Hilltops could be “home sweet home” for bulk of remaining 2018 season

Tanner Rhode, left, celebrates scoring a TD for the Hilltops.

    It appears the Saskatoon Hilltops could experience the comforts of their new state of the art clubhouse and a totally refurbished Saskatoon Minor Football Field for most of the rest of the 2018 campaign.

    The Hilltops, who have won the last four straight Canadian Junior Football League championships, sit first in the Prairie Football Conference with a 4-0 record. In scheduling quirk that doesn’t happen often, the Toppers will close their regular season schedule playing three of their last four games at home.

    The first two games of that stretch stand as the biggest games to date in the campaign for Saskatoon.

    On Saturday, the Hilltops host their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder (2-2) at 7 p.m. at SMF Field. On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Hilltops face the Edmonton Huskies (3-1) for a 1 p.m. showdown at SMF Field.

    If the Hilltops win both those encounters, they will be guarantee the opportunity to host one of two PFC semifinal playoff games. Depending on what happens to the Winnipeg Rifles over that period of time, the Hilltops could lock up first overall in the PFC and home field advantage through the entire CJFL playoffs, if they win their next two games.

    The PFC champion this year will host the CJFL championship game, the Canadian Bowl.

    Of course if the Hilltops lose one or both of their next two games, then all sorts of different scenarios could play out.

    In playing three of their first four games on the road, the Hilltops extended their overall road winning streak to 22 games including action in the regular season and playoffs. The Toppers have been sensational away from home.

    With that said, most football teams would prefer to play in key playoff encounters at home in front of their own fans.

    At the moment, anyone that is part of the Hilltops will tell you that the only thing that matters right now is the upcoming clash with the rival Thunder.

David Solie jets upfield for the Hilltops.

    When the Thunder faced the Hilltops last season at SMF Field, the Regina side posted a thrilling 29-26 comeback victory.

    Since that encounter on Sept. 9, 2017, the Hilltops have won their last 12 straight overall games including action in the regular season and playoffs. They downed the Thunder in last year’s PFC held at SMF Field 36-24.

    The two sides opened their respective 2018 regular season schedules against each other back on Aug. 18 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina and the Hilltops romped to a 41-7 victory. That proved to be the first time in his CJFL career third-year Thunder quarterback Brock Sich started against the Hilltops.

    In that clash, Sich appeared to get locked on a couple of targets, but you can expect him to be a lot more poised in Saturday’s game in Saskatoon. On the season, Sich has completed 65-of-116 passes for 956 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.

    Veteran Thunder receiver Lee Brown is having another outstanding campaign hauling in 25 passes for 377 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Sophomore Brayden Long tops the Thunder in rushing with 53 carries for 279 yards and one touchdown.

    On defence, Davin Williamson had led the way for the Thunder with 25 total tackles and nine total assisted tackles.

    Guided by head coach Scott MacAulay, the Thunder will be ready to show they are a lot better than the end result showed in the season opener.

    The Hilltops are always looking to continually improve, but they have as close to outstanding as you can get in starting 4-0 and outscoring the opposition 217-23.

    Fifth-year quarterback Jordan Walls is having another strong campaign in his second season as Saskatoon’s starter. So far in 2018, Walls has completed 65-of-96 passes for 1,004 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

    Third-year running back Ben Abrook leads the Hilltops in rushing with 56 carries for 390 yards and five touchdowns.

Thunder QB Brock Sich faced big Hilltops pressure on Aug. 18.

    Walls has a trio of dynamic pass catchers to lean on in Jason Price, Tanner Rhode and David Solie.

Of course, the Hilltops offence line combined to take the PFC offensive player of the week award after the Toppers crushed the Colts in Calgary 79-7 last Saturday.

    Saskatoon’s defence has playmakers all over the place in linebacker Cody Peters, defensive tackle Garth Knittig and safety Brant Morrow.

    Guided by legendary head coach Tom Sargeant, the Hilltops will to everything they can to ensure their play doesn’t slip in this game.

    While the Hilltops will be favoured, this contest could still go either way.

    If the Toppers pull out victory, they will take a big step towards ensuring they can continue to enjoy the comforts of home.

Rams/Huskies rivalry renews for key clash

Noah Picton fires a pass downfield for the Rams.

    A radio interview once showed how intense the rivalry clashes between the University of Regina Rams and University of Saskatchewan Huskies could be.

    In the week leading up the a Canada West semifinal playoff encounter between the two sides in 2007 at Regina’s historic Taylor Field, legendary Rams head coach Frank McCrystal appeared on a Regina morning radio show hosted by Michael Ball, who is the Rams play-by-play voice and a former receiver from the team’s CJFL days. The two were out to stir the pot before the post-season contest.

    If you bought your tickets in advance of the particular game, you paid quite a lot less for your ticket as opposed to game day, when the cost of a ducat went up quite a bit.

    On the radio show, McCrystal said the ticket prices were set up that way to rip off all the Huskies fans that came down from Saskatoon to watch that playoff clash, because they are not smart enough to buy their tickets in advance. McCrystal said that Rams fans were smart enough to buy their tickets in advance and get a good deal.

    The Rams ultimately won that playoff battle 19-13.

    Heading into Friday’s U Sports regular season game between the Rams and Huskies at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, there hasn’t been anywhere near that type of build up for this contest. With that said, it is a huge game for both teams.

    The Rams and Huskies are tied for the second and third positions in Canada West with identical 2-1 records trailing the 3-0 University of Calgary Dinos.

    The winner of this latest clash between the Rams and Huskies would be set in a pretty good spot heading into the second half of the regular season with a 3-1 mark. For the short term, a win would be a big boost to either side both guided by relatively new coaching staffs.

    Steve Bryce, who is a former Rams player from their CJFL days, took over as head coach in 2016 after Mike Gibson left after a one season stint.

    Ultimately, Bryce took over for McCrystal, who retired after his 2014 farewell campaign.

Kyle Siemens looks to fire a pass downfield for the Huskies.

    Scott Flory, who is a former star offensive lineman for the Huskies, took over as head coach after legendary Huskies Canadian Football Hall of Fame head coach Brian Towriss retired following the 2016 season. Flory has been tabbed with taking the Huskies into the future.

    If last year’s game was any indication, the spectators at Griffiths Stadium should expect an offensive showdown. In their only meeting of the 2017 campaign, the Rams outgunned the Huskies 50-40 on Sept. 29 at Griffiths Stadium.

    Rams star quarterback Noah Picton completed 33-of-44 passes for 388 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in the win. Huskies star quarterback Kyle Siemens completed 38-of-57 passes for 489 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in the loss.

    So far this season, Picton has completed 74-of-103 passes for 1,091 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Siemens has completed 58-of-100 passes for 832 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

    Both pivots are on their respective fifth and final years of U Sports eligibility, so Friday’s game will be one of the final times they go head-to-head. The Rams and Huskies play again in Regina on Oct. 26.

    In recent years, the rivalry between the Rams and the Huskies has been a shadow of what it once was due to the fact both sides are long removed from any post-season success. The Rams last appeared in the Canada West championship game in 2012, and the Huskies were last in the conference final in 2009.

    Who knows, Friday’s encounter might reignite the rivalry.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Rams prove a point in sound win over Thunderbirds

The Rams defence stops the Thunderbirds on a third-and-one gamble.

    REGINA - The University of Regina Rams showed their 6-2 regular season record last year was no illusion.

    In 2016, the Rams were guided by a first-year U Sports head coach in Steve Bryce and were coming off an 0-8 campaign in 2015. U of R posted one of the greatest single season turnarounds in U Sports history in Bryce’s first season placing first in the Canada West Conference for the first time in team history.

    In the playoffs, the Rams were one and done falling 40-34 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a Canada West semifinal match. Before last season, the last time the Rams posted a .500 or better record was when they went 6-2 in 2012 and lost that year’s Canada West final to the U of Calgary Dinos.

    Looking at the recent past, one might think what the Rams accomplished last season might be just a one year thing. It appears the wins are going to keep coming in 2017.

Rams receiver Mitch Thompson (#82) zips home for a major score.

    On Friday night at new Mosaic Stadium, the Rams soundly beat the Thunderbirds 36-20 before a crowd of about 3,000. At one point in the third quarter, the Rams were up 33-6.

    The Thunderbirds are guided by U Sports head coaching great Blake Nill, whose teams have won seven of the last nine Canada West titles. Nill guided the Dinos to six straight Canada West titles from 2008 to 2013 before joining the Thunderbirds in 2015. During his first year with UBC, Nill coached the Thunderbirds to a Canada West title and a Vanier Cup championship as U Sports national champions.

    Going into 2017, the Thunderbirds were ranked second in Canada West’s pre-season coaches’ poll, which means they are expected to meet the lofty bars that Nill’s teams usually do. UBC’s 3-5 regular season record from a year ago appears to have been viewed as an anomaly.

Rams LB Nick Cross sacks Thunderbirds QB Cole Meyer.

    That means the Rams, who were rated third in the pre-season Canada West coaches’ poll, pulled out a significant result in their win on Friday night.

    Besides Friday’s win over the Thunderbirds, the Rams knocked off the Dinos 39-3 in a neutral site pre-season tilt in Medicine Hat, Alta., on Aug. 23. The Dinos topped the pre-season Canada West coaches’ poll.

    Against the Thunderbirds on Friday, the Rams looked really good during a number of stretches. Like usual regular season openers, the Rams also had spots that didn’t go as smoothly shown by the fact they took 18 penalties that cost them 131 yards.

    The Thunderbirds were worse in the penalty department taking 23 infractions for 210 yards.

    Rams quarterback Noah Picton, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy last year as the most valuable player in U Sports football, was solid throughout the contest mixing up plays completing 23-of-35 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. One of those interceptions wasn’t his fault due to the fact one of his passes deflected off the hands of a Rams receiver into the hands of Thunderbirds defensive back Payton LaGrange.

Receiver Mitchell Picton caught six passes for 120 yards for the Rams.

  Rams receiver Mitchell Picton, who is Noah’s cousin, caught six passes for 120 yards. The Rams defence held the Thunderbirds offence to 318 yards of total offence and stopped the Thunderbirds on a key third-and-one gamble on the UBC 54 in the third quarter.

    Thunderbirds starting quarterback Michael O’Connor completed 14-of-25 passes for 155 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception before giving way to backup Cole Meyer on two occasions.

    Linebacker Cole Benkic, who was the 2015 Canadian Junior Football League’s defensive player of the year suiting up for the Saskatoon Hilltops, and defensive back Polis Koko both almost ran interceptions back for touchdowns for the Rams.

    U of R’s runaway win started slow before picking up steam. The Rams held a 1-0 after the first quartered ended thanks to kicker Thomas Huber scoring a single on a missed 37-yard field goal.

Rams quarterback Noah Picton throw a pass over a defender.

    Early in the second quarter, Noah Picton hit receiver Kyle Moortgat on a deep corner pattern for a 28-yard touchdown toss to put the Rams up 8-0. On the ensuing kickoff after the major, Daniel Scraper booted the ball into the end zone, and it was downed there to give the Rams another single to go up 9-0.

    Shortly before the midway point of the second quarter, Rams standout running back Atlee Simon pushed his way into the end zone from two yards out to put the hosts up 16-0.

    The Thunderbirds battled back when kicker Greg Hutchins booted a field goal from 41 yards out near the end of the second quarter and a field goal from 31 yards out early in the third quarter to cut the Rams lead to 16-6.

    The Rams restored order scoring 17 straight point to exit the third quarter with a 33-6 edge. Huber hit a field goal from 45 yards out, Mitch Thompson hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Picton and backup quarterback Tyler Vieira plunged in from a yard out to complete the surge.

RB Atlee Simon darts upfield for the Rams.

    Thunderbirds running back Shane Noel ran the ball in from a yard out early in the fourth quarter to cut the Rams edge to 33-13.

    Scraper hit a field goal from 15 yards out to put the Rams up 36-13.

    Inside of the game’s final three minutes, the Thunderbirds rounded out the scoring with a Hutchins 47-yard punt single and a 23-yard touchdown toss from Meyer to receiver Marcus Davis. The Thunderbirds failed to score on a two-point conversion try after Davis’s major to cement the final at 36-20.

    UBC returns to action on Sept. 9, when they host the U of Manitoba Bisons (1-0).

    Overall on Friday night, the Rams had an impressive performance. While they made mistakes that need to be corrected, it appears the Rams ability to pile up victories in 2016 will continue in 2017.

    Next up, they travel to Calgary to face the Dinos on Sept. 8. The Dinos flattened the U of Alberta Golden Bears 55-26 in the regular season opener for both those teams on Friday in Edmonton.

    If the Rams can beat the Dinos on their turf, U of R would cement its status as being a U Sports powerhouse.

Rams honour 2000 Vanier Cup finalist team

Members of the 2000 Rams and their family watch a video highlight reel.

    The Rams honoured their 2000 Canada West championship team that advanced to that year’s Vanier Cup during halftime of Friday’s game.

    A number of players from that team and their families marched out on to the field to be saluted by the fans. They also watched a video tribute filled with various highlights of the 2000 campaign.

    The 2000 season marked the Rams second season in the Canadian university ranks after moving from the CJFL. They finished 4-4 in the regular season before catching fire in the playoffs.

    They downed the Dinos 33-32 in a Canada West semifinal match, the Bisons 25-22 in the Canada West final and the St. Mary’s University Huskies 40-36 in the Atlantic Bowl. The Rams fell 42-39 in the Vanier Cup to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Rams, Huskies get to play with house money in 2017

Noah Picton, left, sets up to fire a pass downfield for the Rams.

    Judging by the pre-season Canada West Conference coaches’ poll, Saskatchewan’s two university football programs aren’t expected to do squat in 2017.

    On Wednesday, Canada West released the annual pre-season coaches’ rankings for the six-team conference, and the University of Regina Rams were rated third and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies placed fifth. The University of Calgary Dinos topped the poll, and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds came in second. The University of Manitoba Bisons are ranked fourth, while the University of Alberta Golden Bears are sixth.

    At this snapshot in time, the coaches in the conference are predicting the Dinos and Thunderbirds will square off in the Canada West final for the third straight year and battle for the Hardy Cup. Last year, the Dinos fell in the U Sports title game, the Vanier Cup, 31-26 to the Universite Laval Rouge et Or. In 2015, the Thunderbirds won the Vanier Cup downing the Universite de Montreal Carabins 26-23.

    While it would be natural to rank the Dinos and Thunderbirds where they are due to recent history, the coaching staffs of the Rams and Huskies should take full aim at playing the disrespect card. 

Huskies QB Kyle Siemens (#19) escapes Rams DL Nicholas Dheilly (#99).

    The rankings reinforce the notion that neither Saskatchewan university team will get to the point where they can win the conference title.

    The Rams topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 6-2 record last season, which was a first for the program since leaving the Canadian Junior Football League for the university ranks in 1999. They fell in a Canada West semifinal contest 40-34 to the Thunderbirds.

    U of R posted a 6-2 mark on the heels of an 0-8 campaign in 2015. The coaches’ poll is basically saying the season the Rams had in 2016 under first-year head coach Steve Bryce is an aberration. They are expected to fall back in the Canada West pack.

    So much for Rams quarterback Noah Picton becoming the first player from his program to win the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most valuable player for U Sports football in 2016.

    The Huskies finished third in the conference with a 5-3 record last year before seeing a three game winning streak end in the other Canada West semifinal playoff game. The Dinos thumped the Huskies in that playoff encounter 47-17.

Atlee Simon (#36) motor downfield for the Rams.

    Since that time, the Huskies have undergone an overhaul in the coaching department. Legendary head coach Brian Towriss, who will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on Sept. 14 in Hamilton, Ont., resigned last December.

    Former Montreal Alouettes star offensive lineman Scott Flory, who was the Huskies offensive coordinator, became the new head coach. Former CFL quarterback Marcus Crandell was brought on as the new offensive coordinator, former CFL linebacker and Huskies player Warren Muzika rejoined the program as the new defensive coordinator and veteran U Sports coach Jerry Friesen assumed the role as special teams coordinator.

    The Huskies return a large chuck of their players from last year, but the coaches’ poll says the program will take a big step backwards under the guidance of a new sideline staff. That step backwards predicts missing the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

    The first reaction in seeing the Canada West coaches’ poll was that both the Rams and Huskies are better than where they lined up in the rankings.

    In the inaugural U Sports top 10 football rankings voted on by select members of the media, the Dinos are rated fourth, the Rams fifth, the Thunderbirds are seventh, and the Bisons are 10^th. The Rouge et Or are rated first.

    Anyone who has watched the Canada West Conference knows the results can go all over the place. Teams that lose badly one week can rebound and beat a good team the next week.

RB Colton Klassen, right, attacks the hole on a run for the Huskies.

    The Thunderbirds can always be viewed as a favourite due to the fact Blake Nill is that team’s head coach. Nill guided the Thunderbirds to the 2015 Vanier Cup title win, and before joining UBC before the start of the 2015 campaign, he was the head coach of the Dinos when they won six straight Canada West titles from 2008 to 2013.

    Going into the current season, the Rams and Huskies are in position where they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They are both capable of having outstanding campaigns.

    Both teams open their respective regular seasons on Friday. The Rams host the Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. at new Mosaic Stadium, and the Huskies travel to Winnipeg to face the Bisons at 7 p.m. local time at Investors Group Field.

    At this point in time, both the Rams and Huskies have been slighted. Here is hoping they will go out and earn a new sense of respect.

Canada West football back on television

The Huskies O-line lines up against the Dinos D-line last season.

    After being dropped by Shaw following last season, Canada West football will be back on television for anyone that gets SaskTel maxTV in Saskatchewan and Telus Optik TV in Alberta and British Columbia.

    Canada West announced the TV developments for the 2017 season on Wednesday. A total of 12 regular season games and all three conference playoff games will air on the SaskTel and Telus cable brands.

    Every regular season game will feature at least one of Saskatchewan’s two university teams. The Rams will appear on television at least seven times, while the Huskies will be on at least six times.

    “Canada West is thrilled to showcase our outstanding football student-athletes across Western Canada on our new distribution network,” said Canada West VP of marketing and communications Adrienne Healey in a release.

    “University football provides a highly entertaining product for our fans, who appreciate the hard work it takes for our student-athletes to excel on the field and in the classroom. We look forward to highlighting the abilities of our players, who go on to become pros both on the gridiron and in their communities.”

    Healey doubles as the athlete services officer at the U of Saskatchewan.

    Kudos needs to be given to those in Canada West marketing arm for finding a new television home for the conference’s football games. It will be interesting to see if this will cause some to switch their cable provider.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Rams fall short of final Mosaic miracle

Rams QB Noah Picton sets up in the pocket.

    REGINA - For a moment, you thought the Regina Rams would pull off one final miracle at Taylor Field/Mosaic Stadium.

    During their history as members of first the Canadian Junior Football League and then U Sports representing the University of Regina, the Rams in their glory days pulled out games that seemed lost guided by legendary head coaches Gord Currie and Frank McCrystal. Playing a Canada West semifinal game at their storied home park on Saturday against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, it appeared the Rams first place season was going to die on a whimper.

    With 12:31 to play in the fourth quarter, Thunderbirds quarterback Michael O’Connor hit receiver David Mann with an 11-yard touchdown toss to put the visitors up 39-13. The hosts trailed because they hadn’t played well. The Thunderbirds, to their credit, played good, but they weren’t great or spectacular.

    Despite the fact a crowd of 4,500 has been pretty raucous, the Rams appeared to be down and out.

    While there wasn’t much time remaining on the clock, the Rams roared back scoring three touchdowns, while the Thunderbirds replied with a rouge punt single from Greg Hutchins.

William McGee's punt is blocked by A.J. Blackwell (#35).

    The last U of R major came when star quarterback Noah Picton hit receiver Ryan Schienbein with an 11-yard scoring strike with nine seconds to play cutting the UBC lead to 40-34. Those that followed the Rams history know they once pulled out a 35-31 regular season victory at home in 2000 against the University of Alberta Golden Bears by scoring the winning points on an onside kick.

    That day, future CFL star Jason Clermont batted a ball out of the air into the arms of teammate Chris Warnecke, who ran the rest of the way for the deciding score. You wondered if something crazy like that would happen again to push the Rams into the Canada West championship game.

    However, Thunderbirds receiver Trey Kellogg hauled in the onside kick to ensure no miracle would happen on this day. The Thunderbirds held on for the 40-34 victory. They will travel to Calgary this coming Saturday to face the University of Calgary Dinos for the Canada West championship trophy – the Hardy Cup.

    With that loss, one of the great single season turnaround stories in recent U Sports history came to an end. After going 0-8 in 2015, the Rams topped the Canada West standings in 2016 with a six-win improvement going 6-2.

Atlee Simon darts through a hole to score a TD for the Rams.

    They were rated fourth in the U Sports top 10 rankings going into their clash with the Thunderbirds. It was an unthinkable development for anyone outside of the team.

    Under the one-year watch of former head coach Mike Gibson in 2015, the Rams fell into disarray. After the winless campaign in 2015, Gibson left the club for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos to become their offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

    From there, Steve Bryce entered the picture as the Rams new head coach. He played on their offensive line from 1987 to 1991 in the team’s CJFL days and was part of a national championship winner in his rookie season. Under Bryce, the Rams started to play up to their past image from their glory days.

    Picton completed 224-of-323 passes for 3,186 yards, 25 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in the regular season. He set a new U Sports record for passing yards in a season completing an impressive 69.3 per cent of his throws. The Rams were always known as a pass-happy team, but they took that characteristic to a new exciting level this season.

The Rams defence stops Thunderbirds RB Ben Cummings.

    Against UBC, the Rams ran into one of U Sports best ever head coaches in Blake Nill, and his staff developed a game plan to neutralize their high-powered foes. The best way to keep Picton from hurting you was to make him stay on the Rams sidelines.

    Through a combination of running and a series of short passes, the Thunderbirds, who were 3-5 in the regular season, held the ball for 35 minutes and 21 seconds, which limited the Rams to 24 minutes and 39 seconds of possession time.

    The Thunderbirds also ran 22 more plays than their foes did and piled up an unheard of 42 first downs on 179 yards rushing and 397 yards passing. O’Connor accounted for all of UBC’s yards through the air connecting on 29-of-40 passes, two touchdown strikes and one interception.

Michael O'Connor piled up 397 yards passing for UBC.

    The Rams defence couldn’t get the stops their side needed.

    Adding to the frustrations for the home side, Thunderbirds defensive back A.J. Blackwell blocked a punt in the second quarter that was returned 27 yards by teammate Colton Zayshley for a major score. That play increased a 6-3 Thunderbirds edge to 13-3.

    With their limited time with the ball, the Rams still piled up solid offensive numbers. Picton completed 25-of-35 passes for 364 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. U of R also put up 106 yards rushing. Most of those yards came from running back Atlee Simon, who ran the ball 16 times for 78 yards and scored three touchdowns.

    Fifth-year Rams slotback Riley Wilson, who was playing his final university game, caught nine passes for 184 yards in a spectacular final bow.

    Still, the Rams had to ponder what might have been.

    With that in mind, the Rams will return the core of their team next season. They only loose Wilson and seven other players to graduation.

The Rams exit the Taylor Field/Mosaic Stadium tunnel for the last time.

    U of R is miles ahead of last year.
    Under Bryce’s guidance, another golden age for Rams football might be around the corner.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass on about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Win gives Rams much needed confidence boost

The Rams celebrate their win over the Bisons.

    The University of Regina Rams rid themselves of that “here we go again” sinking feeling with one win.

    Last Thursday, they rallied from a 38-27 fourth quarter deficit to down the University of Manitoba Bisons 41-38 on a touchdown catch with 25 seconds to play by receiver Ryan Schienbein in their home opener at Mosaic Stadium. The win allowed the Rams to improve to 1-1 in the young Canadian Interuniversity Sport football season.

    Now, they have the potential to erase the painful memories of an 0-8 campaign in 2015, which was the only season they played under the guidance of head coach Mike Gibson. During that winless campaign, the Rams dropped four games by seven or fewer points. The most heartbreaking of those setbacks came in the final game of the season, where the Rams held a 34-11 lead over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies late in third quarter at Mosaic Stadium only to fall 38-37.

    It seemed like even if the Rams were on their game they would still find a way to lose.

Ryan Schienbein catches the winning touchdown for the Rams.

    Gibson left the Rams on Jan. 17 to join the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos as their offensive line coach and run game coordinator. For a large number of team’s alumni, the departure couldn’t have come soon enough, as they began to feel disconnected with the program with Gibson guiding the ship as head coach. Behind the scenes, there was more turmoil than most likely knew.

    Searching for Gibson’s replacement, the Rams looked to their past hiring former player Steve Bryce as the team’s new head coach. Bryce played five seasons on the Rams offensive line from 1987 to 1991 during their days in the Canadian Junior Football League, which included a national championship win in his rookie campaign.

    After exhausting his junior eligibility, Bryce went down to the United States to play four seasons with the North Dakota based Jamestown College Jimmies. From there, Bryce moved to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where he spent 15 season coaching the football team at Etiwanda High School including the last seven as head coach.

    He returned home to Regina in August of 2015 with his wife and two daughters and applied for the Rams job after Gibson resigned.

Noah Picton (#4) threw for 499 yards and four touchdowns for the Rams.

    With Bryce as head coach, the Rams started to reconnect with their alumni. A new different type of good feeling started to arise about the team.

    The positive emotions seemed to transfer over to the field. In Week 1, the Rams traveled to Saskatoon and were poised to pull out an upset win against the Huskies.

    They led 31-28 with about a minute to play, and the Huskies were facing a third and 20 from their own 20 yard line. Again, the Rams would watch the other side rise to the occasion and pull out a key big play to win the game.

    Huskies quarterback Kyle Siemens proceeded to hit receiver Yol Piok with a deep throw that gained 35 yards. U of S forced overtime and pulled out a 41-39 victory.

    Against the Bisons in Week 2, the Rams led 13-10 at halftime and 27-14 after three quarters. The visitors rallied with 24 straight points to pull ahead 38-27, and you had to wonder if that “here we go again” feeling was starting to sink in.

Rams LB Zack McEachern nails Bisons RB Cam Fox.

    This time things were different.

    Rams star quarterback Noah Picton began to resemble his father, Dean. Dean was a superstar signal caller for the team in the 1980s guiding the squad to CJFL title wins in 1986 and 1987.

    Noah led the Rams on an 11 play, 87 yard drive that culminated with him scoring a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 1:35 to play. The score cut the Bisons lead to 38-33. A U of R two-point conversion attempt was not successful.

    The Bisons recovered an onside kick and appeared set to put the finishing touches on a win. Two plays later, Rams defensive back Korey Greene forced Bisons running back Alex Christie to fumble. U of R linebacker Zack McEachern recovered the ball, and the Rams were in business but also 104 yards away from the U of M end zone.

    Miraculously, Noah Picton drove the Rams those 104 yards in 55 seconds with eight plays. Picton hit Schienbein with the winning touchdown on a 15 yard pass in the middle of the end zone, which had the Rams bench erupting with joy.

Mitchell Picton makes a tough catch in traffic for the Rams.

    A Hail Mary pass attempt by Bisons quarterback Theo Deezar on the last play of the game was picked off by Rams linebacker Joey Dwyer. U of M fell to 0-2.

    The U of R win brought an end to a 10 game losing skid for the Rams, which included nine regular season games and one playoff match.

    The Rams last win came back on Nov. 1, 2014, when they defeated the University of Alberta Golden Bears 35-31 in the final home and regular season game under the guidance of legendary head coach Frank McCrystal. Picton guided the Rams to victory that day as a first-year signal caller rallying the team from behind twice in the fourth quarter.

The Rams celebrate Ryan Schienbein's winning touchdown catch.

    Against Bisons last Thursday, Picton completed 40-of-60 passes for 499 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. For the second straight week, he was named the offensive player of the week for the Canada West Conference.

    The bigger thing for the Rams was they were able to make the key plays in a close game to pull out victory, and the season is still young. Now that they have this experience, the chances of pulling out a tight game in the future improve greatly. On top of that, winning creates a confidence that all your work in practice and the film room will pay off.

    The next test for the Rams is this coming Saturday, when they travel to Vancouver to take on the defending Vanier Cup champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (1-1). The chance for the “Boys in the Horns” to again do something special awaits.

Back in the Express with cover story on new Blades GM

Blades general manager Colin Priestner expects a good season.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week with the cover story on the Saskatoon Blades new general manager Colin Priestner, who was extremely genuine in the one-on-one interview I did with him.

    In the story, the 32-year-old discussed the enormity of the rebuild the Blades had to undergo when his father, Mike, purchased the charter Western Hockey League franchise in September of 2013, transitioning to his new position, the experienced staff he surrounded himself with and the challenge of being the boss’s son.

    While talking about a variety of subjects, Priestner was upbeat about the possibilities that lay ahead for the team.

    Part of the discussion that didn’t make the story included the brilliant work Blades president Steve Hogle has done putting on great pre-game and post-game events over the past three seasons.

    The next of those is coming on Sept. 25, when the Blades host their regular season home opener at 2 p.m. against the Swift Current Broncos. The Blades will honour late hockey icon Gordie Howe that day. Howe’s ashes along with those of his wife, Colleen, will be interred at the Gordie Howe statue that sits in front of the SaskTel centre in a private ceremony at 9:30 a.m. that same day.

    Priestner’s aim is to get the action on the ice during the game to equal the happenings that Hogle has going on around the game.

    “He (Hogle) is just a tireless worker,” said Priestner. “He cares about the city and cares about the people.

    “You sometimes just take for granted how many great things we’ve tried to do. The unfortunate part is when you have a losing team and you have a great pre or post-game event, it is still a losing team. When you do lose 4-1, people forget about the powerful ceremony before the game.

    “Hogle has done so many great things with the game day (experience). I just feel like I and we all owe it to him on this side to bring that winning team to really show the people of Saskatoon all the great things we are doing.”

    The Express cover story on Priestner can be found right here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.