Box Score

They had to fend off a comeback bid to do it, but the University of Regina Rams scored their first win of the Canada West schedule with a 55-35 road victory over the Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday night at Foote Field in Edmonton.

The Rams (1-2) jumped out to a 23-6 lead after the first quarter and at one point led by 24 points late in the first half, but Alberta (0-3) chipped away at the lead and took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter after an Aundrey Webster touchdown gave the Golden Bears a 32-31 lead. The Rams responded almost immediately to regain the lead with a Rory Copithorn touchdown reception, and the visitors outscored Alberta by a 24-3 margin in the final quarter to seal the victory.

Cayman Shutter had a sterling performance under centre for the Rams as he completed 37 of his 55 pass attempts, threw four touchdown passes, and rushed for a pair of majors. The fourth-year quarterback in his first season with the Rams ended up with 484 passing yards, the second most in school single-game history. Addison Richards led all receivers with nine catches and had 145 receiving yards, while Jared Janotta had eight catches for 101 yards. Richards, Janotta, Copithorn, and Landon Buch all caught touchdowns for the Rams, while Michael Kiapway rushed 14 times for a career-high 137 yards and a touchdown.

First-year linebacker Michael Stefanovic had a huge game for the University of Regina defence, leading all players with 10 tackles and joining Stan Van Sichem as the only players in school history to collect three sacks in a single game. Calvin Smith and Ryan Wellman combined for the Rams' other sacks, while Ryan Filyk and Patrick MacDonald both had interceptions for the U of R.

Alberta quarterback Ryan Schwartz also had fine numbers, going 27-for-38 for 371 yards and completing two touchdown passes. Tylor Henry had eight catches for 101 yards for the Golden Bears, while Webster had four catches for 149 yards and running back Ed Ilnicki rushed 17 times for 76 yards. Alberta's Tyler Greenslade had six tackles, while Steven Giang led the Golden Bears with two tackles for loss while adding a pass breakup.

Alberta got a field goal on its opening drive, but the Rams responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 25-yard run by Kiapway and was finished off by a one-yard plunge by Shutter. The Golden Bears replied with another field goal, but the Rams got a career-long 60-yard rush by Kiapway for a major and added a safety and a Buch touchdown to take a commanding 23-6 lead into the first quarter.

The Rams looked to be off to the races after Shutter found Richards for a 41-yard major to push the lead to 30-6, but Alberta came roaring back. The Golden Bears' Tylor Henry scored twice in the final 90 seconds of the first half, first on a six-yard touchdown reception and then on a 97-yard punt return for a major that brought Alberta to within 10 points at the half. Alberta's momentum continued into the second half, as the Golden Bears got a safety and a field goal before Webster's 60-yard touchdown catch gave the Golden Bears what would turn out to be their only lead of the game.

Copithorn's first career touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter gave the Rams the lead back, and after a U of R rouge the two teams traded field goals midway through the final period. The Rams' defence forced a huge turnover late in the contest, as Alberta gambled on 3rd-and-5 but a Schwartz pass to Henry fell incomplete to give the ball back to Regina on the Golden Bears' 35. The Rams took advantage of a short field, and Shutter finished off the drive with a short plunge to put the win away for the visitors. Shutter added a final touchdown pass to Janotta in the waning moments of the game following MacDonald's interception to push the margin of victory to 20.

The Rams will now prepare for a home game against UBC next weekend in a matchup that will feature a pair of 1-2 teams. Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Teale Orban's 548 passing yards in a game at UBC in 2006 is the only time a University of Regina quarterback has registered more than Shutter's 484 in a single game ... Van Sichem recorded at least three sacks on two occasions, collecting three against Manitoba on Sept. 1, 2007 and four against Saskatchewan on Nov. 2, 2007 ... Stefanovic is now tied for the Canada West lead with three sacks and is the conference's outright leader with six tackles for loss this season ... the Rams now have a 16-5 lead in the all-time series against Alberta and have won five consecutive games over the Golden Bears ... Shutter's 37 completions were also the second highest single-game total in school history.