The University of Regina Rams dream start to the Canada West football season hit a snag Saturday in a 14-12 loss to University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
A couple of promising late fourth quarter drives were snuffed out by costly fumbles, first from quarterback Noah Pelletier on a blind-side strip sack and then another from running back Jevon Garwood, ultimately proving to be the difference in preventing what could have been the Rams best start since 2002.
One week after his much-celebrated school record-setting performance in a win over the provincial rival University of Saskatchewan Huskies, Pelletier admits the Rams are still learning how to handle success.
“We felt really good but maybe it was a little too good and that kind of shot ourselves in the foot. Overall, it was a bunch of little mistakes that we need to clean up but we know we can clean it up. We played pretty good in these first three games but we haven’t reached our full potential so it’s going to be exciting when we do,” Pelletier said.
“I could hit a few more throws. We could make a few more catches. I know we can be a lot better than we have in the first three weeks. It’s going to be exciting when everything comes together later in the season.”
The Rams run defence, ranked second in all of Canada coming into this game had a tough time containing UBC running back Isaiah Knight who showed everyone at Mosaic Stadium why NFL teams are asking to see more film of him by gashing Regina for 103 yards on 14 carries along the ground.
2-1 Regina falls into second place in the conference while the University of Manitoba Bisons, who won a nail-biter 24-23 over the University of Alberta Golden Bears to move to 3-0, become the last team standing with an unbeaten record in the Canada West.
Pelletier, who was 19-of-33 passing for 181 yards and sacked once, put a brave face after the setback, stating as disappointing as this loss is, the eight-game schedule is still a marathon and not a sprint.
“Anything can happen in any week so you’re going to be in a lot of close games and we’ve prepared for pretty much any situation that we get in. We’re putting lots of time into that so no matter what happens out on the field, we’re ready to go and ready to roll. We’re used to close games and we just need to finish.”
The Rams next chance to finish comes on Friday night in Edmonton when Regina visits the Alberta Golden Bears.
