Game Notes

Three weeks after the Calgary Dinos waltzed to a 31-5 win over the University of Regina at McMahon Stadium, the Rams will travel back to Calgary for a rematch in the Canada West semifinals on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The U of R essentially started its playoffs last Friday with a 17-12 victory over Manitoba. A loss would have ended the Rams' season, but the victory gave them third place in the conference and the lone remaining postseason berth in Canada West.

Though the Rams never trailed against the Bisons on Friday, the game wasn't sealed until the waning moments of the fourth quarter, when Regina's defence forced an incomplete pass from Manitoba quarterback John Makie on 3rd-and-1 from Regina's 31-yard line. Teale Orban completed 20 of his 37 passes for 210 yards, but also rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Todd Kristoff was a terror on special teams for the Rams, recording three solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and a fumble recovery – all on punt or kick returns.

The Rams will be without leading rusher Luke Derkson for the remainder of the season, as he underwent surgery last week to repair a damaged lateral collateral ligament in his knee. In his absence, both Austin Kappel and Sheldon Tillotson lined up at running back against the Bisons and will likely do the same against the Dinos.

Though Orban's numbers were down this year from his meteoric 2006 and 2007 seasons, he still led the conference in passing yards (1809), touchdown passes (10), and total offence yards (2015). Chad Goldie was the team's leading receiver with 34 catches for 469 yards and three touchdowns, while Mark McConkey has stepped up in his rookie season with 28 catches for 338 yards and two touchdowns.

Saskatchewan's win over UBC last Friday night nailed down first place in the conference for the Huskies, rendering Calgary's game against Alberta on Saturday afternoon meaningless. The Dinos would have finished second in Canada West regardless of the outcome of their game, and ended up losing 20-9 to the Golden Bears and finishing with a 5-3 record.

Calgary's balanced offence features running back Matt Walter, who rushed for a conference-leading total of 904 yards this season. Quarterback Deke Junior finished second in Canada West with 1584 passing yards, with Anthony Parker (35 receptions for 500 yards) and Nathan Coehoorn (33 receptions for 363 yards) serving as his top receivers. Defensively, linebacker Andrea Bonaventura led the Dinos with 51 total tackles.

In addition to Calgary's win over the Rams in conference play on Oct. 11, the Dinos also recorded a 26-10 victory over Regina in a non-conference game in Medicine Hat back on Aug. 23. Though Calgary has a 6-5 edge in the regular season series, the Rams have won both playoff games between the two teams, taking a 33-32 victory in 2000 and a 39-17 win in 2002. Both of those games were Canada West semifinal matchups played at McMahon Stadium.

The game will be broadcast live on 620 CKRM by Michael Ball and Chad Ehman. The University of Calgary will also provide a live video webcast at www.nutv.ca/streaming.


ORBAN FINISHING UP RECORD-SETTING CAREER
With only the postseason remaining before his CIS career wraps up, Rams quarterback Teale Orban is putting the finishing touches on what has been a stellar five seasons at the University of Regina. Orban ends up second on the CIS all-time list in career pass completions (685), third in career touchdown passes (76), and fourth in career passing yards (9449). Orban is the Canada West and University of Regina all-time leader in all three categories.

GOLDIE LOCKS DOWN CANADA WEST RECEPTIONS RECORD
Rams fifth-year slotback Chad Goldie quietly set the conference's all-time lead in pass receptions during the Calgary game and ends up with 173 for his career, which also ranks sixth on the CIS all-time list. Goldie finishes fourth in Canada West in both career touchdown catches (21) and career receiving yards (2458), and first on the U of R all-time list in all three categories.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN: McCONKEY STEPS UP FOR RAMS
First-year wide receiver Mark McConkey has been solid all season long for the Rams. With top receiver Jordan Sisco out due to injury for the start of the season, McConkey slid into a starting role and has stayed there since. The Calgary native is third on the team with 338 receiving yards and tied for second on the Rams with 28 receptions, and ranks second among Canada West rookies (behind UBC's Blaine Kruger) in both categories.

CLASS BREAKDOWN
The Rams have essentially gone with the same starting 24 players for the entire season, with the exception of injury replacements. Here's how those 24 break down in terms of eligibility years:
Fifth-year starters (8): LT Ryan Ackerman, RB Luke Derkson, HB Aadon Fieger, SB Chad Goldie, S Charlie McCrystal, DT Paul McDill, QB Teale Orban, CB Andrew Rumbaugh.
Fourth-year starters (9): LB Brandon Ganne, HB Darren Geddert, LG Devin Hillier, RG Nick Hutchins, LB Thomas Irving, DT Bjorn Person, DE Mike Picken, FB Sheldon Tillotson, DE Stan Van Sichem.
Third-year starters (4): LB Bruce Anderson, CB Tamon George, RT John Hashem, WR Jordan Sisco.
Second-year starters (1): SB Brenden Owens.
First-year starters (2): C Brenden Bennett, WR Mark McConkey.
Though not technically a starter, kicker/punter Perri Scarcelli is in his fourth season and should return to the U of R for his final year of eligibility in 2009.

THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE PROGRAM
The Rams have 17 players on their roster that came to the U of R after graduating from high school earlier this year. 13 of those players will redshirt this season, while four have stepped up to assume roles with the team as true freshman. Two of those players are defensive backs, as safety Kirby Kezama and cornerback Jamir Walker have each had one start this season. With interceptions in two of the last three games and 11½ tackles for the season, Kezama has been especially noticeable for the Rams. The other two true freshman that aren't redshirting are defensive tackle Benton Gieni (6½ tackles in seven games played) and running back Connor Haas (four games played).