’s now at 10,618 for his career, just behind third-place Dan Brannagan (10,714) and second-place Michael Faulds (10,811).

AT RUNNING BACK
Atlee Simon led all Canada West players in rushing in Week 1, but was injured on the first play of the Rams’ second possession and didn’t return. Kyle Borsa and Tyree Range handled the running back duties from there, with Borsa finishing with 10 rushes for 44 yards and Range running eight times for 29 yards.

DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
Besides the three sacks, Tanner Schmekel also had a tackle for loss and Cord Delinte and Grey McKen assisted on a tackle for loss on an unsuccessful early third-down gamble. Alberta’s only touchdown of the game came after a long Golden Bears punt return gave them a start on Regina’s 35-yard line. Alberta gambled on third down a total of six times during the game, with the Rams defence stopping three of those attempts.

QUOTABLE: COACH BRYCE
“I thought Alberta played very hard in the first half. They were very aggressive early on, and their crowd was fantastic tonight. I think we gave them a little bit of hope in the first half, and we had some mistakes they took advantage of. But I think we calmed down in the second half and sorted some stuff out in the locker room.”