Rams upset Huskies 19-14 to win U of R’s second Hardy Cup

The saying goes that defence wins championships, and defence was on full display in Saskatoon on Saturday when the University of Regina Rams beat University of Saskatchewan Huskies 19-14 to win the Hardy Cup.

ITS OVER! THE RAMS WIN THE HARDY CUP! pic.twitter.com/Fbtvtimx3s

— Shane (@ShaneC06) November 9, 2024

After trailing 14-1 early in the second quarter, the Rams defence woke up and dominated play at the line of scrimmage.

The Rams forced Huskies quarterback Anton Amundrud to throw four interceptions leading to 18 unanswered points to help win Regina’s second Hardy Cup in front of over 7,000 fans at Griffiths Stadium.

Rams defence forced another interception – this time it’s Jacob Tkachuk who forced the pick.

Rams lead 19-14 with 7:30 left in the fourth and essentially control their own destiny! pic.twitter.com/TUy3Qf9ReE

— Shane (@ShaneC06) November 9, 2024

“Our defence was unbelievable,” said Rams head coach Mark McConkey after the Rams won their first Hardy Cup since 2000.

“We’ve lost a bunch of those (close) games earlier in the year on that five game losing streak, but again our defence was unbelievable. They didn’t start out super hot giving up 14, but they regrouped and the offence did enough. I’m just so proud of the kids, the coaches and we wanted this one bad. We didn’t get a lot of respect at 3-5, but to win the Canada West at 3-5 is pretty cool.”

The turning point in the football game came early in the third quarter. The Rams were trailing 14-11 when defensive back Carson Sombach picked off Amundrud and took the football to the house for a pick six touchdown to put the Rams up 18-14.

“It was pretty good,” said Sombach after he was asked what it was like to get what turned out to be the game winning touchdown. “Everyone was happy, I didn’t know it was going to be the last touchdown of the game. It was good.”

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Up until this season, the Rams had lost to the Huskies every game since 2017. In 2024, the Rams were able to win two games against their provincial rivals.

While the Rams had to go on the road to win the Hardy Cup, Sombach said he wouldn’t have had the win drawn up any other way.

“We haven’t won here in a while. That’s what we were saying all week — the best way to do it would be in the Hardy (and) come play our rival in their house. I would rather have it here than at home or in B.C. and get this Hardy Cup right here,” Sombach said.

Throughout the game, Rams quarterback Noah Pelletier was solid, completing 23 of 33 passes and throwing for one touchdown in the win. Pelletier was favouring his left arm throughout the fourth quarter.

Despite that, Pelletier thinks he’ll be ready to play next Saturday when the Rams host Laval in the Mitchell Bowl.

“It definitely hurts a little, but I mean the pain is only temporary. When you win a Hardy Cup, the pain definitely goes away a lot more than usual,” he explained.

“I’m super happy for all my guys, all the coaches and hopefully we can keep going.”

Pelletier said the goal is for him to play next weekend against Laval.

Regina Rams head coach Mark McConkey, left, and Saskatchewan Huskies head coach Scott Flory. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)

McConkey excited to face Laval

“We’ve got a lot of work to do tonight when we get back — start watching Laval film because we’re going to have our hands full there — we’ll enjoy this one for a few hours, and then get onto Laval,” McConkey said.

The Huskies team was heartbroken.

After having started the season 1-3, the dogs rallied off five wins in a row to get to this point — including a miracle come-from-behind win against University of British Columbia last week — but came up a win short on Saturday.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory didn’t have many answers as to why his offence stalled after going up 14-1 early in the second quarter.

“We got two scores there early, and we were playing really good. Their defence made a few adjustments and we didn’t move the ball as well in the second quarter and had the turnover there.

“We came out in the third quarter and knew we were going to have the wind in the fourth — and it wasn’t that bad here today — but just the field position game in the third quarter kind of got us backed up and again that pick six in the third quarter kind of hurt,” Flory explained.

“We just didn’t generate any offence in the fourth quarter. Proud of the guys. At the end of it, football is a tough game and our guys kept fighting. We just didn’t make enough plays here today,” he added.

Amundrud credited the Rams for being able to pin the team deep so many times throughout the second half.

“Regina was doing a really good job putting us in second and long. Me, personally, I got to do a better job at not giving them the ball in those situations and just eating it,” he said. “They played a really good game defensively.”

Despite the loss, Flory credits his team’s resilience and has high hopes for the future.

“We just kept fighting and there’s never any quit in this group. I’m really proud of them for that,” he said.

“We have great internal leadership and I know we’re going to graduate out a few guys, but we’ve got lots of young talent here and the future is really bright for this program.”

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