Frankly Speaking: Rams show they are more than just talk in second quarter

By Greg Urbanoski

The situation was looking pretty grim in the second quarter Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

The University of Regina Rams had just surrendered a 57 yard pass and run play right down the middle of their secondary, which gave the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds a 21-3 lead. The Rams defense was on the bench listening to Rams Defensive Coordinator Paul Dawson provide a succinct and concise assessment of their effort against the T-Birds and their back-up quarterback Mark McVeigh.

As Dawson was getting warmed up in providing the defense with some thoughts to ponder, Rams Quarterback Teale Orban hit Jordan Sisco with an 81 yard touchdown pass. Then the Rams defense went to work following the convert, as Steve Wilson hit McVeigh, who fumbled, and Stanley van Sichem picked up the fumble for a touchdown. This sparked a 28 point second quarter as the Rams went en route to a 55-28 win over the T-Birds.

The Rams poured on so many points the motorcyclists who roar around the field following each Rams touchdown almost ran out of people to double at the end of the game. Luckily, Saskatchewan Roughrider General Manager Eric Tillman took the last ride down the sideline when running back Derek Belvedere put the cap on the game with a 32 yard touchdown.

Rams Head Coach Frank McCrystal was asked after the game what was said on the sideline. He told reporters the Rams were told to focus their efforts and avoid the breakdowns and sloppy tackling that provided the Thunderbirds with their short-lived lead.

McCrystal was asked about McVeigh and if he provided a different challenge to his defense that took awhile for them to figure out.

“McVeigh didn’t start, the other guy got hurt,” said McCrsytal. “McVeigh is a very good player.

“He did pretty well and put up points and yards. He’s a good quarterback but what was most important was that we needed to commit to our own execution, discipline and focus.”

Rams running back Graham Mosiondz enjoyed a great game on the ground with 123 yards rushing. Prior to the game the Rams were focused on stopping the T-Birds running game while it was safe to assume the T-Birds were focused on stopping the Rams passing. 

But on the opening drive Mosiondz set the tone, McCrystal said afterwards his increased involvement in the offense was no accident.

“We have committed to the running game, we talked about at the start of the season and we talked about it all winter,” said McCrystal. 

“Certainly defensively we are accomplishing some of the things we set out for ourselves. We’re disappointed in some of our pass defense. We’ve given up some big plays again and we have to correct that if we intend to continue down the stretch and have a chance in the playoffs.”

McCrystal said he was pleased the Rams came away with a number of interceptions but noted there were others that got away from the Rams.

“We’ll look at it and see where we are at and see what we need to do to correct those things that require our attention,” said McCrystal.

“Our offense started well and we drove the ball down there and fumbled. Our second possession we had a dropped pass and our third or fourth possession we fumbled again. I think our schemes and effort put together gave us the opportunity to get down and score points. We should have had 21 points in the first 10 minutes of the game but we turned the ball over and those are things we have to correct.

“Against the teams you are going to face in the playoffs, you have to address the quality and not squander those opportunities.”

The Rams go out to British Columbia next week to face the Simon Fraser University Clan and McCrystal said despite the good feelings from the win Friday night, they are not going to take Simon Fraser lightly.

“I don’t think there are any weak teams in this conference and I think you have to be prepared to strap up and play every team hard,” said McCrystal. “It’s always a challenge on the road as everyone knows.”


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