REGINA – Carter Ashman rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns as the Regina Rams pulled away from the University of Alberta Golden Bears for a 43-17 win on Thursday night at Mosaic Stadium. 

Alberta led 11-7 after the first quarter, thanks to a Charlie Wiersma field goal, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Christian Veilleux to Isaiah Sanderson and a safety on a Regina snap in its own end zone. From there, the Rams took over, outscoring the Golden Bears 36-6 the rest of the way. The loss drops Alberta to 1-5 on the season, while Regina improves to 3-3. 

Regina's ground game did most of the damage, piling up 317 rushing yards on 44 carries. The 317 rush yards for the Rams is second most in team history. 

Ashman, a first-year back, carried 34 times and scored from 20 yards out in the opening quarter before adding a seven-yard touchdown just before halftime to make it 24-14. Special teams also turned the game, with Brandon Wong recovering a blocked Alberta punt in the end zone for a touchdown late in the second quarter, one of two blocked Alberta punts on the night. Owen Sieben added touchdown passes of 26 yards to Nicholas Sirleaf and 21 yards to Kaleb Senz, while Ty Gorniak was a perfect 5-for-5 on converts and kicked two field goals.

Alberta turned the ball over six times — three interceptions and three lost fumbles — and Regina converted those giveaways into 24 points.

Wiersma was a bright spot for the Golden Bears, connecting on all three of his field-goal attempts, including two from 34 yards. He also caught three passes for 61 yards. Veilleux threw for 250 yards on 18-of-35 passing, and Alberta's defence picked off Sieben twice.

The Golden Bears will travel to face the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV powered by BioSteel.

Regina will host the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, Oct. 23.

-UA-