Rams get blown out at home by rival Huskies

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Daniel Scraper (80) lines up for the snap. Kate Thiessen

Friday the 13th proved unlucky for the Rams

The Rams were feeling the superstition at home in Mosaic Stadium on Friday the 13th. It was indeed an unlucky day for the team; they lost to in-province rivals the U of S Huskies 9-44. The first drive of the game was on par with the rest; the Huskies marched all the way down the field and scored with their first possession. U of S’s rookie quarterback Mason Nyhus passed for 15-26 on the way to his two touchdown drives before getting shaken up and sitting out the second half. His counterpart on the Rams, Josh Donnelly, was decidedly less effective. In his shakiest outing for the Rams yet, he executed on only 16-30 of his passes with two interceptions, including a devastating pick-six early in the fourth quarter. Saskatoon’s Nelson Lokombo went all the way with it, running 98 yards for a TD.

For Coach Bryce, the team absolutely did not play up to expectations.

“We’ve got to improve everywhere, that was an embarrassing outing for us. We didn’t look like we did anything really well tonight, we’ve got a lot of work to do at a lot of things.”

One of the brighter spots in an otherwise tough game was running back Semba Mbasela. He ran for a total of 139 yards including a season long of 40 yards on one play. Despite the strong individual effort, Mbasela agreed that there is a lot for the team to work on.

“We need to get a lot better. We need to do the little things and be more disciplined and do the right things at the right time”

“We will be better for the next week if we focus on the little things. We need to avoid those little penalties and get better at scoring in the end-zone.”

Like the rest of the players, Mbasela buys into the system 100 per cent. For him the only thing that matters is what goes in the win-loss column.

“I am only satisfied when we win. It’s a collective effort and I’m only happy when everyone is happy and the team is winning.

Fifth-year receiver Ryan Schinebein agreed with that sentiment. The team is already looking forward to the next one.

“It was a tough game obviously. They are a very good football team, but we will learn from this, check the tape and come back stronger next time.”

Another bright spot amidst the ashes is that second-year Riley Boersma continues to shine. The young receiver went for 114 yards on four receptions, including a 74-yard play that got the Rams into field goal position. He led the team in all receiving categories.

The defence was also poor overall. They allowed a few of the Huskies drives to get out of hand, including a moment where the entire team was caught deep and Nyhus was able to rush for 21 yards. Despite these rough moments, there were a few good performances on the defensive side of the ball. Fifth-year Eric Wicijowski and second-year Josh White managed a sack each, with White contributing an additional nine tackles. The defence as a whole looked effective at times, but overall, the team needs to be much better.

Stay tuned for the next Rams game, an away bout against the powerhouse University of Calgary Dinos on Sept. 20.

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