The University of Regina Rams opened up the Canada West schedule with a convincing win in a battle of top-ten teams, taking a 36-20 victory over UBC on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.
After a quiet first quarter, the No. 5-ranked Rams (1-0) scored twice in the first half of the second with a
Kyle Moortgat touchdown reception and a short
Atlee Simon rush for a major and never looked back. The Rams led 16-3 at the half, and took complete control in the third after a
Mitch Thompson touchdown catch and a
Tyler Vieira plunge from one yard out to go up 33-6 late in the quarter.
The usual suspects drove the Regina offence in the win.
Noah Picton completed 23 of his 35 pass attempts for 335 yards and two touchdowns, while
Mitchell Picton was the game's leading receiver with six receptions for 120 yards.
Cole Benkic and
Polis Koko both had interceptions for the Regina defence, while linebacker
Nick Cross – the first Rams rookie to start a season opener right out of high school since Jamir Walker in 2008 – led all players with 7½ tackles including a sack and also had a pass breakup.
Simon, who finished with 14 carries for 63 yards, became the University of Regina's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns. He entered the season tied with Rams legend Neal Hughes with 17, but pulled ahead of Hughes with his second-quarter rumble from two yards out.
No. 7-ranked UBC (0-1) scored its first major early in the fourth quarter after a huge 57-yard punt return by Stavros Katsantonis gave the Thunderbirds the ball at Regina's 43. Five plays later UBC was in the end zone after a Shane Noel run from a yard out, but the Rams forced punts on the next two possessions to end any hopes of a late comeback. Marcus Davis hauled in a 23-yard pass from Cole Meyer in the final minute to finish off the scoring.
Michael O'Connor was 14-for-25 and finished with 155 passing yards for UBC, while Ben Cummings rushed 15 times for 71 yards. Will Maxwell and Payton Lagrange both had big interception returns for the visitors, with Lagrange returning a pick 50 yards in the second quarter and Maxwell returning one 30 yards on Regina's first possession of the second half.
The Rams will now prepare for a big Week 2 road game next Friday at No. 4 Calgary, which also won its season opener on Friday night with a 55-26 victory at Alberta. UBC will be back on the West Coast next weekend with a Saturday home game against Manitoba.
QUOTABLE
"I thought our defensive was tenacious and really set the tone for the game with their aggressiveness, and our regulars on offence – Picton, Picton, Simon, and Schienbein – were really reliable for us all game on. And our o-line was definitely a question mark going in, but they gelled really well out there. Lots of guys stood out defensively – Nick Cross was unbelievable, and I loved what I saw from both Cole Benkic and Layne Hull." – head coach Steve Bryce
TURNING POINT
UBC elected to gamble on a 3rd-and-2 situation at their own 54-yard line, but
Cord Delinte led a Rams charge that stuffed Shane Noel for a one-yard loss. And the Rams struck immediately –
Noah Picton hit Moortgat for a first down, found Simon twice to bring Regina down to the UBC 21, then connected with Thompson in the end zone to put the Rams up 26-6 past the midway point of the third quarter.
HIT OF THE GAME
Without a doubt, it was Rams first-year fullback
Scott Jones lowering the boom on UBC linebacker Ben Hladik. Hladik – who was already having a rough weekend after having to change jersey numbers thanks to his luggage being lost on the flight out to Regina – was in hot pursuit of
Noah Picton when Jones caught him with a bone-crushing hit. And, believe it or not, it happened on Jones' first play at the U SPORTS level.
FLAG-FEST
Friday's game took a shade over three hours to complete, and that might have something to do with the fact that the two teams combined for a total of 41 penalties. UBC was the more serious offender with 23 penalties called for a total of 210 yards, while the Rams were whistled 18 times for 131 yards. It was the most penalty-filled contest in a game involving the Rams since 2013, when Regina and Manitoba committed 44 fouls for a total of 435 yards in a Week 5 showdown won by the Rams.
RECORD WATCH
Besides passing Hughes as the school's all-time lead in rushing touchdowns, Simon also pulled into a tie with Hughes for second place in U of R history with 24 total touchdowns scored and is now only two behind
Jason Clermont's school record of 26.
Mitchell Picton also moved up into a tie for third in all-time touchdown receptions, matching Michael Thomas with his 17th of his career.
LONG BOMB
Thomas Huber drilled a 45-yard field goal early in the third quarter, putting the Rams ahead 19-6. It marked the first time a Rams kicker had connected with a field goal of at least 45 yards in almost six seasons - the last time that happened was back on Oct. 22, 2011 when Chris Bodnar hit a 45-yard field in a game against Saskatchewan.
