QUICKLY
The University of Regina Rams couldn't have asked for much better of a start after going up by two touchdowns in the first half, but No. 10-ranked UBC came away with a 31-20 victory on Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Rams opened the scoring after starting their second drive of the game with great field position on UBC's 53. Owen Sieben found Michael Eagle Bear for a 14-yard reception, then Marshall Erichsen rushed four times in a row to get down to the UBC 1-yard line. Noah Pelletier then came on in the short-yardage situation and ran it in for the first points of the game.
• Pelletier's major was the only scoring of the opening quarter, but the Rams extended their lead on the very first play of the second. Regina faced a 2nd-and-10 situation from UBC's 30, but handed the ball off to Erichsen who took it all the way to the house to put the Rams up 14-0.
• After the two teams traded field goals, the turning point of Saturday's contest likely came late in the first half. The Rams moved the ball effectively again and faced a 3rd-and-1 from UBC's 13-yard line, but were stopped short after gambling on third down. UBC responded in just five plays as Garrett Rooker engineered a quick drive that finished with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jason Soriano.
• The Thunderbirds scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, then took advantage of a short field later in the third quarter and took the lead for good with a Rooker touchdown pass to Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez.
• Regina's Aldo Galvan hit his second field goal of the game to get the Rams back to within four early in the fourth quarter, but UBC responded on the very next possession in the form of a 63-yard pass from Rooker to Cesare Rednour-Bruckman which would turn out to be the final points of the contest.

NOTES

• Erichsen had another huge game for the Rams, rushing 24 times for a career-high 130 yards.
• The Rams had four sacks on Saturday. Brayden Wagg and Brad Rodin both had solo sacks, while Cameron Mah shared one sack with Garret Hatchard and another with Colin McKellar.
• Sieben, who was playing without his top two receivers as D'Sean Mimbs and Bennett Stusek both missed Saturday's game due to injury, completed 22 of his 32 passes.
• Eagle Bear was the U of R's leading receiver with 6 catches for 52 yards.

NEXT UP
The Rams will close out the 2023 season next Saturday against provincial rival Saskatchewan in a U-Prairie Challenge game. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM.