Game Notes

Coming off of their bye week, the University of Regina Rams will be back in action on Friday night with a home game against the Simon Fraser Clan. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.

The Rams (2-2) and the Clan (2-3) are two of four Canada West teams that currently have two conference wins, with the others being Manitoba (2-2) and Alberta (2-3). The Golden Bears have this weekend off, while the Bisons will be charged with the task of travelling to Calgary for a game against the conference-leading Dinos (4-1).

The two teams will be playing against each other in a conference game for the eighth time since Simon Fraser joined Canada West back in 2002. Friday's game will also be the final conference game between the two teams, as SFU has declared its intent to reclassify to NCAA Division II beginning in 2010.

Live audio for Friday's game will be available online at 620ckrm.com with Michael Ball and Chad Ehman. As well, Access7 will rebroadcast the game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Regina Rams (2-2)
Last Week: (Bye)
Next Week: at Alberta (Oct. 17)

The Rams are back at it this week after enjoying a week off following their 28-17 win at UBC back on Sept. 26. That win pulled Regina back up to .500 for the season and kept them in the thick of the conference standings, as the Rams enter the weekend in third place as one of two teams with a 2-2 record.

Regina's pass offence remains ranked No. 1 in the conference, as third-year quarterback Marc Mueller is on pace to throw for over 2000 yards this season. Mueller, in his first season as a starter, leads Canada West with an average of 267.5 passing yards per game and has only thrown one interception so far. The Rams have three players with over 200 reception yards this season, including Mark McConkey (236), Jordan Sisco (231), and Brenden Owens (226).

On the ground, the Rams have split the carries between Graham Mosiondz and Cale Inglis. Mosiondz has put up 203 rushing yards this season for an average of 5.6 yards per carry, while Inglis has 152 and averages 4.9 per rush.

Fourth-year linebacker Bruce Anderson leads the Rams with 22½ total tackles and is also tied with Ryan Wellman for the team lead in sacks (2). Jamir Walker has been outstanding in the backfield, as the second-year cornerback leads the team in both interceptions (3) and pass breakups (5).

Simon Fraser Clan (2-3)
Last Week: Lost 24-18 (OT) to No. 7 Saskatchewan
Next Week: vs. UBC (Oct. 17)

While Simon Fraser has lost three straight games including two at home, the Clan drew many positives from Friday's overtime loss to Saskatchewan. SFU posted 445 total yards of offence, didn't throw an interception for the first time since Week 2, and defensively allowed only 92 yards on the ground. And after two weeks of a quarterback rotation, Bernd Dittrich did his best to solidify his starting spot, throwing for an efficient 246 yards, completing 17 of 28 passing attempts and rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown on ten carries.

Defensively the Clan are still the top-rated defence in the Canada West, having allowed a league-low 322.8 yards per game. SFU's offence is also ranked No. 2 in yards per game (417.2). The Clan, however, are fifth in turnover margin in the conference (-.20) and fourth in scoring defence (21.8 points per game).

SFU'S LAST GAME EVER AT MOSAIC?
On Sept. 23, Simon Fraser announced that it would join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference beginning with the 2010-11 season. The GNAC is an NCAA Division II conference with member institutions in Alaska (Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage), Idaho (Northwest Nazarene), Montana (Montana State-Billings), Oregon (Western Oregon), and Washington (Central Washington, Saint Martin's, Seattle Pacific, and Western Washington). Humboldt State and Dixie State are also affiliate members of the GNAC in football. With SFU leaving for the GNAC, Friday's game will be the last meeting between the two teams unless they happen to meet in the Canada West postseason.

SCARCELLI MOVING UP CANADA WEST ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD
Rams fifth-year kicker Perri Scarcelli is climbing up the Canada West all-time statistics in several categories. His 265 career points rank fourth in conference history, while he sits eighth with 48 field goals made. He is ranked No. 2 in the conference record book in both career punts (304) and attempted field goals (78) and No. 4 in field goal percentage (61.5%).

PICKING UP WHERE ORBAN LEFT OFF: MUELLER LEADING CANADA WEST IN PASSING
After apprenticing for two seasons, Marc Mueller has taken over at quarterback for the Rams. Mueller backed up former Rams pivot Teale Orban during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, watching as Orban basically rewrote the Canada West record book during his prolific five-year career. Orban ended his career as Canada West's all-time leader in passing yards (9449), pass completions (685), and touchdown passes (76) and holds virtually every U of R single-game, single-season, and career passing records. The grandson of former Saskatchewan Roughrider legend Ron Lancaster, Mueller has had a fine start to this season, as he leads Canada West with an average of 267.5 passing yards per game and has only thrown one interception so far. Mueller is on pace to throw for 2000 yards this season, which would go down as the fifth time in the Rams' 11-season history that they've had a quarterback throw for at least 2000 in a single season.

FORMER RAMS IN THE PROS
The impressive list of former University of Regina players now toiling in the professional ranks is led by the Seattle Seahawks' Jon Ryan, who currently ranks No. 3 in the NFL with an average of 51.8 yards per punt. Nine former University of Regina Rams are now in the CFL, including Chris Bauman (Hamilton), Jason Clermont (Saskatchewan), Tamon George (Saskatchewan), Chris Getzlaf (Saskatchewan), Neal Hughes (Saskatchewan), Nick Hutchins (Saskatchewan), Brendon LaBatte (Winnipeg), Joel Lipinski (Saskatchewan), and Stan Van Sichem (Montreal). Randy Srochenski, who suited up for the Rams during their days as a junior program, is with the Toronto Argonauts.