QUICKLY
Marshall Erichsen set a University of Regina single-game record with four rushing touchdowns – including the game-winning score in overtime – as the Rams outlasted Calgary for a 43-36 road victory in a Week 1 barnburner at McMahon Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Calgary couldn't have drawn up a better start to the season as the Dinos forced a quick two-and-out on Regina's opening possession, then immediately drove downfield for a Matthieu Clarke touchdown.
- The Rams then replied immediately with touchdowns on their next two possessions. Noah Pelletier hit Renzel Arinaza for a pair of big first downs and Erichsen finished off the drive with a three-yard run to tie it. After a Calgary two-and-out, the Rams got into the red zone with a 38-yard screen pass to Erichsen and the third-year running back finished it off himself with a two-yard major to put the Rams up 14-7.
- The teams traded field goals in the second quarter, then a big 43-yard completion to Nicholas Sirleaf helped set the table for Erichsen's third rushing major of the quarter. Erichsen took it in from five yards out, giving the Rams a 24-10 lead at the halftime break.
- Calgary scored the only points of the third quarter on a Clarke touchdown midway through the period, then drew even closer as a short Vince Triumbari field goal cut the Rams' lead to 24-20 on the first play of the fourth.
- The Rams got some breathing room after an Anthony Montas Leipert sack led directly to a conceded safety by Calgary. Pelletier and the offence got the ball to midfield, then the fourth-year veteran unleashed an absolute bomb to Sirleaf for a 55-yard touchdown which put the Rams up 33-20.
- Calgary responded with a long touchdown drive which brought the Dinos back to within six points, but a big 30-yard rush by Erichsen helped get the Rams into field goal position and rookie Ty Gorniak calmly drilled a 33-yarder which gave Regina a 36-27 advantage with 1:11 to go.
- Ordinarily, a nine-point lead with just 71 seconds to go would be close to insurmountable. But the improbable happened. Calgary drove downfield for a touchdown with six seconds left and converted the two-point attempt to get to within one point. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Triumbari blasted it just beyond the outstretched arms of Erichsen at the back of the end zone for a rouge which tied it up at 36-36 and sent the game to overtime.
- But Erichsen was immediately called upon in the extra session and delivered. His 18-yard rush got the Rams all the way to Calgary's six-yard line, and he ran it in himself on the next play for his record-setting touchdown. Calgary had three consecutive incompletions on the Dinos' overtime possession, with Carson Sombach knocking down the final pass attempt to seal the win.
QUOTABLE
- "At times we did a real solid job of executing tonight. Times got tough and adversity hit towards the end, but I thought our guys did an awesome job of refocusing and getting the job done." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey
ERICHSEN SETS SCHOOL RUSHING TD RECORD
- Heading into Friday's game, the Rams had seen a player rush for three touchdowns in a single game six times in their history at the U SPORTS level – four times by Atlee Simon and one apiece by Cory Olynick and Sam Varao.
- Erichsen matched that school record with three rushing touchdowns in the first half, then became the first player in U of R history ever to score a fourth major on the ground with the game-winning score in overtime.
- Erichsen finished with 27 carries for 113 yards and added 4 catches for 57 yards, finishing with 170 all-purpose yards in the win.
- Only in his third season of eligibility, Erichsen became just the sixth player in U of R history to collect 1000 career rushing yards. He now has 1091 yards, just one short of Kyle Borsa's total of 1092.
- Erichsen is now tied with Borsa and Mark Anderson for fifth on the U of R's all-time list with nine career touchdown runs.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
- Sirleaf finished with 9 catches for 160 yards and Arinaza had 9 catches for 111 yards as both players set career highs in both categories.
- Sirleaf and Arinaza become the first Rams teammates to hit triple digits in receiving yards in the same contest since Mitchell Picton and Ryan Schienbein did so in a game against Alberta back in 2017.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
- Pelletier had a brilliant game, completing 25 of his 36 passes for an impressive 69.4% completion percentage while finishing with 358 passing yards – just one short of his career-best total of 359.
- Pelletier is also moving up the U of R record book, overtaking Rams legend Darryl Leason for fifth in career passing yards during the win. Pelletier has now thrown for 4085 yards during his time with the Rams.
- Brandon Wong and Montas Leipert both had sacks for the U of R defence. Carson Sombach had a pair of pass breakups and Colin McKellar registered one. Wong finished as the team's leader with 7.5 tackles.
GORNIAK BECOMES YOUNGEST U OF R PLAYER TO SCORE
- Fresh out of Balgonie's Greenall High School, rookie kicker Ty Gorniak not only had a perfect night kicking by going 2-for-2 on field goals and 5-for-5 on point-after attempts, but also becomes the youngest University of Regina Rams player ever to score a point. He's just 18 years and 52 days old, breaking the old mark which had been held by Kolten Solomon since the 2007 season.
NEXT UP
The Rams will host Alberta (0-1) next Friday in their home opener at Leibel Field. Game time is set for 7:00 PM.
