Everything you need to know to appear as a Rams football expert
It has been brought to my attention that not everyone is versed in athletics lingo. So I thought for the final issue I would explain the game of football, which is, arguably, the most well known sport on campus and one of our most successful teams. I’ll also break down some Rams specific terms and players. So, homies, sit down and grab a beer. It is time to learn about football.
For starters, we play American football not European football. European football is soccer. Our team is Regina Rams coached by Mark McConkey and there can be anywhere from a total of 15-20 coaches on a football team.
Field setup and technicalities:
Line of Scrimmage: This is where the athletes line up for a play to be executed.
Downs: The amount of given plays a team gets on offense. Four is the minimum but if you move enough, you get to continue on offense. If there is not enough gained, there is a turn over on downs.
First down: When a team gets ten yards or more in a given play.
12 on 12: 12 players are on offense and 12 players are on defense, each player on defense is assigned to an offensive player to block from getting the ball.
Punting: A way of giving the other team possession of the ball by kicking it to them. The other team then has to catch the ball and try to run up the field to gain field positioning. This position then becomes where the line of scrimmage is formed.
Rushing: A play done by the offense to gain yards by running with the ball.
Interception: When a defenseman catches the ball from a throw from the other team, therefore causing possession to be switched.
Tackle: When a player takes down another to stop play. This can be done independently (solo) or in a group (assisted).
Point Gaining:
Touchdown: This is how you get points in a football game, by getting the ball into the back end of the field (endzone). A touch down is worth 6 points.
Conversion: The points earned by a team following a touch down either from kicking (1 pt) or playing one play to get the ball back in the end zone (2 pts).
Field goal: When a team gets into a certain range on the field they can attempt to get the ball into the end zone via kick. This is worth 3 pts upon successful completion.
Safety touch: This is not super common but when the offensive team is tackled or forced out of bounds in their own end zone, the other team gets 2 points.
Team breakdown:
Note that there are a lot of positions and these are just the key ones to understand the basics of the game.
O-Line[men]/Offensive Line: The set of players who run offensive plays to gain points for their team.
D-Line[men]/Defensive Line: The set of players who run defensive plays to prevent the other team from gaining points.
Centre: The player ahead of the offensive line who essentially throws the ball back to the quarterback to start the play. Play cannot start without the snap.
Quarterback(QB): Key player who chooses and runs plays on the field. The QB throws the ball to other players on the field to run plays.
Receiver: One of the main people to get the ball thrown to them from the QB.
Running Back: A player on offense who specializes in running the ball, catching passes and blocking. Usually the most agile on the field.
Kicker: The one who kicks the football for kickoff, punt return, and conversions.
Penalties:
When someone breaks the rules of the game there are penalties. Most of the time, the play gets set back a certain amount of yards to put the offensive team behind or the defensive team ahead.
Some penalties can be declined by coaches for various reasons. Examples include, roughing the passer, high tackles, grabbing another players helmet, and unsportsmanlike conduct.
Notable Rams players:
Owen Sieben: Quarterback, 2023-24 Rookie athlete of the year. Played 10 games and threw 1216 yards and gained four touchdowns.
Nicholas Sirleaf: Receiver, Canada West All star. Caught 65 times for 802 yards and three touchdowns.
Ty Gorniak: Kicker, Canada West All Star. The Ram with the most points this season clocking in at 99. He made 23 of 30 of his field goals with a 76.67% completion rate.
Marshall Erichsen: Running back, Canada West All Star and the Ram with the most touchdowns in one season with 12. He rushed 1121 yards this past season and had 29 receptions.
Max Polischuk: Defensive back, All Canadian. 30 solo tackles this season, and 11 assisted tackles. He also had one interception this season.
Jacob Tkachuk: Defensive back. 31 solo tackles, 9 assisted tackles, and one interception.
