On a cool, rainy, and rather unpleasant Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field, the Manitoba Bisons overcame the elements and beat the visiting Regina Rams 34-15 in the annual Homecoming Game.
Not surprisingly, the rain had both offences sputtering in the opening quarter. It was a big play on special teams that put the home side on the scoreboard first. Bison fullback Andrew Barry blocked a Regina punt deep in Ram territory, and linebacker DJ Lalama promptly collected the loose ball in the end zone. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Bisons led 6-0 just over five minutes into the game.
Late in the first quarter, the Bisons put together an offensive drive that was aided by two Regina pass interference penalties. Bison quarterback Jordan Yantz, who was a threat to run all afternoon, scampered for 39 yards and was brought down at the five-yard line. A few plays later, Barry muscled his way into the end zone from the one-yard line to put the Herd up 13-0 after one-quarter of play.
Yantz finished the day with 97 yards rushing, matching star running back Anthony Coombs’ rushing total of the afternoon.
The Rams had a chance to get some momentum back early in the second quarter, but kicker Zach Schmidt missed a 24-yard field goal. The play resulted in a single point. Regina trailed 13-1.
The Bisons took full control of the game: Yantz rolled to his right and found offensive lineman Matt Hallock all alone in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown strike to put Manitoba up 20-1. Hallock had reported as an eligible receiver on the play, and it was actually his second major of the season. The former Winnipeg Rifle scored on a similar play in a loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies earlier in the year.
Midway through the quarter, Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter ran up the middle and slid feet first, but was drilled by Bison defender Jordan Linnen. The Ram pivot was down on the turf for several minutes while Linnen was ejected for rough play. Shutter, who came into the game leading the Canada West conference in passing yards, left the game and did not return. Former Bison QB and Winnipeg native John Kiesman was forced to come in for the Rams.
The Bisons were looking for even more points before the half, but Yantz was sacked and stripped of the ball by Brady Aulie. Ram linebacker Michael Stefanovic returned the fumble from midfield for a touchdown to make the score 20-8.
The Bisons answered quickly on the ensuing drive, as Yantz stood in and threw a dart to slotback Andrew Smith who outran the Regina defenders to the end zone. The 89-yard catch and run was the fourth longest in Bison history, and it put them up 27-8 at the half.
The second half didn’t feature nearly as much scoring; in fact, there were no points in the third quarter. Regina QB John Kiesman had a tough second half. He made some bad decisions and threw three interceptions, including one into triple coverage. He did manage a short touchdown pass to slotback Mark McConkey, but the Bisons answered when Yantz threw yet another TD pass to Bryden Bone to put the game away.
In an intriguing subplot, the two teams combined for 435 penalty yards. The Bisons earned 235 of those, a record within the conference this season.
Jordan Yantz completed 9 of 17 passes for 134 yards with three touchdowns and one pick. The Bison QB now has an impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 15:4 on the season. Defensively, Connor Lesperance had two interceptions for the Herd.
Head coach Brian Dobie was pleased with his team’s performance.
“That was by far the best game we’ve played as a team,” Dobie said. “I thought the offence did a very good job today, especially in that first half.”
With the victory, Manitoba improves their record to 3-2. They have now beaten Regina, UBC, and Alberta, and have lost to Saskatchewan and Calgary. The Rams fall to 1-4 with the loss. The Bison football season continues this weekend, as Manitoba hosts the UBC Thunderbirds at IGF on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.
