QUICKLY
Nicholas Sirleaf's touchdown with just 19 seconds to go gave the University of Regina Rams a 28-25 victory over the top-seeded Manitoba Bisons on Saturday afternoon at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Rams scored on the opening drive of the game with Christian Katende continuing his momentum from last week's performance. Katende rushed 5 times for 43 yards on that drive alone, and Noah Pelletier finished it off with a one-yard plunge to give the Rams the early lead.
• Pelletier's touchdown turned out to be the only major of the first half for either team. Manitoba's Maya Turner had two short field goals including on the last play of the first half, and the teams also traded safeties as the Rams took a slim 10-8 lead into the break.
• After the Rams conceded a safety early in the third quarter, the Bisons took the ball and immediately went on a quick 6-play, 75-yard drive which was finished off by a Jackson Tachinski 8-yard run which gave the Bisons their first lead of the game.
• The Rams had to punt on the ensuing possession, but their special teams came up with a huge play. Ethan Jaster jarred the ball loose on the return and Kaeden Brennan was there to scoop it up, giving the Rams the ball on Manitoba's 38. After a nice 14-yard rush by Olivier Savard, Pelletier hit D'Sean Mimbs for an 11-yard touchdown pass. After the extra point and Isaac Wegner's rouge on the kickoff, the Rams took an 18-17 lead.
• But the fireworks were just beginning as the game moved to the fourth quarter. The Rams conceded a safety, but then got a 30-yard field goal by Wegner to go back up 21-19.
• Manitoba took the lead back when the Bisons' vaunted offence broke through with its longest play of the game. Breydon Stubbs rumbled 58 yards into the end zone to put the Bisons up 25-21, but the score stayed that way when Manitoba's two-point conversion attempt failed.
• The Rams had to start from their own 9-yard line after some trouble fielding Ben George's kickoff, but Pelletier engineered an 11-play, 101-yard game-winning drive that will go straight into Rams lore. A nice 11-yard rush by Marshall Erichsen started the drive, and Pelletier had two big completions in the form of a 24-yard toss to Emmett Steadman and a 29-yard pass to Erichsen to get deep into Manitoba territory. A sack by the Bisons put the Rams into a 3rd-and-12 situation, but Pelletier hit Renzel Arinaza for a 19-yard gain to get down to Manitoba's 6. The Rams had an Erichsen touchdown brought back due to a holding call which knocked them back to the 16, but Pelletier hit Sirleaf on a crossing pattern and the first-year receiver sprinted into the end zone to put the Rams up with 19 seconds remaining.
• Forced to put the ball in the air with so little time remaining, Tachinski had a 22-yard completion to Zachary Wynne to get across midfield. But his next pass was right to Rams linebacker Garret Hatchard, and Hatchard's interception sealed the win for the Rams.

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

• Saturday marked the first time in four tries that the Rams won a postseason game as Canada West's No. 4 seed.
• The victory was the U of R's fifth away win in their postseason history. Three of those wins came during the Rams' famous run to a Vanier Cup appearance in 2000, and the other in the 2002 Canada West semifinals. All of those victories came in years where Regina was the No. 3 seed in Canada West.
• The Rams will be making their sixth appearance in the Hardy Cup. They will head into the contest with one win (2000) and four losses (2001, 2002, 2007, and 2012) in the Canada West championship game.

NOTES

• Cameron Mah finished as the leading tackler for the Rams, collecting four solo and five assisted as well as sharing a tackle for loss with Toryn Swystun-Bernes.
• Jaster, Colin McKellar, and Jackson Sombach all had forced fumbles.
• Pelleter finished 19-for-27 for 207 yards and 2 touchdown passes.
• Steadman was the U of R's leading receiver with 5 catches for 81 yards.
• Katende finished with 6 rushes for 48 yards before leaving the game due to injury in the first quarter. Erichsen ended up with 16 runs for 71 yards.

QUOTABLE
"This team continues to overcome adversity time and time again. I'm just so proud of the players, coaches, and staff. This is a group who stuck together during the hard times and continues to get better each week." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey

NEXT UP

• Saskatchewan's comeback win over UBC sets up a provincial battle for the Hardy Cup, which will feature the Rams and the Huskies in Saskatoon next Saturday with a scheduled start time of 1:00 PM.
• Next week will be just the second time that the two rivals have met with a Hardy Cup on the line. The only other time was in 2002, which also featured a No. 3 seed hosting a No. 4 seed after a pair of upsets in the semifinals. Saskatchewan, the No. 4 seed, won that matchup by a 44-28 score at Taylor Field in Regina.
• The winner of the Hardy Cup will host the Mitchell Bowl the following weekend against the RSEQ champion, which will be either Laval or Montreal.

 

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