The Rams defeated the Southwestern University Pirates 29-16 on Saturday at Farrington Field in a scrimmage that was delayed two and a half hours due to rain and lightning in the area.

The Pirates, who were 6-4 in 2018, did not play the Rams last season.

Despite the rain, fans stuck around to cheer on the team and enjoy the game, much to the delight of the Rams staff.

“I’m personally looking forward to seeing all of our awesome fans and student body cheering on the team and having a ton of fun together,” Sports Information Director Ryan Keating wrote in a pregame email interview.

The Rams ran the ball into the end zone only 15 seconds into the game, but due to a flag on the play, the run was deemed incomplete. This did not stop the Rams from scoring a touchdown with 10 minutes still on the clock in the first quarter, bringing the score to 6-2. Brandon Rolfe, who was celebrating his birthday Saturday night, scored the touchdown for the Rams. Soon after, the score went to 8-2 for the Rams.

The Pirates soon pulled ahead of the Rams with a touchdown to make the score 9-8. Before the end of the first quarter, Diamond Williams ran in another touchdown for the Rams, and the extra point was good, making the score 15-9.

In the second quarter, the Pirates came back and scored a touchdown, pulling ahead 16-15. Not long after, with a 67-yard run and the extra point, the Rams took the lead 22-16.

With a little over two minutes left in the second quarter, Avery Childs completed a pass to Rolfe, and with the extra point , the Rams increased their lead to 29-16. The scrimmage ended at halftime.

The team seemed strongly improved as a group over last season, with players communicating better with one another on the field and pushing from the first moment of the game until the last.

“Something fans can look forward to this season is a brand new, revamped team,” mass communication senior and offensive lineman Cesar Vidana wrote in an email before the game. “We’re coming with a little more of a brotherhood this season, so I’m sure the chemistry we’ve accumulated over the summer will help us boost our number of total number of wins this season. We’ve got a lot of big, talented freshman and transfers that came in, so there will be a lot more new faces, and new guys to keep up with while at our games.”

Play-by-play announcer and host of 1st and 10 with Coach Prud’homme, Jimmy Christopher, wrote in a pregame email that he is optimistic about this season.

“By being consistent for sixty minutes on both offense and defense and focusing on finishing, the Rams can build on last year,” Christopher wrote. “They are close to being a 5-5 team.”

The Rams play Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. This will be the Rams’ first official game of the season and their first away game. The team’s first home game will be on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against Southwestern Assemblies of God University. For more information, go to ramsports.net.