Frank Rajkowski

frajkowski@stcloudtimes.com

Garrett Ackerman has never been to Canada.

Nor has he had much exposure to the way football is played north of the border.

But he's looking forward to experiencing both this weekend.

The St. John's University football team departs by bus Friday for Regina, Saskatchewan, where it will hold joint practices and a scrimmage with the Regina Thunder, a Canadian junior team. The practices are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Regina's Leibel Field, with a second session and scrimmage to follow at 4 p.m.

At least part of the scrimmage will utilize Canadian rules, including 12 men on the field, three downs and receivers in motion before the snap of the ball.

"From a football standpoint, it's going to be interesting," said Ackerman, who has started every game for the Johnnies the past two seasons.

"The extra man is really going to add a different dimension. And having receivers coming off the line at full speed will be different too. I think we're all excited to see what that's going to be like."

This marks the second time the Johnnies have journeyed to Regina to match up against the Thunder. The first came in the spring of 2013, before Gary Fasching's first season as head coach at the school.

NCAA rules allow teams to make such international trips every three years. And St. John's has been allowed to prepare with 10 padded practices, in addition to the seven non-padded spring workouts allowed under MIAC rules.

As in 2013, that also made possible a spring game, which took place last Saturday at Clemens Stadium. Ackerman and the White team defeated the Red 18-16.

"Any time you get another opportunity to match up against someone else, it's going to make you better," Fasching said. "We look at this as another way to evaluate our football team. ...

"The guys on their team are all the same age, or just a bit older, than our guys. So we can get a lot out of going against players we're not familiar with."

After hosting the Johnnies in 2013, the Thunder welcomed fellow MIAC member Concordia the following year. So head coach Scott MacAulay is fairly familiar with opposition from the American Division III college ranks.

"Their guys tend to be a lot bigger and a lot quicker than much of the competition we face," MacAulay said. "So it's a good test for us."

The Thunder compete in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, part of the 19 teams that make up the Canadian Junior Football League. Many players who compete at the CJFL level move on to careers in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Regina finished 6-2 in the regular season a year ago before falling to the Calgary Colts 17-3 in the PFC semifinals. The team is breaking in a new starting quarterback in Sawyer Buettner, who threw for 485 yards and two touchdowns in a backup role last season, according to a recent article in the Regina Leader-Post.

"It's good for us as a program to see the way the American teams carry themselves," MacAulay said. "One of the things we noticed when St. John's was up here the first time is how nice their practice jerseys were. That told us we needed to step things up ourselves. ...

"It's always fun to have their coaches here, and to be able to talk Xs and Os with them. To see the way they do things, and figure out if there are things we can steal and utilize ourselves."

None of the current group of St. John's seniors-to-be were around the last time the Johnnies made this trip. But linebacker Carter Hanson said he has talked to members of last season's senior class and other former players about what to expect.

"I had a phone call with (former defensive lineman) Ben Rossini the other day and he sort of gave me the rundown on what to expect," Hanson said. "With the different rules, he said it's crucial that the older guys provide leadership out there. Our class isn't used to being the top class on the team yet. But we're going to be.

"So this is kind of a nice transition heading into next season."

The trip also offers the chance for some bonding. St. John's will be on a bus for 12 hours or more each way, and the team will be staying as a group in dorms at the University of Regina on Friday and Saturday night before returning to Collegeville on Sunday.

"That's the biggest thing — just the camaraderie of it all," Ackerman said. "We'll be with our teammates in a different country. And we get to play some football. I think it's going to be a really great experience."

Follow Frank Rajkowski on Twitter at @rajko1973 or like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sctimesfrank.