U of R Rams, Regina Thunder earn road wins

A couple of Regina football teams earned some wins on the road Saturday.

The University of Regina Rams scored 31 unanswered first-half points to beat the UBC Thunderbirds 46-16 while the Regina Thunder won an overtime thriller 52-45 against the Winnipeg Rifles.

The Rams first game of the season was also the first game of the year for quarterback Josh Donnelly.

Donnelly has become the Rams starting quarterback after 2016 Hec Crighton winner Noah Picton graduated from the program and Seb Britton suffered a torn labrum this offseason.

The redshirt-freshman finished the game with 377 yards while completing 23 of 32 pass attempts. He also tossed two touchdown passes — a six-yard toss to fifth-year Ryan Schienbein and a 75-yard pass to Riley Boersma.

Rams running back Sam Varao had one of the most effective stat lines of the game. He finished with three rushes for three yards and three touchdowns. His three rushing scores ties the school record for most in a game, first set in 2002 by Cory Olynick in 2002. Former Rams running back Atlee Simon accomplished the feat four times.

Running back Trey Campbell led the way for the Rams on the ground, rushing for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Kicker Aldo Galvan hit one of his three field goal attempts and all six of his extra point tries.

The Rams defence forced three turnovers in the game. The unit also sacked UBC quarterback Tommy Yanchuk five times, UBC’s sixteen points came from a 20-yard run by Yanchuk, a 19-yard pass from Yanchuk to wide receiver Jacob Patten. The Thunderbirds defence also recorded a safety. Kicker Garrin McDonnell was good on both his extra point attempts.

Meanwhile in Canadian Junior Football League action in Winnipeg, the Thunder got their own big win on the road.

The Rifles scored late to force overtime but quarterback Blake Scherle connected with wide receiver Greg Lamb for the winning score. Scherle finished the game with five touchdown passes in the high-scoring affair.

Running backs Matthew Shewchuk and Maxwell Foerster also rushed in scores for the Thunder.

Kicker Eric Maximuik hit one field goal and converted on all seven of his point-after attempts.
The Rams (1-0) will next be in action at Mosaic Stadium against the Alberta Golden Bears (0-1) on Sept. 6.

The Thunder (2-1) will have a rematch with the Saskatoon Hilltops (2-0) on Sept. 7 at SMF Field.