The University of Saskatchewan Huskies six-game win streak over the University of Regina Rams came to an end in the first game played in the brand new Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Oct. 1.

In front of a Canada West record-setting crowd of 16,500, the hometown Rams came out on top with a score of 37 to the visiting Huskies’ score of 29. With this defeat, the Huskies sink to 2-3 and are also out of the conference playoff picture for now.

Huskies’ head coach Brian Towriss spoke on the experience at the new stadium.

The Huskies were defeated 37-29 by the Rams in the first game ever held at the new Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

“It was exciting. I’m sure it was exciting for the kids [to have the] opportunity to go down and see it. The bottom line is it was a football game … we played hard but we didn’t play well enough to win the football game. [I give the] Rams the full credit for their win,” Towriss said.

Towriss went on to say that although the game was played in Regina, the Huskies brought with them a strong following.

“We actually thought it was gonna be a little bit louder than it was. It wasn’t, as we figured, it wasn’t a totally partisan Ram crowd. When we were introduced, there were as many [people] cheering for us as there was for them. Noise wasn’t a factor at all but certainly it was a great atmosphere to play in,” Towriss said.

Rams’ quarterback Noah Picton led his team to victory, passing for four of the Rams’ touchdowns. Picton also threw a touchdown pass to Ryan Schienbein at 7:26 in the first quarter for the first points to be scored at the new stadium.

The Rams took their lead by air following this historical touchdown, with Picton hitting his target on 29 of 42 passes and finishing the game with 370 passing yards and four touchdowns. Schienbein was the receiver for two of those touchdowns and leading all other Rams receivers with 189 receiving yards.

The Huskies did not take the defeat lying down. Leading the offense was Tyler Chow, running back for the Huskies and third-year geology major. Chow achieved 100 all-purpose yards throughout the course of the provincial rivalry matchup.

However, Chow was humble about his performance, giving the credit to his teammates.

“In general, I don’t think I played very well and a lot of players stepped up and played around that. It was awesome to see that there were guys that were able to play,” Chow said.

Chow scored two touchdowns, the second of which came at 3:41 in the fourth quarter, breathing excitement into the air late into the game. Following this, the Rams and Huskies traded interceptions back-to-back, but this tumultuous play offered no changes to the lead the Rams held until the clock ran out on the Huskies.

With a record of 2-3, the Huskies sit at second last in the CanWest conference. In order to qualify for playoffs, the Huskies will have to raise in the ranks by at least one position, making their next game crucial for any playoff prospects.

The Huskies have a bye-week over Thanksgiving, following which they will be taking on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at home on Oct. 14. Head coach Towriss outlined the Huskies’ plan for the short break.

“Fundamentals and rest. We’ve got to get back to some fundamentals: blocking [and] tackling. Getting some alignment issues corrected and then we’ve got to get some rest and these kids have to catch up academically … We’re back on Thanksgiving Monday [when] we got to turn our attention towards UBC. Because that’s now the most critical game of the season for us,” Towriss said.

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Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Photos: Caitlin Taylor / Supplied