TBIRDS 33 RAMS 32

VANCOUVER, B.C. – A rouge turned out to be the difference in the University of Regina Rams’ 33-32 loss to UBC on Saturday afternoon in a Canada West game at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

The two teams were knotted at 32-32 for much of the fourth quarter until Quinn Van Gylswyk bombed a 60-yard punt deep into the end zone with two minutes left that Catlin Schneider was unable to bring out. That single turned out to be the final scoring play of the game, giving UBC the slim victory as the Thunderbirds improve to 2-4 on the season.

On the ensuing drive with time running down, the Rams got a pair of first downs and brought it down to the UBC 47-yard line, but could get no closer. With just 40 seconds left on the clock, the Rams were forced to go for it on 3rd-and-9 and a pass across the middle to Riley Wilson was batted away by UBC’s Chris Adams, essentially sealing the win for the Thunderbirds.

Carson Williams completed 20 of his 32 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns for UBC, with Josh Kronstrom as his leading receiver with seven catches for 80 yards. Brandon Deschamps led the UBC ground game with 86 yards, while linebacker Yianni Cabylis was credited with three solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles.

Rookie running back Atlee Simon got his first career start for the Rams and had a fine game, rushing 18 times for 121 yards including a 10-yard touchdown midway through the third. Cayman Shutter was 28-for-39 for 351 yards and a touchdown, while Addison Richards finished with nine catches for 110 yards to hit triple digits for the fifth time in six games this year. Jared Janotta added five catches for 71 yards and was the recipient of Shutter’s touchdown pass. Justin Edralin led the Regina defence with six solo tackles and six assisted tackles.

The Rams (1-5) aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but will need to defeat both Manitoba and Alberta in Week 7 and Week 8 to have a chance at qualifying for the postseason. Both of those games are at home, including next Saturday against Manitoba (2 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).

NOTES: Richards now has 774 receiving yards on the season, already the fourth most in University of Regina history with two Canada West games still left on the schedule.

(Courtesy Braden Konschuh)