Playing in their first game in nearly two calendar years, the University of Regina Rams secured a 34-25 victory over Alberta in a non-conference game at the Methanex Bowl in Medicine Hat, Alta.

The two teams played their starters for the first quarter, then utilized their entire depth charts for the remainder of the contest. The Rams led 7-0 after the opening period, but 17 unanswered points by Alberta put the Golden Bears up 19-14 at halftime. But the U of R opened up the second half with a huge play on special teams to almost immediately go back on top, and the Rams stayed in front the rest of the way.

"It's great to be back out there competing against someone else and overall, we thought today went great," Rams interim head coach Mark McConkey said. "We saw what we wanted out of our starters with our offence able to move the ball and our defence getting off the field quickly. We got everyone out there and ultimately that's the goal of this game."

The tide-turning play on the second-half kickoff came courtesy of a pair of rookies as Hunter Eagles jarred the ball loose on the return and Kaeden Brennan pounced on it. That gave the Rams the ball on Alberta's 23 and the offence converted on the very next play, as Bryden O'Flaherty floated a pass to Kyler Mosley for the major. The teams then traded field goals until the Rams made it a two-score game late in fourth on a Noah Pelletier touchdown pass to Rylan Kleiter which was followed by the pair connecting again for the two-point conversion.

Kleiter was all over the stat sheet and finished with a game-high five receptions for a total of 53 yards. Besides his touchdown and two-point conversion, Kleiter also kicked a pair of converts, punted twice for an average of 51 yards, and had a 67-yard kickoff.

"Rylan just joined our receivers group on Monday and he was outstanding today," McConkey said. "He's a grinder that did it all today, even the things that won't show up in the box score. He's a Hilltops guy that knows how to play football and he was really impressive in the second half."

The Rams' defence was led by first-year lineman Sean Olenik, who had the game's only two sacks.

"I couldn't be happier for Sean," McConkey said. "He comes off the edge with speed and is extremely athletic, and he showed tonight what we loved about him when we recruited him. We're super excited to see how he develops over the next few years."

Bryce Welter finished as Regina's leading rusher, ending up with seven carries for a total of 49 yards. Lane Erdelyan rushed four times for 31 yards, all of which came on the drive which ended with the Kleiter major. Josh Donnelly got the start at quarterback for the Rams and completed 8 of his 10 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Bryden O'Flaherty was 7-for-13 for 107 yards and a major. Emmett Steadman joined Mosley and Kleiter with touchdown catches.

Alberta's Luke Hornung was a perfect 7-for-7 and finished with 112 passing yards and touchdowns passes to both Kolby Hurford and Orin Schellenberg. Quarterback Zac Montgomery had three scrambles for 73 yards to finish as the Golden Bears' leading rusher.

The Rams will now prepare for their first Canada West game of the season. They'll travel to Manitoba to face the Bisons on Sept. 25.