Game Notes
 
KICKOFF: Saturday, Sept. 20 (5:00 p.m. MDT)
SITE: Foote Field (Edmonton, Alta.)
CAPACITY: 3,500
RANKINGS: Regina NR, Alberta NR
TELEVISION: Canada West Football on Shaw (broadcast live in Regina on Access70)
RADIO: RM2 / www.620ckrm.com
INTERNET: www.canadawest.tv

Highlights
• Both teams are coming off losses, as the Rams fell 42-18 to Manitoba last Friday and Alberta was edged 42-41 by Saskatchewan in overtime
• The two teams met three weeks ago in a non-conference game, with the Rams pulling away from Alberta in the second half for a 40-28 win
• The Rams have dominated the all-time series against Alberta, going 17-5 against the Golden Bears with wins in each of their last six Canada West meetings and 11 of the last 12

Game Notes
JANOTTA WATCH: Fifth-year SB Jared Janotta now has 1902 career receiving yards and needs just two more to break into the U of R's all-time top five in the category. He'll likely do that with his first catch this Saturday at Alberta, which will put him past Brenden Owens for fifth. He also needs only 90 more yards to surpass Mark McConkey for fourth. Janotta also has 149 career receptions and has a shot at reeling in both second-place Chad Goldie (173) and Canada West all-time leader Mark McConkey (180) this season.
RICHARDS LOOKING FOR 1000: Fourth-year WR Addison Richards added 89 receiving yards last week at Manitoba, giving him 222 for the season and 969 for his career. He needs just 31 more to become the 14th player in U of R history to hit the 1000 mark.
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 nine career starts - after throwing for 430 yards in the Week 1 win over UBC.
POST PATTERN: The video of WR Mitch Thompson crashing into the goal post in Winnipeg last weekend had over 75,000 views on YouTube as of Friday after being picked up by various sites including Bleacher Report. Thompson was briefly shaken up on the play, but returned almost immediately.
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. DL Micheal Dadzie was just signed to Ottawa's practice roster on Monday, while OL Chris Mercer remains on Edmonton's practice roster.
FABIAN TIES RECORD IN RAMS DEBUT: Andrew Fabian had a fine debut in the Week 1 win over UBC, connecting on all four of his field goal attempts to become just the third kicker in University of Regina history to hit four in a single game. Only Perri Scarcelli and Chris Bodnar have also hit four in one game, with Scarcelli accomplishing the feat four times over his five-season career with the Rams. Fabian - the Rams' leading scorer through Week 2 with 17 points - was named the Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week following the UBC game.
FAMILY TIES: OL Aaron Picton and SB Mitchell Picton are brothers, and their cousins QB Noah Picton and RB Blake Anaka are both in their first seasons 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.

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 is 46-for-81 (56.8%) this year for 589 yards and two touchdown passes
• First-year QB Noah Picton threw the ball in a Canada West game for the first time last week at Manitoba, relieving Shutter in the second half and ending up 6-for-10 for 130 yards and two touchdowns
• Fourth-year SB Landon Buch also serves as the team's quarterback in short-yardage situations
RUNNING BACKS
• Starting RB Dillon Dawson had eight rushes for 45 yards last week and is now averaging 5.4 yards per carry this season
• Rookie Atlee Simon has been handling kickoff duties for the Rams this season and got his first touches at RB last week, ending up with 10 carries for 67 yards at Manitoba
• As expected, Jens Johnson has also seen playing time at RB this season and has 10 carries for 55 yards after rushing twice for a total of 11 yards last week
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, has 13 catches for 222 yards and two TDs this season and needs just 31 more receiving yards for 1000 in his career
• Thompson won a junior football national championship last year with the Regina Thunder and has seven catches for 53 yards this year while also handling return duties
• A trio of returning players will get the start at the three slotback positions, including Jared Janotta, Landon Buch, and Riley Wilson
• Janotta is second on the team behind Richards in receptions and receiving yards (see Page 2 for more on his career)
• Wilson had a career-high 96 receiving yards in Week 1 and is now third on the Rams in both catches (8) and receiving yards (116) this season
• Buch had one reception last week at Manitoba and now has three catches for 27 yards
• Second-year receiver Mitchell Picton caught two touchdown passes at Manitoba, the first two majors of his CIS career
• Fellow second-year receivers Davin Johnston and Richard Sindani will also travel
OFFENSIVE LINE
• The Rams had one change to the offensive line last week at Manitoba, giving RG Tristain Hoath - a Saskatoon Hilltops product - his first career start
• Jeremy Zver (LT), Kyle Paterson (LG), Aaron Picton (C), and Matt Degelman (RT) have started both Canada West games for the Rams and should do so again on Saturday
• Picton, who will be eligible for the 2015 CFL Draft, is the team's most experienced lineman with 13 career Canada West starts and two postseason starts
• The durable Zver will make his 11th consecutive start at left tackle for the Rams
• Degelman comes into Saturday with nine career starts for the Rams, while Paterson has seven
• Nathan Cugnet played much of the second half at centre for the Rams, with Picton moving to right tackle in place of Degelman
• Brandon Williams was also on the 42-man roster for the Manitoba game, but didn't play
• Keenan Carrier was in the lineup for the team's Week 1 win at UBC, but didn't make the trip to Manitoba
• 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
• Dean Viena had a huge game for the Rams at Manitoba, collecting 6½ tackles, a pass breakup, and the first sack of his career
• The Rams have gone with the same starters on the line in both Canada West games, with Viena at defensive end, Bryce McKinnon at nose tackle, and Tyler Perkins at rush end
• Perkins has 4½ tackles, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery this year while McKinnon - who played OL for the Rams last year - has three assisted tackles
• Eric Wicijowski and Thomas Lill are also expected to make the trip to Alberta
• 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
• MLB Connor Ketchen and WLB Michael Stefanovic are both two-year starters
• Starting SLB Dylan Minshull redshirted last year and is in his first season of eligibility
• After leading the conference with eight tackles for loss last season, Stefanovic is on pace to equal that this year with two TFLs in his first two games
• Stefanovic is also the team's leader with 14½ tackles, while Minshull has 10½ and Ketchen has 4½
• Ketchen and Minshull were teammates in high school (Neelin HS in Brandon, Man.)
• Calgary Colts product Zack McEachern has two solo and three assisted tackles this year, all of which have come on kick coverage
 • Cody Kezama (two tackles) and rookie Danny Nesbitt (1½ tackles) have also played in both of the team's Canada West games
DEFENSIVE BACKS
• The Rams have gone with the same starting defensive backfield for both games so far - Kahlen Branning and Tevaughn Campbell at cornerback, Patrick MacDonald and Jeff Propp at halfback, Justin Edralin at safety, and Joey Dwyer at dimeback
• Dwyer had the first sack of his career last week at Manitoba, catching Bisons QB Jordan Yantz on a blitz and forcing a fumble that would eventually be recovered by Perkins
• Three of Robbie Avram, Kadeem Ellis, Jordy Kibamba, and Ryan Serbu are also expected to back up for the Alberta game
• Korey Greene and Mason Rossler are listed as questionable with injuries
PUNTERS/KICKERS
• Former Calgary Colts kicker Andrew Fabian leads the Rams with 17 points scored this year, is 4-for-4 on field goal attempts and is averaging 38.1 yards per punt
• Rookie RB Atlee Simon has handled kickoff duties for the Rams this year and is averaging 44.3 yards per kick
RETURNERS
• DB Tevaughn Campbell and WR 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
• WR Mitch Thompson or backup QB Noah Picton will hold on field goal attempts
• OL Jeremy Zver will continue to serve as long snapper on both punts and field goals