Ground heroics carry Rams to 47-23 win over Alberta

QUICKLY

• Marshall Erichsen and Christian Katende became the first University of Regina teammates to rush for 100 yards in the same game and Carson Sombach sealed the win with a 109-yard pick six as the Rams took out Alberta by a 47-23 score on Friday night in front of over 2000 spectators at Leibel Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• While the Rams took a 23-17 lead into halftime, turnovers marred the first two quarters for the Rams. Alberta scored all 17 of its points off of Regina's three first-half fumbles, with the Rams' scoring coming off of three lengthy touchdown drives and a conceded Alberta safety early in the contest.
• The third quarter was all Rams. The home side had possession of the ball for nearly 12 of the quarter's 15 minutes as Noah Pelletier's offence went on two extended drives. The first drive was a 10-play, 61-yard excursion that finally stalled deep in Alberta territory and finished with a short Ty Gorniak field goal. After the defence forced a quick punt, Erichsen and Katende marched the ball downfield and Katende finished off the 12-play, 87-yard drive with a two-yard run for his first touchdown of the season.
• Alberta scored on the ensuing possession when Eli Hetlinger hit Tanner McBride for a 14-yard touchdown to cut Regina's lead to 33-23, but the two-point convert failed and that was as close as the Golden Bears would get. After consecutive two-and-outs by both teams, Erichsen broke out with a career-long 44-yard rush to get the Rams deep into Alberta territory. The Rams converted on third down twice in the red zone, including on Pelletier's one-yard rush which put the Rams up 40-23 with four minutes remaining.
• The Golden Bears drove downfield and a 39-yard pass by Hetlinger to Kolby Hurford got them well into Regina territory, but the Rams put an exclamation mark on the game when Sombach jumped in front of another Hetlinger throw and ran it back 109 yards to the house to lock up the Rams' second win in as many Canada West games this season.

ON THE GROUND

• The Rams dominated the line of scrimmage, finishing with a 298-67 edge in rushing yards courtesy of Erichsen, Katende, and the offensive line consisting of Ethan Graham, Nick Makowsky, Riley Schick, Will Templeton, and Nnadozie Marendiukobianwa along with Logan Hubick.
• Erichsen finished with a career-high 171 rushing yards and a touchdown while Katende bulldozed his way to 112 rushing yards and a major. It was the first time in history the U of R had a pair of 100-yard rushers in a single game.

PICK SIX

• Sombach's game-clinching pick six came with Alberta needing a major to make it a 10-point game with just under two minutes to go. He picked off a Hetlinger pass at the one-yard line and took it back all the way to the house, with his 109-yard jaunt going down as the longest interception return in U of R history.
• The old school record for longest interception return had stood since 2010 when Jamir Walker had an 87-yard pick six in a home win over Saskatchewan.
• Sombach's interception return is tied for the second longest in Canada West history. Calgary's Sterling Taylor had a 110-yard pick six during the 2018 season, while Saskatchewan's Eric Duchene also had a 109-yard pick six back in 2001.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Pelletier finished 14-for-18 on the night, ending up with 169 passing yards including a six-yard touchdown pass to Renzel Arinaza.
• Arinaza was the team's leading receiver with 6 catches for 79 yards.
• Liam Platt, Brandon Wong, and Owen Zimmer all tied for the team lead with 4.5 tackles. Zimmer had two tackles for loss including his first career sack.
• Liam LaBelle and Jacob Dakiniewich also shared a sack.
• The Rams improve to 4-0 all-time at Leibel Field.

QUOTABLE

• "It seems like when we're on and clicking, things are going well for us. We dealt with adversity again today, but the guys did a great job of responding and they were able to execute when it mattered the most. I thought both of our lines were outstanding. Getting close to 300 yards rushing is nearly unheard of in this conference and to hold them to under 70 yards rushing is also extremely impressive." - Rams head coach Mark McConkey

NEXT UP

• The Rams will prepare for a West Coast road trip as they've got a Week 3 bash scheduled for next Friday night at UBC.