In a football game heard live on 620 CKRM and described as a “rock fight”, the University of Regina Rams punched their ticket to the Canada West playoffs with an 18-12 win over the Calgary Dinos at Mosaic Stadium Saturday.
In true Ram fashion, running back Marshall Erichsen pounded the rock with 26 carries for 134 yards and the only touchdown of the game in tying a U of R single season school record with his ninth rushing TD of the season, catching up to the mark already shared by Neal Hughes (2003) and Adrian Charles (2010).
Erichsen limped off the field moments after his final run that essentially clinched the ballgame but downplayed any worries after the game.
“No, I’m good. I’ll be ready to go,” Erichsen said after the win, going into the bye week with his team at 5-1 for the first time since 2010.
“It wasn’t pretty but we got it done and that’s just kind of what this team’s about right now. (Kicker Ty) Gorniak is stone-cold and he is awesome. I have the utmost confidence when he goes on the field, that he’s going to drill it. You wish you get more touchdowns but with a kicker like that, we can get field goals all day too. It doesn’t matter.”
Gorniak, the 18-year-old freshman from Balgonie who became the youngest athlete in University of Regina history to score points in any sport this season, nailed all three of his field goal attempts, including one from 42-yards to help secure the win. He’s missed only two of 16 field goal tries all season as one hit the upright at UBC in week 3 and another was blocked at home versus Manitoba in week 5.
“It feels great, but all the credit goes to our offence to get me into field goal range in those times where we actually need points,” Gorniak said. “It’s really big when our offence can get onto that 30 or 40-yard-line and give me a good look at the field goal. I’m just happy to get out there and do my job for the team.”
The Rams also got a safety and a rouge to win what was their lowest scoring output of the season for an offence that’s been averaging nearly twice as many points per game as they scored against the Dinos.
The win guarantees the Rams cannot finish any lower than third place in the conference, although a home playoff game has not yet been clinched as there is still a mathematical possibility of a three-way-tie between Regina, Manitoba and Saskatchewan that would drop the Rams into a third-place finish.
Still, entering the bye week for Thanksgiving, head coach Mark McConkey feels pretty good about his team’s chances after grinding out the win on an afternoon where both offences sputtered.
“We kind of struggled getting into a groove,” McConkey said. “But the way our defence is playing, we knew we had time to figure it out. They threw some new things at us defensively, which gave us a bit of an issue. But at the end of the day, we’re learning how to win these tough games.”
“I’m just proud of the guys. We don’t really flinch when things go bad. Not very often do you win with one touchdown.”
The Rams overcame a late Owen Sieben fumble recovered by Dino defensive lineman Nathan Okoroafor on their own 47-yard-line with 1:15 left in the game that jeopardized the six-point-lead before an eventual turnover on downs iced the U of R victory.
Sieben took over at quarterback from starter Noah Pelletier for a second straight week, though this time it happened late in the first half, roughly a full quarter earlier than it happened in the previous game versus Manitoba.
“Again, just being flat. We weren’t really in a groove and it kind of sparked us again. We’ve got two guys that can win us games and we’re super fortunate to have both of them,” McConkey said.
The Ram defence, that gave up nothing more than four Vince Triumbari field goals, got home on a well-disguised second-quarter blitz for a Liam LaBelle sack of Calgary quarterback David Jordan and then again in the third quarterback for another sack, this time by Anthony Montas Leipert.
Through six games, the Regina Rams remain the only team in CanWest to not give up a quarterback sack.
Entering the bye week, the University of Regina Rams next game isn’t until Saturday, October 18th when they visit the University of Alberta Golden Bears to try and clinch a home playoff game. The pregame show on 620 CKRM will start at 1:45 with the kickoff at 2:00 from Foote Field in Edmonton.
