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| Piper Sports Photography |
KICKOFF: Friday, Oct. 26 (7:00 PM)
SITE: Mosaic Stadium (Regina, Sask.)
CAPACITY: 33,350
RANKINGS: Saskatchewan NR, Regina NR
TELEVISION: Canada West Football Showcase on SaskTel maxTV 48/348 & TELUS Optik TV (Wray Morrison/PxP, Justin Dunk/CC, Darren Dupont/host)
REGINA RADIO: 620 CKRM (Michael Ball/PxP, Addison Richards/CC)
SASKATOON RADIO: 600 CJWW (Dave Thomas/PxP, Matt Morrison/CC)
LIVE VIDEO: www.canadawest.tv ($)
HEADLINES
• Eliminated from postseason contention after last week’s loss to Calgary, the Rams will try to play the role of spoiler on Friday with Saskatchewan still in contention for a home playoff game.
• The Rams will honour their 13 fifth-year players prior to kickoff. This year’s graduating class includes six players on the offensive side of the ball and seven on the defensive side.
• Rams QB Noah Picton didn’t play last week and is considered day-to-day for Friday. QB Seb Britton remains out after being hurt in the Alberta game, which means QB Colton Hippe will dress for the third straight week.
SENIOR NIGHT: Prior to kickoff, a total of 13 Rams in their final season of U SPORTS eligibility will be honoured. The list includes DB Robbie Avram, LB Cole Benkic, OL Matt Degelman, LB Layne Hull, DB Jack Louisdort, DL Grey McKen, LB Danny Nesbitt, SB Kasim Ocaya, QB Noah Picton, OL Bryan Robinson, RB Atlee Simon, OL Thomas Stanton, and DL Ryan Warner. Avram, Degelman, McKen, Nesbitt, Picton, and Simon all played five full seasons with the Rams.
RECEPTIONS RECORD IN JEOPARDY: SB Ryan Schienbein has Mitchell Picton’s school single-season receptions mark in serious peril. Picton had 58 catches two seasons ago to set the U of R record, but Schienbein already has 53 this year with one game remaining.
NEARING 2000: Schienbein is also closing in on 2000 career receiving yards, a feat only five U of R players have achieved – Jared Janotta, Chad Goldie, Mitchell Picton, Jason Clermont, and Jordan Sisco. Schienbein, who enters Friday’s game with 1988 receiving yards, would become the first member of that exclusive club to hit that career mark before his fifth season.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Seven Canada West players have multiple forced fumbles this year, including three from the Rams as Benkic, McKen, and DL Blake Turner are all tied for the league lead with two apiece. McKen is also tied for second in Canada West with two fumble recoveries, while DB Cord Delinte, DB Jaxon Ford, and DB Zach Moore are among a group of players all tied for third in the conference with two interceptions. On the offensive side of the ball, Schienbein is second in Canada West with 53 catches, third in receiving yards (684), and tied for third in touchdown catches (5). RB Kyle Borsa ranks second in the conference with 1177 all-purpose yards.
ATLEE CRACKS TOP TEN: Simon cracked Canada West’s all-time rushing yards top ten in last week’s game. He enters his final game with the Rams with 3228 career yards with ninth-place Mark Nohra (UBC, 1993-97) and eighth-place Jarred Winkel (Alberta, 2002-05) both within reach. Nohra had 3285 yards in his career, while Winkel accumulated 3311 with the Golden Bears.
NOAH NOTES: He’s listed as day-to-day this week after missing the last two games due to injury, but if Picton is able to play on Friday he’ll have two major records still to chase. He’d need to close out his career with a heck of a game, though – he’s 31 completions short of Jérémi Roch’s U SPORTS career record of 866, and five touchdown passes shy of former Rams pivot Teale Orban’s Canada West career record of 76.
IRON NEZ: Nesbitt played his entire five-year U of R career without missing a game. Friday will be his 40th Canada West game and he also played in three postseason games to give him a total of 43 contests in a Rams uniform. He’ll finish his career ranked eighth in school history in tackles, as he enters Week 8 with 142 in his career (92 solo, 100 assisted).
UNDER CENTRE: With Picton and Seb Britton both injured last week, the Rams went with first-year QB Josh Donnelly in a must-win situation at Calgary. Donnelly’s mettle was tested as he absorbed four sacks during the game, but completed 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 243 yards including a 36-yard completion to Schienbein on his first career snap. Another game played would cost Donnelly a year of eligibility, so the Rams will elect to keep him on the bench on Friday to preserve his redshirt season.
RAMS IN THE PROS: The Rams currently have six players on active professional rosters, including two in the NFL – Akiem Hicks (Chicago) and Brett Jones (Minnesota). Four U of R alumni are in the CFL, including Tevaughn Campbell (Montreal), Jorgen Hus (Saskatchewan), Brendon LaBatte (Saskatchewan), and Richard Sindani (Calgary). Former Rams receiver Andrew Bennett is currently on Montreal’s practice roster.
(Braden Konschuh/UofR Athletics)
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