2012 Jostens Cup Game Preview

LONDON BEEFEATERS

Regular Season Record: 7-1, 1ST 269 PF 126 PA

Head Coach: John Vouvalidis

How They Got Here: Defeated St. Leonard Cougars 27-17 in Semi-Final, Edged Hamilton Hurricanes 19-16 in OFC Championship Game
Who to Keep an Eye on: WR Josh Woodman: Woodman was the runaway receiving leader for the Beefs with 44 catches for 722 yards and tied for the club lead in receiving touchdowns with Christian Bailey with 4. Chuck Wall who placed 2nd on the club had only a dozen grabs.
RB Kyle Woldenburg-Puyda: Woldenburg-Puyda has been among the OFC’s outstanding backs over the last 2 seasons. This season was no exception as he ran for 663 yards and scored 7 touchdowns, placing 2nd in the conference behind Hamilton’s Ryan Kotar who had 1064.
DB Brandon Heming: Heming led his club in interceptions with 3, with his longest being an 86-yard return.
DB Ian Barrie: Barrie racked up 36 total tackles (19 solo, 13 assists, 3 special teams stops and 1 special teams assist), good for the team lead in defensive points with 82. He recorded 2 interceptions and came up with a fumble recovery.
The Wildcard: QB Blake Huggins: Huggins was 3rd in the OFC in passing yards with 1537 and touchdown passes with 13 and 3rd in passing efficiency as well with a rating 96.7.
The Skinny: The Jostens Cup clash pits 2 of the best run games going head-to-head against 2 of the best defenses in the country. Expect this game to be decided by the better ground attack.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS

Regular Season Record: 6-2 2nd, 257 PF, 142 PA,

Head Coach: Tom Sargeant

How They Got Here: Downed Edmonton Wildcats 42-11 in conference semi-final, Downed Regina Thunder 37-0 in PFC Championship Game.
Who to Keep an Eye On: REC Kyle McGinnis: Even though he was held off the stats sheet in the conference final victory, the 4th-year pass catcher was Mr. Clutch for the Hilltops in 2012 as whenever they needed a big catch; McGinnis would get his mitts on the ball. He placed 3rd in receiving with 42 catches for 622 yards.
RB Andre Lalonde: Lalonde is part of a triple-threat running attack and he continued his monster playoff run in the PFC title win as he ran for 155 yards as the Toppers ran for 309 total yards, which puts him 283 so far in the playoffs. He was 3rd in the PFC regular season as he racked up 741 yards.
REC John Trumpy: Trumpy’s specialty throughout his junior career has been his ability time and again to haul in the long ball. Trumpy only scored a pair of majors in 2012, but averaged a Milt Stegall-esque 24 yards per reception on 18 catches.
LB Quinn Pierce: Pierce’s stock is on the rise thanks to his efforts in the regular season finale versus Calgary as well as the playoff run as he had a 23-point effort in that contest as well as a 15-point afternoon in the conference championship win. Pierce recorded a 26-yard interception return against the Thunder.

LB Ben Cressman: The 2012 PFC Defensive Player of the Year had yet another solid game in the championship triumph over Regina as he contributed 4 tackles and had 1 assist along with a 26-yard interception return. Cressman was 4th in defensive points with 92 as well as overall tackles with 43.
The Wildcard: For the second straight week, the quarterback spot is highlighted. Not so much as who will start the Jostens Cup Game, but how much work will Matt Karpinka, Jared Andreychuk or even Matt Harder get? If last week’s rout of Regina is anything to go by, whoever starts won’t be doing a whole lot of pitching as Karpinka & Andreychuk combined for only 19 throws. Head Coach Tom Sargeant has demonstrated a very itchy trigger finger in regards to his pivots over the last 2 games as he’s switched up pivots on more than a few occasions.
The Skinny:Simply put, the Hilltops defense is just plain ferocious as their run to a 15th conference title demonstrated as they’ve forced 15 turnovers and surrendered only 11 points so far. Should the Hilltops defense hold true to form on Sunday, they’ll get a shot at a 3rd straight Canadian crown.