Rams keen to move on from tough year
University of Regina Rams head coach Steve Bryce plans to decompress after a depressing conclusion to the season.
Regina wrapped up a oncepromising 2018 Canada West football campaign Friday with a 57-14 loss to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at Mosaic Stadium.
The Rams had a 3-2 record when the U of R’s athletics department self-reported the use of an academically ineligible player. As a consequence, U Sports stripped Regina of its first three victories. Only one more win ensued as the Rams finished at 1-7.
How much of a break will Bryce take before turning his attention to 2019?
“A week,” he said. “You’ve got to find a reset button. You’ve got to start rebuilding. Our job is to get out and recruit and make sure that we don’t have any holes on the team next year.
“We need to refocus as a coaching staff, regroup, and get back on the recruiting trail.”
The Rams’ problems were exacerbated by late-season injuries to starting quarterback Noah Picton and his backup, Seb Britton. As a result, Regina started four quarterbacks — Picton, Britton, Josh Donnelly and Colton Hippe — over its last four games.
Regina was blown out in its final two contests, falling 58-6 to the host University of Calgary Dinos on Oct. 19 before facing the Huskies one week later.
“I’ve never had a season like this in my life,” Bryce lamented. “This last half of the season has been the worst stretch of coaching, or even playing. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“I have a hard time with words to describe how I feel about this season. It’s extremely disappointing with how the season started and what our expectations were and then how it ended up unfolding at the end.
“Really, it’s unbelievable to me.” The Dinos’ Adam Sinagra set a Canada West single-season passing-yardage record (3,233) on Saturday, when he threw for 355 yards in a 52-6 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton. Picton set the previous mark of 3,186 in 2016, when he won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding player in Canadian university football.
The Saskatoon Hilltops won their fifth consecutive PFC title, and their eighth in a nine-season span, Sunday by defeating the visiting Edmonton Huskies 28-9. Saskatoon is to play host to the Canadian Bowl — the CJFL final — on Nov. 17.