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Ty Gorniak
Piper Sports Photography
29
Manitoba MAN 4-4 , 4-4
32
Winner Regina REG 6-2 , 6-2
Manitoba MAN
4-4 , 4-4
29
Final
32
Regina REG
6-2 , 6-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT OT F
MAN Manitoba 7 10 0 9 3 0 29
REG Regina 9 10 3 4 3 3 32

Game Recap: Rams Football |

Rams advance to BioSteel Hardy Cup with double-overtime win over Manitoba

Conference title game will feature Rams, Huskies for second consecutive year

QUICKLY
  • The University of Regina Rams outlasted the Manitoba Bisons for a 32-29 win in double overtime on Saturday night in a Canada West semifinal game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Rams couldn't have scripted a better start to the game. Quinton Fettes reeled off the seventh longest kickoff return in school history, rumbling 67 yards before finally being hauled down at Manitoba's 37-yard line. Owen Sieben scrambled for a 7-yard gain, then Marshall Erichsen ran it in from 30 yards out to put the Rams on the board just 54 seconds into the game.
  • Manitoba replied immediately. Jackson Tachinski hit Payton Yakimishyn for a 37-yard gain to get into Rams territory, and Tachinski finished off the drive himself 5 plays later with a 5-yard touchdown run which tied up the contest.
  • After the Bisons conceded a safety midway through the first quarter, the Rams extended the lead with an 11-play, 73-yard drive which took 5:52 off the clock late in the first and early in the second. Erichsen did the majority of the work on the drive with 6 rushes for 39 yards and a 12-yard reception, and Noah Pelletier scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 16-7 for the Rams.
  • Ty Gorniak added his first of his school record-tying five field goals to push the lead to 19-7 on Regina's next possession, but Manitoba had a big answer before halftime. Gavin Perkins blocked a punt deep in Rams territory which led to a short Maya Turner field goal, and another short field following a Rams fumble led to a 26-yard Nathan Udoh touchdown catch which cut the U of R lead to just two at the half.
  • The only scoring of the third quarter was a 32-yard field goal by Gorniak, but Manitoba took its first lead of the game after the Bisons took advantage of another short field midway through the fourth. Tachinski had a 24-yard scramble immediately followed by a 32-yard touchdown pass to Udoh, putting the visitors up 23-22 after Tachinski's pass on the two-point conversion was intercepted.
  • The Rams scored a critical rouge on the ensuing possession. Isaac Wegner bombed a 52-yard punt into the end zone and Ethan Jaster took down Manitoba's Shakur Harris in the end zone to tie the game at 23-23 with 2:59 to go.
  • Manitoba took the lead again on the next possession. Another big play to Yakimishyn was the key as Tachinski hit him for a 32-yard gain to get into the red zone, and the Bisons settled for a 16-yard field goal by Turner which put them up 26-23 with just 33 seconds to go.
  • With the Rams' season hanging in the balance, Sieben reeled off three consecutive passes to get the Rams into field goal position. He hit Christian Katende for a 6-yard gain, Rylan Sokul for 8 yards, and then a big connection to Emmett Steadman for 28 yards brought the Rams all the way to Manitoba's 28. Gorniak stepped up and drilled a 35-yard field goal with no time left on the clock, sending the game into overtime.
  • Turner and Gorniak traded field goals in the first overtime. The Rams had the first possession of the second overtime and Gorniak hit yet another field goal to put them up 32-29. Turner was called upon for another field goal from 23 yards out, but her attempt hit the left upright to give the win to the Rams.

ON THE MARK
  • Sieben finished 27-for-34 in the win, with his 79.4% completion rate standing as the second highest in school single-game history and the best by a U of R player in a postseason game.
  • The third-year pivot finished with 237 passing yards and also rushed 4 times for a total of 29 yards.

ROOKIE GOES 5-FOR-5
  • Gorniak matched Aldo Galvan's U of R record for most field goals in a game and also becomes the first kicker in school history to go 5-for-5 in a single contest.
  • The rookie hit field goals from 39, 32, and 35 yards in regulation and was good from 22 yards and 38 yards in overtime.

QUOTABLE
  • "It was a hard-fought playoff win which took all three phases to come up with plays when it mattered the most. We'll enjoy this one for a few minutes and then we'll get refocused on next week's game against the U of S." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey

OVERTIME NOTES
  • Saturday's game marked the first postseason game in U of R history that went to overtime.
  • Coupled with last week's overtime setback to UBC, it's also the first time the U of R has ever played back-to-back overtime games.

DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
OFFENSIVE NOTES
  • Erichsen had 13 rushes for 95 yards and 7 catches for 58 yards. He led all players with 153 all-purpose yards, but left the game early in the third quarter due to injury.
  • Christian Katende rushed 16 times for 67 yards, almost all of which came in the second half following Erichsen's injury.
  • Sokul had 6 catches for a team-leading 61 yards.

NEXT UP
  • For the second consecutive season, the Rams will travel to Saskatoon to square off with the Saskatchewan Huskies in the BioSteel Hardy Cup.
  • Kickoff is set for next Saturday at 2:00 PM at Griffiths Stadium.
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