Magical playoff run highlights second CIAU
season
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| Darryl Leason sets fire a pass for the Rams in 2000. |
The 2000 Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union season was almost a script out of a Disney movie for the University of Regina Rams.
After going 0-8 in their inaugural year in the university
league, the Rams, the former 15-time national champions in junior football,
played in the last game they could possibly play in 2000. They made a
miraculous playoff run which culminated in a 42-39 loss in the Vanier Cup to
the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
“I think at the start of the season people didn’t give us
much of a chance,” says Rams quarterback Darryl Leason, who led the CIAU with
2,277 yards passing. “I was confident right from the start of the season it was
going to be something special.
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| Head coach Frank McCrystal guided the Rams to a Vanier Cup appearance. |
The Rams began their journey to the Vanier Cup by opening
the regular season with a 31-25 home win over the University of Calgary
Dinosaurs. It was Regina’s first regular season win over a CIAU opponent.
However, a three game losing streak at mid-season dropped
the Rams to 2-4. Most football experts were writing them off, but Regina
maintained its confidence heading into their final home game against the
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
“I think we were doing the right things, but there was a
miscue here or there to make us not succeed,” says Rams head coach Frank
McCrystal. “We knew, that if we stayed to the course, we were eventually going
to succeed.”
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| Jason Clermont (#11) jets up field after making a catch in 2000. |
“That is when we felt we knew what kind of weapons we had on
offence,” says Rams slotback Jason Clermont, who was named a second team CIAU
all-Canadian. “We knew what we could do.”
Regina’s win over the Thunderbirds was the start of a five
game winning streak. The Rams would defeat the University of Alberta Golden
Bears, Dinosaurs, University of Manitoba Bisons and the Saint Mary’s University
Huskies on the road to the Vanier Cup.
The Rams did not bow out of the Vanier Cup without a fight.
After trailing the Gee-Gees 35-10 at halftime, Regina made a furious rally to
lose by three.
While the loss hurt at first, the Rams have been able to
appreciate their success as the weeks have gone on.
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| Jon Ryan unloads a punt for the Rams in 2000. |
“The defence came up big in the third and fourth quarter,”
says Clermont. “We were in a position where we could come back and win the
football game.
“It is a big accomplishment (to get to the Vanier Cup).
There have been guys that don’t go there their whole career.”
While the Rams enjoyed success in the football field in
2000, the Regina community and the province of Saskatchewan came around the
team to support it. This included a sold out fundraising luncheon at Regina’s
Delta Hotel and a huge Vanier Cup party at the U of R’s campus bar, the Owl.
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| Darryl Leason (#8) marks a Rams touchdown in 2000. |
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