Bisons scored 25 unanswered points, but Rams win on final drive, 31-28 in pre-season action

WINNIPEG – A Damien Cherry one-yard rushing touchdown with 14 seconds to go secured the Regina Rams a 31-28 pre-season win over Manitoba at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday night. Over 140 student-athletes saw action in the game which featured many future stars making big plays.
 
The hosts scored 25 unanswered points in the final quarter, and looked to be on their way to victory, but Regina answered on the final drive of the game, aided by a penalty on second down from the Bisons five-yard line to secure victory.
 
Third-year receiver Kaiden Bannon led the way for the Herd, scoring majors of 85 and eight yards, the latter of which gave the Bisons the lead with two minutes to go. Backup quarterback Cole Anseeuw added two touchdown passes.
 
"It was great just to see that nobody gave up," said Bannon.
 
"We played to the final whistle. Obviously it was a heart-breaker how it ended, but I'm so proud of the team. They never gave up, they gave it their all. I'm happy to call them my teammates."
 
But the Rams had the response. Rookie Conner Kerr, who played most of the game, led the visitors down field, aided by two penalties in the red zone by the Bisons. Winnipeg native Onan Furst, an Oak Park grad, also made a few big plays on the game-wining drive.
 
Kerr's pass on second and goal from the five was intercepted by Eman Katoo, however Manitoba was called for pass interference. Cherry scored one play later from the one.
 
Manitoba trailed 13-3 at the break, with the Rams scoring all 13 points off of three turnovers.
 
Jacob Tkachuk got the party started with a first quarter interception that started quarterback Noah Pelletier turned into seven points. His four-yard rushing major gave the visitors a 7-0 lead with seven minutes to go.
 
A turnover on downs by Manitoba, and a Kaeden Brennan interception with 8:57 to go in the first half also resulted in field goals. Manitoba booted a field goal from 27 yards out on the final play of the half, courtesy of Maya Turner, to make the score 13-3 at the half.
 
The Rams kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter, thanks in large part to 107 yards in punt returns from first-year Eythan Crites. They took a 23-3 lead on a five-yard score from Jeremiah Nyambiya with 14:47 to go, but the hosts had plenty of fight left.
 
Former Ottawa Sooners standout Aidan Wallace-Blackett recorded his first U SPORTS interception to give Manitoba some life, and he added a fumble recovery following a 42-yard Turner field goal, which was forced by Matthew Gillespie.
 
Manitoba turned the second turnover into seven, as Anseew found Liam Hutter wide open from 11 yards out, walking in from the near sideline. Then, with 5:53 to go, Justin Sharp dialed up an 85-yard touchdown to Bannon, who snuck behind coverage for the biggest play of the day.
 
"We had a play called a cross-in. I knew I had a high post. I saw the safety low, the corner and half to the side. No one was covering the middle. I was happy Sharp saw that," added Bannon.
 
"He put it perfectly where it needed to be. I just ran. I saw the guy behind me, I was like don't get caught. I'm never going to live it down. Coach BA, Blair Atkinson was huge for us. We're spreading the ball around, we're not one-dimensional. We can run, we can pass, we can RPO, to see it all come together today was nice. I'm very excited for this year."
 
A Turner safety and long Bisons drive, orchestrated by Anseeuw, gave the Herd the 28-23 lead with 2:12 to go. The pivot found Bannon from eight yards out on a slant out, preceded by a 21-yard Mark Woytowich run, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Regina on second down.
 
But the Rams wouldn't be denied, driving the field to win, including a two-point convert. Two pass interference penalties were catalysts in a thrilling conclusion from the two sides.
 
Manitoba opens their regular season schedule on the road on Thursday against UBC.