CJFL: PFC week 7 preview “Battle of Edmonton & Saskatchewan”

                EDMONTON HUSKIES AT EDMONTON WILDCATS   SEPT.21   7 PM

Another edition of the “Black & Blue Bowl” between the Clarke Park co-tenants takes place on a rare Friday night.
The Huskies remain tied for last in the conference with Winnipeg following a 39-36 home defeat against Regina that nearly saw Edmonton rally from a 36-14 deficit thanks to Trevor Erdmann’s first three touchdown passes of the year and record a 22-point 4th quarter in the process. But as head coach Rick Walters told his club afterwards, moral victories are pointless as the most meaningful stat in the standings still reads zero.

Receiver Anthony Barrett led the Huskies with 6 catches for 103, with a 40-yard touchdown connection from Erdmann being the Huskies first touchdown via the overland route.
Veteran defensive back Kevin Francis had a huge night against the Thunder with 5 tackles and a pair of quarterback sacks for 16 points while linebacker Brandt Kolybaba had 7 tackles in the loss.

The Wildcats come into Friday’s game following their loss in Calgary. It was a game where the Cats possibly deserved a better fate. The Cats had a wide edge in first downs, 31-17 and as well in net offense, putting up nearly 500 yards of it, but when the opposing defense allows only field goals as Special Teams Player of the Week Ideen Samadi, who had 4 of them, you’ll end up on the wrong end of the stat that counts most. However, when talking about the Cats offense, tailback Jordan Samoil is the first topic of discussion. Samoil, who can just about lay claim to the PFC rushing title as he owns a 500+ yard lead, ran for 161 more and has 9 touchdowns on the season.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS AT REGINA THUNDER SEPT. 22 7PM

The second half of this year’s Shrine Bowl series will have a lot more than bragging rights up for grabs between the Saskatchewan sides. If Saskatoon wins on Saturday evening, they’ll keep pace in the chase for first in the conference. Should Regina win, add to that a Wildcats win on Friday and friends, you’ll have a logjam for second spot in the conference with only 2 weeks remaining in the season.
The Hilltops looked like a finely tuned machine in their 43-9 whipping of Winnipeg last Sunday at Gordie Howe Bowl as Head Coach Tom Sargeant utilized 4 different passers who completed at least one pass to 12, that’s right, 12 receivers on their way to amassing 451 yards of offense.
Matt Karpinka made his first start since returning from a shoulder injury a successful one as he passed for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns with Graham Unruh being his favorite target as Unruh had 7 catches for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of things, veteran linebacker Dylan Kemp had a great afternoon against Winnipeg with 3 tackles, 2 assisted stops and recording 3 special teams tackles.

The Thunder got back to their winning ways with a victory in Edmonton in a contest where the Huskies nearly rallied from 22 points down to grab the win.  Kyle Siemens, who has been a relief ace of sorts, picked up a win in his first start, throwing for 409 yards and 4 touchdowns and claimed Offensive Player of the Week honors to boot. Clay Cooke was Siemens’ favorite target, as he recorded 7 catches for 145 yards and found the end zone on two occasions.
Yianni Cabylis, who was Defensive Player of the week in Week 5 leads the PFC in defensive points with 79.

The Hilltops took the front end of the season series by a 24-9 score on September 8th.

   CALGARY COLTS AT WINNIPEG RIFLES- SUNDAY SEPT.23 NOON

The Colts will be aiming to keep their perfect record intact against a struggling Rifles club.
Calgary grinded out a home win against the Wildcats last week, however, Head Coach John Stevens wasn’t very pleased.
The Colt offense despite putting up 31 points, did struggle as quarterback Derek Cooper completed just 9 of 19 passes for 152 yards. But tailback Cameron Fox undoubtedly turned some heads as he dashed for 81 yards on 6 carries and added 1 catch as well.
The heart of the Colts is its defense, led by Stephen Dereniwski who currently sits 3rd in the defensive points race with 69.5. He added another 7 tackles last Sunday, upping his conference leading total to 28. Defensive Player of the Week Spencer Cole had 5 tackles and added 7 assists and chalked up a forced fumble as well last Sunday.
The Rifles playoff hopes may officially be dashed by game time on Sunday. Winnipeg dropped their fifth straight in Saskatoon and quarterback John Kiesman struggled mightily at times as he completed only 11 of 33 passes on the day. Running back Choe Sesay, in the lineup for an injured Martin Hovi, ran for 79 yards & receiver Brett Carter made 6 more grabs for 123 yards to stay in the conference lead. But for the Rifles, they’ll need all hands on deck to dent the Colt defense which is one of the best & toughest in the PFC.
Defensive Back Donovan Gregoire had his usual stellar effort against the Hilltops as he had 5 solo tackles and assisted on 3 others, however the defense needs to shore itself up in a hurry as they surrendered 43 points and 451 yards of net offense last week.