CJFL: PFC week 8 preview

CALGARY COLTS AT EDMONTON HUSKIES    SEPT.29   7PM

The Colts head up the road looking to retain top spot in the conference and put a little more room between themselves & the hard-charging Saskatoon Hilltops & pesky Edmonton Wildcats. Calgary recorded a 32-9 win over the Huskies in their first meeting back on September 9th.
The Calgary club played their best game of 2012 in all facets of the game as they routed the Winnipeg Rifles 63-22 last Sunday. Quarterback Derek Cooper launched himself into the top 3 thanks to his 16 for 22 afternoon. The Colts defense made an even bigger contribution as PFC Defensive Player of the Week Jermaine Gabriel, who also laid claim to Special Teams honors had a pair of interceptions that set up touchdowns, while defensive back Patrick Macdonald returned a Tyler Vieira interception back 58 yards for a 4th quarter score.
The Huskies offense with Trevor Erdmann at the controls has really picked up steam over the last 2 weeks as they’ve put up 36 & 34 points respectively. Erdmann has surged into first among PFC passers with 1290 yards and thrown for 6 majors, all of those coming in the last 2 games.
However, you need a good defense to match a good offense to go places and giving up 410 yards along the ground and 630 yards in addition to 48 points won’t get things done as the Huskies still share last in the conference with Winnipeg.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS AT EDMONTON WILDCATS SEPT. 30 1PM

The teams meet for the first & only time this season as the Hilltops play their second of three in a row on the road to finish up the season, while the Wildcats see the contest as a golden opportunity to move into a tie for second with Saskatoon with an eye toward the unbeaten Calgary Colts who sit alone on top.
Matt Karpinka has regained the starting pivot spot and led his club to their two best offensive efforts of 2012 as they put up 43 in their home finale against Winnipeg in addition to scoring 42 last Saturday against Regina. Karpinka had a workmanlike game as he tossed for 248 yards & 3 touchdowns in the win. John Trumpy was Karpinka’s prime target in the win over the Thunder as he caught 3 passes for 97 yards, but if Trumpy is Karpinka’s number 1 target, then Graham Unruh is making a serious case to be 1A as he’s found the end zone 4 times in the last 2 contests. Saturday’s contest features the two best ground attacks in the conference. The Hilltops own one of the CJFL’s best run games with a pair of legitimate first string rushers in Andre Lalonde and Brendon Gryba who hold down 4th & 6th respectively in the top 10. Lalonde has ran for 440 yards, while Gryba has rumbled for 387.
On the other side, Jordan Samoil feasted on the Edmonton Huskie defense in the Cats 48-34 win last Friday as he ran for a conference & CJFL record 365 yards on 33 carries, scoring 4 times. With the latest gargantuan performance, he leads the land with 1279 yards along the ground and a baker’s dozen in the touchdown column. However, the offense isn’t all Samoil, all the time. Quarterback Jordan Olson occupies 3rd spot in the conference in passing yardage with 1169. Olson’s go-to-guy is Brad Quartel who sits 7th in the conference with 368 yards on 30 catches with 2 touchdowns.

REGINA THUNDER AT WINNIPEG RIFLES- SUNDAY SEPT.30 NOON

The Thunder head to Winnipeg back at the .500 mark after a home loss to the Saskatoon Hilltops, while the Rifles playoff hopes were dealt the death blow in large part to Calgary’s CJFL record-breaking 35-point 4th quarter last Sunday. The Thunder downed Winnipeg 39-16 in their  first meeting on August 26th.
As of this writing, Thunder boss Erwin Klempner has not designated a starter at quarterback on Sunday. Asher Hastings returned to the lineup & struggled against Saskatoon as he completed 7 of 13 passes for 89 yards. Kyle Siemens answered the call from the bullpen for the second half and passed for a pair of touchdowns, but the game was well out of reach.
Look for the Thunder to shape up their run game in time for the playoffs as they only ran for 86 yards in last Saturday’s game.
The Rifles as previously mentioned, saw their playoff hopes go down for the count last Sunday. But give them credit as they played the Colts tough for three quarters before the fourth quarter meltdown.
Tyler Vieira, who came in for an injured John Kiesman early in last week’s contest, had a solid effort as he completed 13 of 20 passes for a pair of touchdowns, but 3 interceptions, including 2 that led to 14 of the Colts 35-point output, proved to be his undoing. Brett Carter expanded on his conference receiving lead as he made 8 grabs for 113 yards, giving him 38 catches for 642 yards.
Rifles Head Coach Greg Graceffo looks upon his club’s final two games as a chance to make the most of their opportunities and learn from the defeat against Calgary as well as pressing hard to achieve success. But penalties & mistakes have been the Rifles Achilles all season long.