Bisons hold off the rams for 7th straight win
Manitoba clinches first place in Canada West
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
On a cold and windy afternoon, Saturday Oct. 22 the Manitoba Bisons continued their undefeated season by beating the Regina Rams 49-44. With the win at University Stadium, the Bisons have clinched first place in the Canada West conference, which ensures that they will have home field advantage throughout the Canada West playoffs.
With NFL player and former Bison star Israel Idonije in attendance, the Bisons got off to a quick start. Karim Lowen, who missed the previous game to heal an injury, had a strong return performance, punching in two short runs in the first quarter.
The Herd continued to showcase their versatile offence in the second quarter. Lowen found the end zone for the third time in the game, scampering 11 yards for the major. The Bisons added to their lead on their next possession, when John Mackie found Steve Gronick in the end zone for a 21-yard connection. A booming 42-yard field goal by Peter Scouras closed out the first half with the Bisons comfortably ahead 33-7.
With their playoff hopes in peril, the Rams came out of the halftime break looking like a completely different team. Leading the charge for Regina was the arm of Teale Orban. Orban, who leads Canada West in passing yards, got the comeback rolling for the Regina when he found Chris Bauman down-field for an amazing 107-yard catch and run for the touchdown. The completion goes down as second-longest completion in Regina Rams history.
Regina continued to chip into the Bison lead when Steve Ryan returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown. What was a 26-point lead at the half was down to just 11 points after the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a wild one, with Manitoba trying to put Regina away, but the pesky Rams staying right there with them.
The Bisons extended their lead to 17 points when Mackie capped off a 72-yard drive with a 12-yard pass to Neil Fulgueras for a touchdown. Orban and the Rams answered right back, however, when the quarterback hooked up with Chad Goldie for a 34-yard score.
The Bisons went back to work on offence, this time going back to their bread and butter, the run game. The Bisons placed the ball in the hands of Lowen, and he rumbled into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the game. In addition to his four touchdowns, Lowen pounded the ball for 79 yards. His running back mate, Matt Henry, had a great game as well, rushing for 98 yards on just 11 carries, including a key 51-yard run on third-and-one to set up the Fulgueras touchdown.
Once again, however, the Bisons secondary could not contain Regina’s aerial attack. Connecting with Bauman again, Orban’s third passing touchdown of the game brought the Rams within 10 points of the Bisons.
Despite floundering for most of the second half, it came as no surprise that the game’s turning point came from the play of the Bison defence. With less then 90 seconds left in regulation, Justin Cooper sacked Orban in the end zone for a safety, the final nail in the coffin for the Rams. Orban added to his amazing game (23/48, 465 yards, five TD’s, one INT) when he found Graham Mosiondz for a 12-yard touchdown with seconds remaining, but the clocked ticked down, and the game ended 49-44 in the Bisons’ favour.
The Bisons look to complete their perfect regular season when they travel to the West Coast to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Oct. 27, at 9 p.m. Manitoba fans can tune in to 101.5 UMFM for the live broadcast. Regina closes out their season with a meeting against the Alberta Golden Bears next weekend.
