Hawaiian born quarterback Cayman Shutter, who transferred to the Regina Rams this year after three seasons at the University of Hawaii, was simply lethal on Saturday night at Foote Field in Edmonton as he paced the Rams to their first win of the season, a 55-35 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears.
The fourth-year pivot completed 37 of 55 passes, with zero interceptions, for 484 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams torched Alberta for a combined 46 points in the first and fourth quarters. His aerial assault ranks as the 10th best single game passing yards performance in Canada West history, and the Rams continue to lead Canada West this season in passing offence, averaging 402.3 yards per game.
Regina may have started strong on Saturday night, but they finished even stronger. Trailing the Golden Bears 32-31 to start the fourth quarter, and with possession following an Alberta touchdown at the end of the third, the Rams reeled off six plays and moved 70 yards, culminating in a 34-yard touchdown reception by slotback Rory Copithorn, to effectively break Alberta’s back and seal the win for the formerly winless Rams. They would add a rouge, a field goal and two more touchdowns, both scored in the final 50 seconds of the game, to not only ensure the win, but give themselves the best possible points for and points against ratio against Alberta.
Although the rebuilding Bears showed tons of fight, overcoming a 30-6 deficit, they simply weren’t able to continue making plays, while the Rams, who are also rebuilding after losing 20 starters from 2012, had a counter for every Alberta punch.
“Mixed emotions tonight” explained Alberta’s quarterback Ryan Schwartz. “Obviously disappointed with the result, we really wanted a win, especially after last week, but I’m proud of the fight and effort the team showed to rally and come back after our first half. Unfortunately we weren’t able to sustain it, but each week is something to build off.”
The fourth-year QB, and first year starter, finished with 397 yards through the air and two touchdown passes. Rookie receiver Tylor Henry, who came in with 242 receiving yards, racked up another big night as he caught eight passes for 101 yards and a TD. The former Edmonton Wildcat also lead all players in all-purpose yards as he finished with 225, and very nearly sparked his team to their first win of the season.
His six yard TD reception at 13:30 of the second quarter gave Alberta their first major of the game, and made the score 30-13. And then, after Alberta forced Regina to punt, Henry ended the first half in the end zone after he took Regina’s punt 97-yards for the major.
It wasn’t enough to undo the damage Shutter and running back Michael Kiapway did in the first half however, as Regina entered the break up 30-20. By then Shutter had amassed 301 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Kiapway rumbled for 103 yards and one TD. Coming into the contest Regina had only gained 69 rushing yards this season, but managed to finish with 117 rush yards against the Bears.
Alberta’s running game, which boasts two of the top six rushers in the conference, combined for just 80 yards on 30 carries on Saturday day night as Alberta were out gunned on offence 631 yards to 457.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, and Alberta was also awarded a safety, but the Bears suddenly struck from nowhere when Schwartz hit a streaking Aundrey Webster up the middle, and the first year running back sprinted 60 yards for the major and a surprising 32-31 Alberta lead at the end of the third.
But Shutter, as he did all night, threw a dart through Alberta’s balloon, as he marched the Rams into Bears’ territory and retook the lead with the 34-yard TD strike to Copithorn.
After a field goal, Shutter capped off another drive with a one yard TD plunge at 14:11 of the fourth, and then, following a Regina interception, Shutter hit Jared Janotta with an eight yard TD toss with four seconds on the clock to finish the game at 55-35.
Regina returns home next weekend, when they take on the 1-2 UBC Thunderbirds, while Alberta bounces out to Saskatoon to take on the 2-1 Huskies.
By Matt Gutsch
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Shutter, Rams come away with road win over Alberta
EDMONTON, Alta. – They had to fend off a comeback bid to do it, but the University of Regina Rams scored their first win of the Canada West schedule with a 55-35 road victory over the Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday night at Foote Field in Edmonton.
The Rams (1-2) jumped out to a 23-6 lead after the first quarter and at one point led by 24 points late in the first half, but Alberta (0-3) chipped away at the lead and took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter after an Aundrey Webster touchdown gave the Golden Bears a 32-31 lead. The Rams responded almost immediately to regain the lead with a Rory Copithorn touchdown reception, and the visitors outscored Alberta by a 24-3 margin in the final quarter to seal the victory.
Cayman Shutter had a sterling performance under centre for the Rams as he completed 37 of his 55 pass attempts, threw four touchdown passes, and rushed for a pair of majors. The fourth-year quarterback in his first season with the Rams ended up with 484 passing yards, the second most in school single-game history. Addison Richards led all receivers with nine catches and had 145 receiving yards, while Jared Janotta had eight catches for 101 yards. Richards, Janotta, Copithorn, and Landon Buch all caught touchdowns for the Rams, while Michael Kiapway rushed 14 times for a career-high 137 yards and a touchdown.
First-year linebacker Michael Stefanovic had a huge game for the University of Regina defence, leading all players with 10 tackles and joining Stan Van Sichem as the only players in school history to collect three sacks in a single game. Calvin Smith and Ryan Wellman combined for the Rams’ other sacks, while Ryan Filyk and Patrick MacDonald both had interceptions for the U of R.
Alberta quarterback Ryan Schwartz also had fine numbers, going 27-for-38 for 371 yards and completing two touchdown passes. Tylor Henry had eight catches for 101 yards for the Golden Bears, while Webster had four catches for 149 yards and running back Ed Ilnicki rushed 17 times for 76 yards. Alberta’s Tyler Greenslade had six tackles, while Steven Giang led the Golden Bears with two tackles for loss while adding a pass breakup.
Alberta got a field goal on its opening drive, but the Rams responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 25-yard run by Kiapway and was finished off by a one-yard plunge by Shutter. The Golden Bears replied with another field goal, but the Rams got a career-long 60-yard rush by Kiapway for a major and added a safety and a Buch touchdown to take a commanding 23-6 lead into the first quarter.
The Rams looked to be off to the races after Shutter found Richards for a 41-yard major to push the lead to 30-6, but Alberta came roaring back. The Golden Bears’ Tylor Henry scored twice in the final 90 seconds of the first half, first on a six-yard touchdown reception and then on a 97-yard punt return for a major that brought Alberta to within 10 points at the half. Alberta’s momentum continued into the second half, as the Golden Bears got a safety and a field goal before Webster’s 60-yard touchdown catch gave the Golden Bears what would turn out to be their only lead of the game.
Copithorn’s first career touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter gave the Rams the lead back, and after a U of R rouge the two teams traded field goals midway through the final period. The Rams’ defence forced a huge turnover late in the contest, as Alberta gambled on 3rd-and-5 but a Schwartz pass to Henry fell incomplete to give the ball back to Regina on the Golden Bears’ 35. The Rams took advantage of a short field, and Shutter finished off the drive with a short plunge to put the win away for the visitors. Shutter added a final touchdown pass to Janotta in the waning moments of the game following MacDonald’s interception to push the margin of victory to 20.
The Rams will now prepare for a home game against UBC next weekend in a matchup that will feature a pair of 1-2 teams. Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Teale Orban’s 548 passing yards in a game at UBC in 2006 is the only time a University of Regina quarterback has registered more than Shutter’s 484 in a single game … Van Sichem recorded at least three sacks on two occasions, collecting three against Manitoba on Sept. 1, 2007 and four against Saskatchewan on Nov. 2, 2007 … Stefanovic is now tied for the Canada West lead with three sacks and is the conference’s outright leader with six tackles for loss this season … the Rams now have a 16-5 lead in the all-time series against Alberta and have won five consecutive games over the Golden Bears … Shutter’s 37 completions were also the second highest single-game total in school history.
By Braden Konschuh
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
