Cochrane receiver Kyle Moortgat is returning to McMahon Stadium this Friday night, Oct. 19, when the Regina Rams are in town to face the Calgary Dinos in university football action.

It is a must-win for the Rams if they want to see Canada West playoff action after being stripped of three of their wins when one of their players was found to be academically ineligible to play.

“It was a big shock to the whole team and to me personally,” says Moortgat. “It was hard to have to lose those three games, but our team is very tight and we were able to bounce back pretty quickly.

“Once we knew we still had a chance for playoffs everybody got back into gear and started to focus on winning out the rest of the games and do our best.”

The Rams had to go back to the starting line in game six. A 32-17 win last week over the Golden Bears keeps their hopes alive but they need to win their last two and even then have to depend on some teams losing.

“This is a huge game, probably the biggest of our season, honestly probably the biggest of my career so far,” says Moortgat. “It’s going to be an emotional game and a very tough one considering they’re one of the top-ranked teams in the country so we’re going to have to buckle down and play our best.”

Now in his fourth year with the Rams, the slotback is enjoying his best season to date with 464 yards on 33 receptions, including two 100-yard plus games. He’s number two in receptions for the Rams.

“It really helps me to be playing one position so I’m able to work on my craft throughout the game. I think I’ve been excelling pretty well throughout the last couple of games and I just hope I can keep doing that to help our team.”

Last season, he had 37 receptions for 408 yards and registered his first two touchdowns with the Rams. He was selected for the 2018 East-West game, where he registered the top receiving yards for the West CIS team.

They’ll be some familiar faces in the crowd at McMahon with family, friends and former coach Rob McNab expected to be at the game.

Three Cobra alumni have made their way through the ranks of the Rams in recent years. D-line nose Bryce McKinnon finished his career last season and receiver Adam Rask is on the current roster.

The Dinos defeated the Rams, 49-35, on Aug. 31 in Regina, coming back from a 29-23 deficit at the half.

“We know that we’re a very good team and we’re not the same team we were when we played them in the first game of the season,” says Moortgat. “I think it will be a very good match up.”

The undefeated Dinos aren’t taking the Rams.

“They'd be a second-place team if circumstances were different, and they're going to be really hungry to play and come in with that kind of attitude,” says Dinos head coach Wayne Harris.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.