Rams welcome clean slate for upcoming Canada West playoffs
Consistent play and better discipline keys to post-season success, says coach
All odds are even now, because everybody’s got to play the best of the best, and it’s not like there’s any easy competition, anyway
The University of Regina Rams’ 4-4 regular-season record was reflective of the team’s erratic tendencies.
There were some ups and downs during the Canada West season — not just from game to game, but within a game.
The Rams were equally capable of ringing up eye-popping point totals or digging cavernous holes for themselves.
But, that being done, the playoffs are nigh and the slate is clean.
“Everyone now is 0-0, no matter what you were going into this,” Rams head coach Steve Bryce said in advance of Saturday’s Hardy Cup semifinal against the host UBC Thunderbirds.
“All odds are even now, because everybody’s got to play the best of the best, and it’s not like there’s any easy competition, anyway. In every game, there’s a lot on the line. Motivation should not be a factor. If you don’t get ready and get excited about a playoff game, you need to check your pulse.”
The tempering of emotions is also required at this time of year.
“I know the talent level that we have on the team and I’m excited to see us play at our very best, but we have a lot of youth on the team,” Bryce noted. “We’ve got a lot of young players who are playing. We have three 18-year-olds on defence. There is some youth that’s mixed in there and sometimes we lose focus on the discipline aspect of football, too.
“We have to constantly get into their brains and into their minds that the important thing is to play hard from the snap to the whistle and then you shut it off. I really think we’ve hurt ourselves a lot this year with lack of discipline on 15-yarders, and that’s something that we, as a coaching staff, have been focusing on. There have been players who have gotten away with something in the past and we’re not letting them get away with it anymore.”
Bryce added: “Some players have been benched because of it, and almost cut because of it. We’ve almost removed players from the team for lack of discipline.”
Another factor working against the Rams has been injuries.
“Everybody’s been dealing with it too, but we’ve had an epidemic of injuries, especially shoulder injuries this year for some reason,” Bryce said. “We’ve had three kids this year who have gone under the knife and had surgery already. I’ve never seen an offensive line decimated like this one is, but we’ve gotten past that.
“The group that we had left over that has toughed it out and were gritty all year, they’ve played well together over the past couple of weeks. We now know that we can move the ball together and we’ve established a running game and have gained some confidence. So there’s been some ups and downs for a number of factors.”
Looking ahead, Bryce sees things trending upward.
“Overall, our whole team is full of youth and I think the future looks extremely bright,’’ he said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction as a program, but we also have that immediate expectation for success that drives us, too.”
Bryce hopes that playoff success will be driven by stars such as the Rams’ four Canada West all-stars — quarterback Noah Picton, tailback Atlee Simon, defensive end Nicholas Dheilly and 18-year-old linebacker Nick Cross.
“It’s that old adage that big-time players make big-time plays in bigtime games,” Bryce said. “These are big-time games and we need our stars to not only play like a star, but to be able to motivate and inspire those around them. You need to inspire and be inspired.
“So when one of your players does something that drives you, get out on the field and show it and play like it. Play like an inspired wild man.”