The University of Regina Rams went out on a high note Friday.
The Rams completed the 2019 Canada West football season with a 47-14 victory over the Manitoba Bisons at Leibel Field.
Regina finished the season with a 3-5-0 record and missed the playoffs. Manitoba (4-4-0) placed fourth and will face the first-place finisher in a semifinal.
The Calgary Dinos (5-2-0), Alberta Golden Bears (4-3-0) and Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3-0) are to play their final regular-season games Saturday. The outcomes of those games will determine the first-, second- and third-place finishers — and the playoff matchups.
“I’m very proud of how well the guys played tonight but really, this is what we expected from this group the entire season,” Rams head coach Stephen Bryce said after the game.
At Leibel Field, Rams quarterback Josh Donnelly completed 23 of 37 pass attempts for 338 yards and four touchdowns.
Graduating senior Kyle Moortgat equalled his single-game career high with 11 receptions and set a new single-game personal best with 185 receiving yards. He also caught a 52-yard TD pass from Donnelly.
Donnelly’s other scoring tosses went to Riley Boersma (18 and 15 yards) and Ryan Schienbein (seven yards).
Schienbein caught four passes for 50 yards in the contest. He graduates from the program ranked second in school history in both catches (184) and receiving yards (2,461) and is tied with Jason Clermont for third all-time in touchdown receptions (19).
“For me, the big takeaway is that a lot of our top performances tonight came from our fifth-year guys,” Bryce added.
Regina accumulated 552 yards of total offence in the game, while Manitoba managed 280. The Rams put up 34 first downs to the Bisons’ 20.
Kyler Mosley (one-yard run) had Regina’s other major. Daniel Scraper kicked three field goals and five converts and Aldo Galvan added a single for Regina, which also recorded a safety.
Abdul-Karim Gassman (20-yard pass from Des Catellier) had the lone touchdown for the Bisons, who got two field goals from Matt Riley and a two-point convert from Macho Bockru.
Robbie Lowes had a fumble recovery, an interception and a blocked punt for the Rams. Josh White and Brayden Walz each had a sack for Regina and fifth-year defensive tackle Eric Wicijowski had two tackles for loss in his final game as a Ram.