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Rams tie for first in conference with Calgary and Saskatchewan after weekend loss

Autumn McDowell
Sports Writer

The University of Regina Rams took to the field last weekend with the hopes of avenging their only loss of the season thus far. However, getting this sweet revenge just wasn’t in the cards for the Rams.

Regina suffered a 35-27 loss to the University of Calgary Dinos. It was their second loss of the season, both coming courtesy of the Dinos.

The first quarter was relatively quiet and only resulted in one point being scored between both teams. That single point went to the Dinos when the Rams were forced to take a knee in the end zone. The Rams’ penalty troubles began early as they took a play out of the Riders’ book and were charged with too many men on the field. The only bright spot for the Rams in the first was when defensive end Akiem Hicks was able to sack Dinos quarterback Erik Glavic, which resulted in a forced fumble that was recovered by the Rams on their own 33-yard line. However, the Rams were unable to take advantage of this opportunity and left the first with a big goose egg still on the board.

The Dinos opened the second quarter with the continuation of a drive that they had been working on to end the first. Calgary used the wildcat formation to help them eventually settle for a 14-yard field goal. The Rams’ penalty troubles continued in the second as they were called numerous times for pass interference, some of which were on plays where the ball appeared uncatchable. The Dinos were able to capitalize on the Rams’ penalty trouble and sent running back Matt Walker hurdling over the lineman for the game’s first major. The Regina boys were finally able to put some points on the board on an 18-yard field goal from Chris Bodnar. The second quarter belonged the Dinos, as they went on to score two more field goals and a touchdown to finish off the half, extending their lead to 24-3.

The statistics from the first half were quite telling as to what kind of a game had been played: Regina picked up 15 penalties compared to Calgary’s three. The total yards were far from close with the Rams putting up 115 to Calgary’s 302. Rams star running back Adrian Charles was held to a mere six yards in the first half.

The Rams picked things up slightly in the third, but if they were planning a comeback it was going to take a minor miracle. The Green and Gold finally took the ball to the house when Marc Mueller connected with receiver Jared Janotta in the end zone. The Rams were then forced to give up a single and also earned one when a field goal attempt went wide.

The Rams still had a lot of ground to make up going into the final frame and Calgary’s running back Stephen Lumbala didn’t make things any easier, scoring a touchdown just over a minute into the fourth. The Rams were able to gain two more points off of a safety and racked up even more when Jonatta recorded his second touchdown of the night. The Dinos put another three points on the board and then Regina responded when Brenden Owens scored a touchdown for Regina. The stage was set for a huge comeback as they now trailed by just eight points with three minutes left in regulation. However, although the Rams were able to march the ball down the field, they were unable to pull off the miracle.

The Rams will be taking on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in their final regular season game in Saskatoon on Friday. This will be an extra big game for running back Adrian Charles, as he will need to rush for 111 yards in order to become the school’s first player to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a single season. In their last meeting against the Huskies, the Rams were able to take the game by a score of 37-26 as Charles racked up 152 rushing yards.

In order for the Rams to finish at the top of the conference, they will need a win against the Huskies and the Dinos will need to lose to the University of Alberta Golden Bears the following night.

Rams stat rundown

Regina had 467 yards of total offence compared to 500 by Calgary.

Marc Mueller went 32/49 for 413 yards and three touchdowns.

Adrian Charles was held to 46 yards rushing.

Three receivers had over 1,000 yards: Jared Janotta (nine catches, 129 yards, two touchdowns), Brenden Owens (nine catches, 117 yards, one touchdown) and Mark McConkey (nine catches, 104 yards).

Defensive back Brady Aulie led the team with seven tackles.

The defence earned two sacks.

Chris Bodnar averaged 40.2 yards on punts.

The Rams had a time of possession of 27:24 while Calgary had the ball for 32:36.

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