Welcome to Mosaic: Rams, Huskies open up new stadium

REGINA — The new Mosaic Stadium will be opening its doors this weekend for the first time as the University of Regina Rams play host to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the SaskTel Fall Classic.

The CIS matchup will be the first bout of football played at the recently finished stadium, as the city looks to test the facility before it becomes the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ new home in 2017.

The Rams (3-1) will head into Saturday afternoon’s game with momentum and confidence on their side. Their 32-27 victory over the Dinos last week snapped Calgary’s 11-game regular season winning streak. Regina also moved up to number four on the CIS Rankings after the win – their best ranking since 2010 where they climbed up to number three.

» CIS RANKINGS: REGINA CLAWS INTO TOP FOUR

Rams quarterback Noah Picton leads the CIS in yards with 1,714 in four games (ReginaRams.com)

Noah Picton, Regina’s star pivot, will be looking to build on his Week 4 performance where he threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns. It was the third time in four games that the third-year quarterback has thrown for over 450 yards and currently leads the entire CIS in yards with 1,714.

Picton’s cousin, and teammate, Mitchell Picton was named the CIS Offensive Player of the Week after he set career highs in receptions (13), receiving yards (215) and touchdown catches (three) in the win. Mitchell leads the country with 121 receiving yards per game and seven receiving touchdowns.

“Mitch’s play was a huge reason we were able to get out of the early hole that we dug ourselves on Friday night,” Rams head coach Steve Bryce told ReginaRams.com. “His performance especially after halftime was outstanding, and he showed a great amount of toughness and resilience to overcome an injury he suffered in practice last week.”

All three of Mitchell’s majors came in a span of under 14 minutes in the second half.

The Huskies (2-2), meanwhile, are riding a two-game losing skid after last week’s 38-17 loss against Manitoba. Following the first half, Saskatchewan had a 17-13 lead, but couldn’t hold off dynamic Bison quarterback Theo Dezzar, and gave up three touchdowns and a short field goal in the final 30 minutes.

Third year quarterback Kyle Siemens started the game and played three quarters, throwing for 161 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by fifth-year Drew Burko in the fourth, who connected on three of his nine passes for 30 yards.

The Huskies looked to their ground game in the loss, as running back Tyler Chow rushed a game-high 153 yards on 16 carries and will hope to keep that going against the Rams this weekend.

Regina’s only loss of the 2016 season was back in Week 1 against Saskatchewan in a 41-39 overtime loss. After starting their 2016 campaign 2-0 and dropping their last two, the Huskies will be looking for a repeat of the first week of the season when they hit the gridiron.

Kickoff for the head-to-head provincial contest is Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.

-With files from ReginaRams.com