Rams beat Thunderbirds 36-20 in season opener

Noah Picton threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams season opener Friday night in Regina.

The 2016 Hec Crighton winner led his team to a 36-20 victory against the UBC Thunderbirds at Mosaic Stadium, sailing most of his passes to cousin Mitch Picton who caught six passes for 120 yards.

The game started slowly with just a rouge tallied by the Rams in the first quarter, but things started to pick up in the second for the green and gold.

Kyle Moortgat caught a 28-yard pass from Picton after a 53-yard drive down the field to put the Rams up 8-0.

Next up it was Atlee Simon who found the end zone for Regina with a two-yard scamper into the end zone, capping off a 25 yard, five play run down the field.

Before the end of the half, the Thunderbirds responded with a 41-yard field goal to make it 16-3 going into halftime.

B.C. didn’t fare much better in the third, adding just a 31-yard field goal less than three minutes into the quarter.

Regina responded with a 45-yard field goal on the following play before adding another touchdown to the board with 6:36 left in the frame.

Picton threw a 21 -yard pass to Mitch Thompson to make it 26-6.

The Rams capped off the third with another touchdown to make it 33-6.

The Thunderbirds found the end zone for the first time in the game early on in the fourth quarter. Shane Noel ran in a one-yard touchdown after five play, 43-yard march down the field.

Regina answered with a 76-yard drive down the field and a 15-yard field goal to make it 36-14 for the home team.

UBC added a rouge and with 43 seconds left added one more touchdown, but missed the two-point convert handing the Rams a 36-20 final score.

The Rams next action is Friday, Sept. 8 against the Calgary Dinos.