Game Notes

KICKOFF: Friday, Sept. 12 (7:00 p.m. CDT)
SITE: Investors Group Field (Winnipeg, Man.)
CAPACITY: 33,500
RANKINGS: Regina RV, Manitoba RV
TELEVISION: Canada West Football on Shaw (broadcast live in Regina on Access7)
RADIO: 620 CKRM / www.620ckrm.com
INTERNET: www.canadawest.tv
 
Highlights
 This will be the first of two meetings between the Rams and Manitoba this year - they'll also play Oct. 25 in Regina
• Manitoba took a 34-15 win last year over the Rams in Winnipeg, breaking a streak of seven consecutive U of R wins over the Bisons
• Both teams received votes in this week's CIS Top Ten, but weren't ranked
• The Rams are 10-14 in conference play all-time against the Bisons and 1-4 in the postseason

Game Notes
RAMS RECEIVE VOTES IN CIS TOP TEN: For the second consecutive FRC-CIS Top Ten poll, the Rams received votes but didn't break into the rankings. They weren't far off, though, as they ended up with 25 points in the poll - just nine behind No. 10 Mount Allison. Calgary remains at No. 2 in this week's poll, with No. 6 Saskatchewan as the only other Canada West school. Both Manitoba and UBC dropped out of the poll following Week 1 road losses to Saskatchewan and Regina, respectively.
FAMILY TIES: OL Aaron Picton and SB Mitchell Picton are brothers, and their cousin Noah Picton is a quarterback in his first season of CIS eligibility with the U of R. There's also a pair of Wilsons, as Riley is a third-year slotback with the Rams and his younger brother Luke is a rookie defensive back. Defensive coordinator Paul Dawson has a son (RB Dillon Dawson) and a nephew (LB Danny Nesbitt) on the team, while head coach Frank McCrystal's son Charlie McCrystal is on the staff as a defensive backs coach. If that isn't enough, you'll also find QB Cayman Shutter throwing to his first cousin, WR Mitch Thompson.
JANOTTA WATCH: Fifth-year SB Jared Janotta passed Jordan Sisco for third place in University of Regina history in career receptions last week. Janotta now has 145 for his career, needing 29 to pass Chad Goldie for second and 36 to overtake former teammate Mark McConkey for the school and conference all-time lead. Janotta also moved up a spot on the school career receiving yards list, overtaking Michael Thomas for sixth. He now has 1867 yards over his five seasons with the Rams and needs just 37 more to pass Brenden Owens to break into the U of R's all-time top five.
RICHARDS LOOKING FOR 1000: Fourth-year WR Addison Richards piled up 133 receiving yards last week in the UBC win, giving him 880 for his career. He needs 120 more to become the 14th player in U of R history to hit the 1000 mark.
RAMS IN THE PROS: The Rams currently boast three former players in the NFL, including P Jon Ryan (Seattle), DL Akiem Hicks (New Orleans), and DL Stefan Charles (Buffalo). Four University of Regina products are on CFL active rosters right now, including OL Brett Jones with Calgary and SB Chris Getzlaf, OL Brendon LaBatte, and LB Ryan Wellman with Saskatchewan. FB Neal Hughes is on Saskatchewan's six-game injured list, while OL Chris Mercer remains on Edmonton's practice roster.
GO LONG: Rams quarterbacks have thrown for over 400 yards 15 times since moving up to the CIS in 1999. And Cayman Shutter now has five of them - in just eight career starts - after throwing for 430 yards in last week's win over UBC.
RAMS FIFTH IN CANADA WEST POLL: The Rams were ranked fifth in the Canada West preseason poll released Sept. 3, garnering four fifth-place votes and one sixth-place vote for a total of 13 points in the poll. Calgary chalked up the maximum 50 points as the unanimous favourite, with Manitoba second (36 points), UBC third (31), Saskatchewan fourth (19), and Alberta sixth (7).
 
Breakdown - Offence
QUARTERBACKS
• Cayman Shutter, a transfer from the University of Hawaii, is in his final CIS season and his second as a starter with the Rams
• Shutter already has the Canada West lead in most passing categories after completing 30 of his 51 pass attempts for 430 yards and two TDs in the UBC win
• First-year QB Noah Picton will back up Shutter, and fourth-year SB Landon Buch takes over under centre in short-yardage situations
RUNNING BACKS
• Dillon Dawson got the start against UBC and ended up with 10 carries for 53 yards, including a 20-yard rumble in the fourth that equalled his career long
• Jens Johnson handled the majority of RB duties in the fourth, collecting 44 yards on eight rushes and sealing the game with a late pair of runs for first downs
• Rookie Atlee Simon didn't get a carry in his Canada West debut, but handled kickoff duties on an emergency basis for the Rams with Andrew Fabian dealing with a minor injury
RECEIVERS
• Addison Richards and Mitch Thompson are one of the most dynamic WR duos in the CIS
• Richards, a second-team All-Canadian last year, had nine catches for 133 yards and two TDs in the UBC win and needs just 120 more yards for 1000 in his career
• Thompson won a junior football national championship last year with the Regina Thunder and opened his CIS career last week with four catches for 40 yards
• A trio of returning players will get the start at the three slotback positions, including Jared Janotta, Landon Buch, and Riley Wilson
• Janotta had six catches for 114 yards in the UBC win (see Page 2 for more on his career)
• Wilson had a career-high 96 receiving yards next week as the U of R just missed out on having three players in triple digits
• Buch has missed five games due to injury over the past two seasons, but looks healthy here in 2014 and had two catches for 27 yards last week
• Second-year receivers Davin Johnston, Mitchell Picton, and Richard Sindani are also expected to make the trip to Manitoba
OFFENSIVE LINE
• After an injury-plagued 2013 season which forced four first-year Rams to see significant playing time on the offensive line, the staff expects this to be a much-improved position
• No changes are expected to the OL from the UBC game, which saw the Rams start Jeremy Zver, Kyle Paterson, Aaron Picton, Nathan Cugnet, and Matt Degelman from left to right
• Picton, who will be eligible for the 2015 CFL Draft, is the team's most experienced lineman with 12 career Canada West starts and two postseason starts
• The durable Zver will make his 10th consecutive start at left tackle for the Rams
• Not counting this Friday, Degelman has eight career starts for the Rams, Paterson has seven, and Cugnet has four
• Both in their first seasons with the Rams after coming over from the Saskatoon Hilltops, Tristain Hoath and Keenan Carrier will both likely make the trip this Friday
• Carrier and Hoath were both injured after being involved in a car accident in August, but are close to returning to full strength
• Lyndon Smith remains out after being injured in the non-conference game

Breakdown - Defence / Special Teams
DEFENSIVE LINE
• With defensive coordinator Paul Dawson moving from a 42 defence to a 33 defence, the Rams will have three DL on the field this season under most circumstances
• Last week's starters included veteran Tyler Perkins along with Bryce McKinnon and Dean Viena, both of whom made their first Canada West starts on the defensive side of the ball for the Rams
• Viena will have one season of eligibility for the Rams after playing basketball at Shoreline CC (Shoreline, Wash.)
• Perkins had a pair of solo tackles and an assisted tackle against UBC, while both McKinnon and Viena had two assisted tackles
• Eric Wicijowski and Thomas Lill are also expected to make the trip to Manitoba
• Wicijowski is a rookie out of LeBoldus HS in Regina, while Lill played both offensive line and defensive line last year as a rookie for the Rams
LINEBACKERS
• Connor Ketchen and Canada West all-star Michael Stefanovic reclaim their starting jobs
• Stefanovic and Ketchen finished one-two on the team in tackles last year, with Stefanovic also leading the conference outright in tackles for loss
• Dylan Minshull redshirted last year, but has stepped in opposite Stefanovic at OLB
• Ketchen and Minshull were teammates in high school (Neelin HS in Brandon, Man.)
• Calgary Colts product Zack McEachern had a solo tackle and two assisted tackles against UBC, all on kick coverage
• Rookie Danny Nesbitt also played in his first Canada West game, recording one solo tackle on a kickoff return
DEFENSIVE BACKS
• Tevaughn Campbell and Patrick MacDonald both returned against UBC, but both Korey Greene and Mason Rossler remain questionable for the Manitoba game with injuries
• Kahlen Branning and Campbell should again start at cornerback for the Rams
• Jeff Propp and Patrick MacDonald started at halfback against UBC and are expected to do so again on Friday
• Starting dimeback Joey Dwyer had a productive opener against UBC, leading the Rams in tackles (8 solo, 4 assisted)
• Safety Justin Edralin registered the Rams' first interception of the season last week, picking off a Carson Williams pass in the 2nd
• Jordy Kibamba, Ryan Serbu, and one of either Korey Greene or Robbie Avram are also expected to make the trip to Manitoba
PUNTERS/KICKERS
• Former Calgary Colts kicker Andrew Fabian had a fine debut for the Rams last week, earning Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week honours after connecting on all four of his FG attempts, going 3-for-3 on PATs, and averaging 40.3 yards per punt
• With Fabian nursing a minor injury, rookie RB Atlee Simon handled kickoff duties against UBC and averaged 45.5 yards on his four kickoffs
RETURNERS
• Tevaughn Campbell and Mitch Thompson are expected to return punts and kickoffs
• Thompson had both of Regina's kickoff returns against UBC for a total of 79 yards, including a 56-yard return early in the game
• Always a threat to break out a big return, Campbell was limited to four yards on two punt returns last Friday
HOLDER / LONG SNAPPER
• In addition to his return duties on special teams, Mitch Thompson will also be the team's holder on field goal attempts
• Offensive lineman Jeremy Zver will be the long snapper on both punts and FG attempts