Rams open up conference schedule at Saskatchewan

DATE: Friday, Aug. 30
TIME: 7:00 pm
LOCATION: Saskatoon, Sask.
VENUE: Griffiths Stadium
TV: Canada West Football on Shaw (Access7 in Regina and area)
RADIO: 620 CKRM (Regina)

The Rams open up the Canada West schedule with a Week 1 game on the road at Saskatchewan on Friday night (7:00). The rivalry game will be Canada West Football on Shaw’s first broadcast of the year, with Access7 in Regina and canadawest.tv picking up the feed live. 620 CKRM in Regina will carry the game on the dial, while canadawest.tv will have live statistics available.

AGAINST SASKATCHEWAN: Friday’s game marks the third time in the U of R’s 15 seasons at the CIS level – and the first since 2005 – that the Rams have started the conference schedule against their provincial rivals. Saskatchewan holds a 17-6 advantage in the 23 Canada West games played between the two teams, though the Rams have a 3-2 edge over the Huskies in five postseason games. The Rams come in with two consecutive wins over the Huskies, as they defeated Saskatchewan twice in 2012 – a 35-26 road victory in Week 4 and a convincing 31-9 win in a snowy Canada West semifinal game at Mosaic Stadium.

LAST WEEK: The Rams trailed 25-8 early in the fourth quarter to Manitoba in non-conference action last Friday, but touchdowns on three consecutive drives gave the Rams a 30-25 come-from-behind victory. Noah Picton found Davin Johnston in the end zone from 31 yards out as the two University of Regina rookies connected for the game-winning touchdown with just 47 seconds remaining. Picton was the story of the game, as he was 12-for-12 and piled up 160 passing yards in just ten minutes of play.

NEXT WEEK: The Rams will host their Canada West home opener next Friday with a Week 2 game against Calgary at Mosaic Stadium. It will mark the first of two meetings between the two teams this season, as the Rams and Dinos will also clash in a Week 7 game at Calgary (Oct. 18).

McCONKEY CHASING HISTORY: Fifth-year slotback Mark McConkey comes into the 2013 season with 157 receptions, which means he needs just 17 catches to surpass former teammate Chad Goldie as Canada West’s all-time leader. The CIS career record is held by former McGill University receiver Charles-Antoine Sinotte (251).

RANKINGS: The first CIS Top Ten of the season was released on Tuesday, and No. 9 Saskatchewan was one of three Canada West schools to be ranked as Calgary checked in at the No. 3 spot while Manitoba slipped into the poll at No. 10. The Rams were one of five other teams to also garner votes in the poll, ending up with nine points.

UNDER CENTRE: University of Hawaii transfer Cayman Shutter should get the start at quarterback for the Rams on Friday. He played the entire first half last week in the non-conference game, completing eight of his 12 pass attempts for 93 yards including a nice 22-yard touchdown pass to Addison Richards.

NEW LINE: The Rams graduated 20 fifth-year players from last season’s roster and lost two players to professional football, and no position got hit harder than the offensive line where the team lost starters Brenden Bennett, Steve Hanson, Brett Jones, and Chris Mercer and key reserves Anthony Dale and Joel Hrycyk. With right tackle Aaron Picton the lone returning starter, four lineman will make their first Canada West start for the Rams on Friday. Against Manitoba last week, the four starters besides Picton were Jeremy Zver (LT), Kyle Paterson (LG), Nathan Cugnet (C), and Lyndon Smith (RG).

SACK WATCH: The Rams might have former defensive linemen Akiem Hicks and Stefan Charles in the NFL right now, but it’s Logan Brooks that has a chance to take over as the school’s all-time sacks leader. Brooks has 10½ sacks entering his final season of CIS eligibility, needing one more to overtake Sean Brimacombe for second place in University of Regina history and three more to pass Stan Van Sichem for first.

RAMS IN THE NFL: Though long snapper Jorgen Hus was cut from the St. Louis Rams earlier this week, the University of Regina still boasts three former players in the NFL including defensive linemen Stefan Charles (Tennessee) and Akiem Hicks (New Orleans) and punter Jon Ryan (Seattle). Only 10 non-NCAA Div. I schools have at least three current NFLers, led by the California University of Pennsylvania’s seven.

RAMS IN THE CFL: In addition to their three NFL players, the Rams also have seven players currently on CFL rosters. That list is highlighted by Chris Getzlaf and Brendon LaBatte, who both play key roles for the 7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders. Getzlaf leads the team with five touchdown receptions and is tied for second on the squad with 28 catches, while LaBatte starts at left guard. The list of 10 former Rams in the professional ranks doesn’t include Hus, who could end up with former teammate Chris Mercer in Edmonton after being recently let go by St. Louis.

CANADA WEST PRESEASON POLL: The conference coaches’ poll was released on Wednesday, and five-time defending Canada West champion Calgary was again picked as the favourite after receiving four out of a possible five first-place votes and a total of 47 points in the poll. Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba also received a first-place vote, with the Huskies finishing second in the poll with 38 points and the Bisons in third place with 32 points. The Rams and UBC tied for fourth place in the poll with 17 points.

JANOTTA MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With two full seasons of CIS eligibility remaining including this year, fourth-year slotback Jared Janotta is moving up the U of R’s all-time lists in several receiving categories. Janotta, who was a Canada West all-star in 2012, has 95 career receptions and is poised to become just the eighth player in U of R history to hit the 100 mark. He’s in the school’s top ten with seven career touchdown catches and needs three more to move past Shane Ostapowich for eighth place, while Janotta ranks No. 12 in school history in career receiving yards (1222) and is within striking distance of both Neal Hughes (1234 yards) and Getzlaf (1286).

SMITH READY FOR CIS DEBUT: The U of R landed heralded defensive tackle Calvin Smith in the offseason, bolstering a defensive line that has been extremely strong for the Rams over the past few seasons. Smith last played football in 2010 at the NCAA Div. I level with the University of New Mexico, playing in all 12 of the Lobos’ games as a true freshman and collecting 13 tackles and a sack while in a steady rotation on the defensive line. Smith was listed as a four-star prospect by both Rivals.com and ESPN, with ESPN ranking him as the No. 20 defensive tackle in the class and Rivals.com slotting him 26th.

SWITCHING SPORTS – TAKE 1: Followers of U of R sports might see a familiar name starting on the offensive line, as Jeremy Zver has been a key reserve for the men’s basketball team over the last two years and return to football for the first time since starring for Balfour Collegiate in 2010. Zver has appeared in 36 Canada West hoops games in his career, scoring a total of 87 points and pulling down 65 rebounds.

SWITCHING SPORTS – TAKE 2: Running back Jens Johnson is in his first year with the Rams after playing a Junior A career that spanned three full seasons in the SJHL. Johnson spent two years with the Weyburn Red Wings before splitting the 2012-13 season between Weyburn and Notre Dame. A defenceman, Johnson scored eight goals and added 40 assists for 48 points in 150 career regular season SJHL games.