Dalton Fichtner extended his football career from the high school ranks to the CIS by cracking the Regina Rams this past weekend.
"It was a great feeling when I found out I made the team," said Fichtner. "It was my goal when the Raider Gridders' season ended to go on to play for the Rams."
Yorkton Regional Raider Gridders football coach Roby Sharpe expected to see his former player move on to university ball.
"I'm not surprised at all Fichtner made the Rams," said Sharpe. "He's a great athlete and a good kid. He works hard and can make an impact in almost any situation on the field."
While playing for Yorkton Regional, Fichtner was a man of many hats. He not only was their star quarterback, but he also played in defensive positions.
"When you have someone as talented as Dalton, you try to use him as much as possible," said Sharpe. "He played in a lot of different situations and always excelled for us."
In Regina, it will be a different story. Fichtner will be only suiting up as a defensive back for the Rams.
"I don't mind sticking to a defensive player," said Fichtner. "When I was first quarterback in grade 11, I didn't like it that much because of all the pressure. But in grade 12, I absolutely loved it. It will be a bit tough not being the quarterback anymore, but I'm just happy I made the team and I also love being a defensive back."
The Rams originally spotted Fichtner when he was trying out for the Regina Thunder of the Canadian Junior Football League in the winter.
"They scouted me at the Thunder camps and I received an invite to their training camp after that," he said. "Then I just went to the one tryout and shortly after that I found out I made the team."
Choosing the CIS route over junior football was an easy decision for Fichtner with him already accepted to the University of Regina next year.
"I knew I wanted to play University football," he said. "I was accepted to the U of R before I found out I made the team and am taking Education and kinesiology next year."
The Rams' training camp starts at the beginning of August. Before that, Fichtner has an offseason workout plan to prepare him for his jump to the CIS.
"I have a routine to help me get in good shape for training camp," he said. "I'm going to do a lot of running and am going to lift a lot of weights. I'm also going to eat healthy and just practice as much as possible."
The Rams' first game of the year is on August 23 at Mosaic Stadium against the University of Manitoba.
