QUICKLY
The University of Regina Rams dropped a close 29-25 decision to Manitoba on Thursday night in a non-conference game at Mosaic Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both starting quarterbacks played only the opening drive and looked strong. Manitoba's Jackson Tachinski completed his only pass attempt for 47 yards and led the Bisons on a long touchdown drive, while Regina's Owen Sieben was 5-for-5 and engineered a 12-play, 87-yard drive that took 6:16 off the clock and was stopped at Manitoba's 1-yard line.
• Noah Pelletier came on for Sieben after the first drive and led the Rams to their first offensive points of the game, completing five passes including a five-yard touchdown to Kenton Appel to give the U of R a 9-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
• Manitoba took a 16-9 lead into halftime and extended that advantage to 23-9 with a major on the Bisons' first possession of the second half, but the Rams responded with two touchdowns in the final 80 seconds of the third quarter to tie it up. Trey Jones hit Taggart Rowell for a 17-yard touchdown, then after Apete Tuiloma forced a Manitoba fumble the Rams struck again with a 25-yard touchdown throw by Carter Casey to Renzel Arianza.
• The Rams briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter on a rouge, but Manitoba hit field goals on their two possessions of the final frame to put them up 29-25. The Rams nearly connected on a desperation heave by rookie quarterback Conner Kerr to Michael Eagle Bear that would have tied the game, but Manitoba's Jake Deneka helped break up the pass at the goal line to seal the win for Manitoba.

RAMS HIGHLIGHTS

• Sieben, Pelletier, Jones, Casey, and Kerr combined to complete 26 of their 43 pass attempts during the game.
• In the "we swear this isn't a typo" category, 16 different Rams players caught at least one pass on Thursday. Arianza, Appel, and D'Sean Mimbs all tied for the lead with three receptions with Arianza leading all players with 50 receiving yards.
• Demar Hohnstein led all players in tackles, finishing with four solo and two assisted.
• Toryn Swystun-Bernes and Daniel Thornton both had fumble recoveries for the Rams. Thornton finished just behind Hohnstein in tackles, collecting four solo tackles and sharing a half tackle for loss with Andrew Stewart.
• Max Polischuk and Jacob Tkachuk both had interceptions while Michael Jourdan and Cedric McCallum both had pass breakups.
• Casey not only finished 4-for-6 for 59 yards and a touchdown, but also led the Rams in rushing with two scrambles for a total of 26 yards.

NEXT UP
The Rams will now prepare for their Week 1 road game at Calgary. The season opener is set for next Friday starting at 5:30 PM at Mosaic Stadium.