There is a lot more than provincial pride on the line tomorrow in Saskatoon.
The University of Regina Rams (4-1) will visit the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (5-0).
In the league standings, the Huskies are in first place, while the Rams have a two game cushion for second place.
In terms of national rankings, the U of S ranks second while the U of R are ranked eighth.
Throughout the Rams-Huskies rivalry there have been many cases of Regina high school football players going to play with the Huskies, and Saskatoon players heading to the Queen City to suit up in green and gold.
A recent example of a Regina player heading to the Bridge City is running back Ryker Frank.
He a guest on the SportsCage with Michael Ball earlier this week to preview the provincial clash featuring the Rams and Huskies.
The former Leboldus Golden Sun is currently second in Canada West football in rushing yards.
He says the speed of the game has increased in his second season with the Huskies.
“There are definitely some hard hitters out there and the game is very fast paced so I got to get adjusted to that.”
Frank mentioned that his welcome to the Canada West moment occurred at Mosaic Stadium against the Rams with linebacker Ryder Varga knocking him down on a couple of occasions.
For Frank, the Huskies thrilling 11-10 win over the Rams back on September 17 as apart of Football Weekend in Saskatchewan was an exciting experience considering there were a lot of friends and family stands along with many friends on the opposing sidelines against the Rams.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s contest at Griffiths Stadium, the Huskie running back says it’s an electric atmosphere when the Huskies head out on to the field for their home games.
“It’s awesome, you’re super amped up, there’s fireworks, you hear the crowd, it’s awesome. ”
The Rams provided the Huskie’s toughest test earlier in the season in Regina, with the Huskies winning the game on a last second field goal.
To begin the game, the Rams recovered an onside kick, on the ensuing play, Noah Pelletier tossed a touchdown pass to D’Sean Mimbs to give the Rams an early lead against the Huskies.
The call to go for the special teams play surprised everyone that night, even Pelletier.
“I honestly had no idea that we were starting with the onside kick, when I saw that I got super excited and obviously got that which was nice. ”
In order to take down the top team in the league, the Rams quarterback doesn’t believe the green and gold have to rely on an elaborate plan.
“Keeping it simple is what we have done all along, they have a lot of athletes on their defence, but I know we have a lot of athletes on our side too, I’m just going to make sure I get receivers the ball as much as I can.”
He added. “Hopefully just do the little things right. ”
Saturday’s game can be heard on 620 CKRM with Daniella Ponticelli, the pregame show begins at 12:45, with the opening kickoff at 1:00.
