Skip To Main Content

University of Regina Athletics

University of Regina Athletics, go to homepage

Schedule

Events

Schedule
All Events
Carter Ashman
Piper Sports Photography
8
Manitoba MAN 1-1 , 1-1
23
Winner Regina REG 2-0 , 2-0
Manitoba MAN
1-1 , 1-1
8
Final
23
Regina REG
2-0 , 2-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MAN Manitoba 0 2 0 6 8
REG Regina 8 10 3 2 23

Game Recap: Rams Football |

Ground game lifts No. 6 Rams to win over Bisons in home opener

Ashman, Katende both run for over 100 yards at a rainy Leibel Field

QUICKLY
The running back duo of Carter Ashman and Christian Katende both eclipsed 100 rushing yards as the No. 6-ranked University of Regina Rams rolled up 470 yards of offence in a 23-8 victory over No. 9 Manitoba on Friday night at Leibel Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Rams got the game's first major midway through the first quarter after Kaleb Senz hauled in a 34-yard pass from Noah Pelletier that brought Regina all the way down to Manitoba's 1-yard line. Ashman lined up under centre on the next play and found the end zone for his first U SPORTS touchdown.
  • The Rams scored again in the second quarter after their defence forced a turnover deep in Manitoba territory. Jacob Tkachuk forced a fumble following a completed pass and Owen Zimmer pounced on it, giving Pelletier's offence the ball on Manitoba's 21. Two Katende runs later, the Rams were in the end zone and up 15-2 with five minutes to go before half.
  • The Rams took an 18-2 lead into the break on a Ty Gorniak 22-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
  • Manitoba put together its first meaningful drive into Rams territory late in the third quarter as a pair of 15-yard penalties by the Rams and three runs by Ishe Matanga got the Bisons into the red zone. But Tkachuk again made a huge play for the Regina defence, picking off a Cole Anseeuw pass to stop the threat with the Rams' first interception of the young season.
  • The Rams chewed up nearly seven minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter with two drives that featured mostly runs by Ashman and big completions to both Michael Eagle Bear and Renzel Arinaza. Manitoba scored its first touchdown of the game after a lengthy drive to get the Bisons to within 15 points, but only 45 seconds remained on the clock. After the ensuing kickoff, Regina got a first down and then took a knee to close out the win.

STANDINGS
  • Regina, Manitoba, and Calgary were the three 1-0 teams after the opening week of Canada West action. The Rams are now the only undefeated team at 2-0 after the win over the Bisons and Calgary's Friday loss to Saskatchewan.

ON THE GROUND
  • Ashman, a first-year running back, finished with 16 rushes for a game-high 136 yards and his first U SPORTS touchdown, averaging 8.5 yards per carry. Katende added 105 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts.
  • Ashman and Katende become only the second U of R teammates to both rush for at least 100 yards in the same game. The only other time that happened was in last season's home opener, which saw Marshall Erichsen rush for 171 yards and Katende go for 112.
  • The Rams are now third in the nation with an average of 228 rushing yards per game. Katende is second in Canada West and sixth in U SPORTS with 235 rushing yards this season, while Ashman is third in the conference and ninth in the country with 157.
  • The offensive line consisted of starters Ethan Graham, Austin Wiebe, Will Templeton, Connor Klassen, and Nnadozie Marendiukobianwa. Davin Berry's injury in Week 1 caused some shuffling with Marendiukobianwa moving to right tackle in place of Berry, Klassen sliding over to right guard, and Wiebe playing left guard in what was his first start at the U SPORTS level.

DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
  • Tkachuk was at the centre of two of Regina's three takeaways, forcing a second-quarter fumble that led directly to Katende's touchdown before intercepting Anseeuw in the red zone late in the third quarter.
  • Zimmer and Brandon Wong both had fumble recoveries. Zimmer's recovery came on Tkachuk's forced fumble in the second quarter, while Wong's came on a muffed punt return in the third quarter and led directly to one of Gorniak's two field goals.
  • Carson Sombach had three pass breakups for the Rams along with two solo tackles and four assisted tackles.
  • Mike Zalaski collected his first career tackle for loss on a Manitoba screen pass, taking down Amid Kanu for a one-yard loss on the game's second play from scrimmage. Wong and Liam LaBelle also shared a tackle for loss.
  • Regina's defence held a Manitoba offence that scored 40 points in its season opener without a touchdown until the final minute of Friday's game.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
  • Pelletier finished 12-for-26 in the win and threw for a total of 224 yards despite intermittent showers wreaking havoc with the passing game for both teams.
  • Senz registered two catches for a game-high 72 yards, while Nicholas Sirleaf had a team-leading four catches for 52 yards. Eagle Bear finished with three catches for 65 yards.
  • The Rams finished with 470 yards of total offence, more than doubling Manitoba's total of 231. Regina averaged 7.7 yards per play and picked up 26 first downs, including 15 on the ground.

NEXT UP
  • The Rams will now prepare for a Week 3 battle on the West Coast. They'll fly to Vancouver to square off with the UBC Thunderbirds (1-1) on Friday night.
Print Friendly Version
© 2026 University of Regina Athletics