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Noah Pelletier
Rich Lam / UBC Athletics
37
Winner Regina Rams REG 3-0 , 3-0
20
UBC Thunderbirds UBC 1-2 , 1-2
Winner
Regina Rams REG
3-0 , 3-0
37
Final
20
UBC Thunderbirds UBC
1-2 , 1-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
REG Regina Rams 7 13 3 14 37
UBC UBC Thunderbirds 3 3 14 0 20

Game Recap: Rams Football |

Rams move to 3-0 with road win over UBC

Erichsen, Sirleaf, Pelletier, LaBelle turn in stellar performances in victory

QUICKLY
  • Marshall Erichsen, Nicholas Sirleaf, and Noah Pelletier all picked up career highs and second-year linebacker Liam LaBelle had two huge back-to-back defensive plays in the fourth quarter as the No. 6-ranked University of Regina Rams moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2002 with a 37-20 road win over UBC on Friday night at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The first half was almost all Rams. UBC opened up the game with a short field goal, but the Rams replied immediately as Pelletier engineered a 9-play, 75-yard drive that finished with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rylan Sokul in the back of the end zone.
  • The Rams got a field goal on their next drive, then had back-to-back game-breaking plays with UBC threatening to score. UBC quarterback Derek Engel launched a deep ball in the direction of star receiver Shemar McBean, but rookie defensive back Liam Platt wrestled the ball away for his first career interception. The very next play was a 62-yard bomb up the right sideline from Pelletier to Sirleaf, and four plays later those two connected again for a 24-yard touchdown to put the Rams up 17-3.
  • The two teams traded field goals as the Rams went into halftime up 20-6, but the third quarter belonged to UBC. Engel hit McBean for a 62-yard touchdown on UBC's opening drive, then the Thunderbirds made it a 3-point game after finishing off a long drive with a Drew Viotto pass to Jeff Curtis for a two-yard score late in the quarter.
  • The Rams replied midway through the fourth when rookie receiver Blake Laidlaw hauled in a 44-yard touchdown catch on what was his first ever Canada West reception.
  • UBC's response was in the form of another long completion from Engel to McBean which brought the Thunderbirds all the way down to the Rams' two-yard line, but that's when LaBelle put his stamp on the game. The second-year linebacker brought down Engel for an eight-yard loss on first down, then on the next play he collected his first career interception and ran it back 40 yards to get the Rams all the way up to their 45.
  • Pelletier's offence did the rest, chewing up all but 11 seconds on a 10-play, 65-yard drive that was finished off by a 4-yard touchdown run by Erichsen which sealed the victory.
 
QUOTABLE
  • "It's hard to win out here but we treated it like a business trip and were able to handle some late adversity by executing really well. Tonight was a full team win and we got full contributions in all three phases of the game. Pelletier was great for us and took care of the football while being aggressive at times, Erichsen was unbelievable again, and LaBelle came through with those two huge late plays for us." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey

HISTORIC START
  • The Rams are now 3-0 for just the third time in their history at the U SPORTS level. They also opened the season with three straight victories in both 2001 and 2002.
  • Both the 2001 and 2002 squads went on to win their fourth game to go to 4-0, but both also lost their fifth game of the season.

ERICHSEN TAKES OVER NATIONAL RUSHING LEAD
  • Erichsen finished with 27 carries for a career-high 196 yards while also catching 3 passes for another 35 yards.
  • The third-year running back is now in sole possession of the U SPORTS lead with 482 rushing yards on the season, 53 ahead of Western's Ethan Dolby.
  • Erichsen is also second in the nation with 588 all-purpose yards, behind only Toronto's Chris Joseph (618).
 
SIRLEAF HITS CAREER HIGH
  • Second-year receiver Nicholas Sirleaf set career highs in both receptions (11) and receiving yards (158) in the win.
  • He's now got 367 receiving yards on the season, which puts him behind only the Toronto duo of Joseph and Jake Oseen on the U SPORTS leaderboard.
  • Sirleaf's 62-yard catch from Pelletier was the longest reception in his Canada West career.
 
ON TARGET AGAIN
  • Pelletier completed 25 of his 33 passes, finished with a career-high 360 passing yards, and fired off touchdown passes to Sirleaf, Laidlaw, and Sokul.
  • The fourth-year pivot leads Canada West and ranks third in all of U SPORTS with a 73.6% completion rate this season.
  • Pelletier is also second in Canada West and fourth in the nation with 886 passing yards.
  • No U of R player has ever finished with a completion percentage in excess of 70%. Noah Picton holds the U of R record with a 69.3% completion rate, set during his Hec Crighton Trophy-winning 2016 campaign.
 
DEFENCE HOLDS
  • The Rams limited UBC to just 84 rushing yards in the win.
  • Platt and LaBelle both had interceptions, while LaBelle's sack was the lone one of the game for either team.
  • Owen Zimmer and Platt tied for the team lead with 5.0 tackles.
  • Chase Murray had a second-quarter pass breakup, the first of his Canada West career.
 
NEXT UP
  • The Rams will now prepare for a U-Prairie Challenge battle on the road at Saskatchewan.
  • Game time is set for next Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 PM in Saskatoon.
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