PFC WEEK 8:
The Hilltops, Thunders and Rifles claim victory
Photo courtesy of Jody Bailey
The PFC Week 8 is in the books as the Saskatoon Hilltops, Regina Thunder and Winnipeg Rifles each won.
THUNDER 30 – COLTS 20
The Game of the Week was in Calgary as the Colts hosted the Regina Thunder in a second place showdown.
It was the Thunder that wore down the Colts defence with the run game capturing a 30-20 victory to move into sole possession of second place heading into the final weekend of the year.
Colton Klassen carried 29 times for 175 yards and dominated. Victor St. Pierre rushed six times and scored a touchdown.
Through the air Jaeden Marwick finished 17 of 22 for 139 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes. Preston Bews caught four passes for a team high 45 yards and a major. Ashton Vien’s only catch was a four yard touchdown strike.
Thunder kicker Kristopher Calcutt connected on three field goals including one from 38 yards.
The Thunder defence was terrific in the fourth quarter, shutting out the Colts offence. Marcus Hall led the club with four tackles, Dustin Erbach picked off a pass and Vien blocked a kick. Matthew Williams and Ryan Filyk recovered fumbles.
Heading into the final weekend the Thunder (5-2) will host the Edmonton Huskies (1-6) on Sunday afternoon.
The Calgary Colts were frustrated by the Thunder defence gaining just 88 yards on the ground. The ineffective running attack forced the Colts to throw.
Quarterback John Kiesman was 18 of 33 for 330 yards and a major. He found eight different receivers as Jesse Kutz led the way with three catches and 120 yards and the lone major.
The Colts did manage a rushing touchdown as Dylan Minshull scored on one of his nine carries.
On the defensive side of the ball Dylan Niedermaier had a terrific game, making a game high eight tackles, five assists and forced a fumble. Conner Robinson picked off a pass and J-Min Pelley collected a pair of sacks. Chris Schwarz and Alex Ogbongbemigo also had a sack while Colton Burr and Fabian Ross recovered fumbles.
On Sunday the Colts (4-3) will head to Saskatoon to face the top seeded Hilltops (7-0) looking for payback after a Week 1 loss.
HILLTOPS 41 – WILDCATS 17
Speaking of the Hilltops they played their final road game of the season blasting the Edmonton Wildcats 41-17 behind 537 yards of total offence and 26 first downs.
The offence was extremely balanced with 276 yards through the air and 263 on the ground. Quarterback Jared Andreychuk was 10 of 25 for 254 yards and threw three touchdowns. His top target was Evan Kopchynski who made five receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Turple lone reception was a nine yard touchdown strike.
On the ground Logan Fischer and the offensive line was simply great. Fischer ran 18 times for 153 yards and a score, while Des Vessey also scored on nine carries.
Defensively the Toppers allowed all 17 points in the second quarter. Quinn Pierce made seven tackles, Cole Benkic intercepted a pass and Matt Kozun and Blake Adams had a sack each.
The Hilltops (7-0) will play for their first undefeated season since 2008 on Sunday when they host the Colts (4-3).
The Edmonton Wildcats only managed 62 yards on the ground against the Hilltops defence and did all of their scoring the second quarter.
Quarterback Jordan Olson finished 25 of 42 for 278 yards and a touchdown to Landyn Vick. Ryan Smith caught nine passes for 92 yards and Tristan Schutlenkamper hauled in six passes for 91 yards.
Olson did rush four times and did score a major with his legs.
The Cats defence was on the field for the majority of the game. James Ens collected a Conference high nine tackles and recovered a fumble. Cameron Maschmeyer tallied five tackles and Tony Savchuk intercepted a pass.
The Wildcats (1-6) will host the Winnipeg Rifles (3-4) on Sunday in the regular season finale.
RIFLES 60 – HUSKIES 8
The Rifles won their third game of the season by blowing out the Edmonton Huskies 60-8 collecting 551 yards of total offence.
Quarterback Jamie Ybarra Jr had his best game as a Rifles finishing 17 of 24 for 347 yards and threw four touchdowns. Former Okanagan Sun Zach Regert caught six balls for 113 yards, Julian Barnares caught a pair of Ybarra’s touchdowns, while Ian Lee and Michael Ritchott had the others.
In the run game Odun Ogidan rushed 11 times for 96 yards and score. Ritchott had a second touchdown on the ground and Timothy Demidiuk also scored a major.
The Rifles special teams also got on the scoreboard as Kai Madsen returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown.
Defensively Bready Will was outstanding with six tackles, three special teams tackles, had a knockdown and two interceptions. Michael Penner had eight tackles, Tyrone Hastings had the lone sack and Joshua Onyebuchi and Evan Vitt recovered fumbles.
The Rifles (3-4) have clinched the final playoff spot and will try to finish 500 when they go back to Edmonton to face the Wildcats (1-6) on Sunday.
The Edmonton Huskies dropped their third straight despite collected 424 yards of total offence and a very balanced attack. They tallied 230 yards on the ground and 232 through the air.
Quarterback Bradley Launhardt finished 10 of 19 for 145 yards and a touchdown to Dylan Stanton for the lone score. Eight different receivers hauled in a pass.
Tyler Lewis led the charge on the ground with 15 carries and 119 yards.
On the defensive side Chase Paylor, Jassen Brown and Branden Modin each made five tackles. Paylor also had a sack and Braden Jackson intercepted a pass.
The Huskies (1-6) will close out the 2015 season with a trip to Regina (5-2) to face the Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
BCFC WEEK 10:
The Sun, Rams and Raiders win in the finale
The regular season came to close on Saturday as the Okanagan Sun, VI Raiders and Langley Rams each head into the playoffs with a victory.
SUN 51 – BRONCOS 38
The Sun become the first undefeated team since 2011 following their 51-38 win in Kamloops with both offences exploding.
Offensively the Sun tallied 513 total yards. Quarterback Cam Bedore was 21 of 25 for 347 yards and threw three touchdown passes to Kyle Kawamoto. Both Kawamoto and Kyle Patchell had huge games. Kawamoto hauled in eight passes for 150 yards and became the second receiver to reach the 1,000 yard plateau this season. Patchell caught 11 passes for 174 yards on the night.
The ground game was led by rookie Abdi Nasir-Abdi and his four touchdowns on 16 carries.
Defensively the Sun set a new Canadian Junior Football League record for sacks in a single season. The unit recorded four more on Saturday night, giving them 40 this season and setting the new record. Jonas Gering, Elias Rodriguez, Kent Lawrence and Eli Haynes collected the sacks. Keith Zyla tallied six solo tackles to led the club while Keagan Hughes five.
The Sun (10-0) are the #1 seed heading into the post season and will host the Broncos (5-5) on Sunday October 18th in the BCFC semi-final. It’ll be the first playoff meeting for this Interior Division rival.
The Kamloops Broncos played a franchise best against the Sun, particularly the offence, collecting 465 yards and scored more points against the Sun than any other team this year.
Quarterback Stephen Schuweiler in his final regular season game was 37 of 52 for 448 yards and threw four touchdown passes. His main target was Derek Yachison who hauled in a game high 14 passes for 129 yards and caught a pair to majors. Yachison became the third receiver this season to reach the 1,000 yard plateau. Devin Csincsa caught nine balls for 102 yards and a major and Jacob Palmarin tracked down six passes for 126 yards and a score.
On the defensive side Ryan Fries, also in his final regular season junior game made six tackles and recovered a fumble. Tristan Murray collected the lone sack and Curtis Dingwall jumped on a fumble.
The Broncos (5-5) will play in their third straight road playoff game on October 18 when they visit the Sun (10-0) at 1:00pm. It’ll be the third game between these two teams five weeks.
RAIDERS 38 – HUSKERS 9
The Vancouver Island Raiders will host the other semi-final game after beating the Valley Huskers 38-9 on Saturday afternoon, despite not scoring a point the second half.
Quarterback Liam O’Brien was 13 of 22 for 213 yards and threw four more touchdown passes. Dustin Rodriguez caught three passes, two for touchdowns. Both Taylor Flavel and Dustin Hamm caught the other majors.
Flavel also led the ground game carrying 10 times and scored a touchdown.
On the defence the Raiders allowed just five yards on the ground. Cole Virtanen, Nigel Henry and Adam McDonald each made four tackles. Virtanen also recovered a fumble while Doug Thornton tallied the lone sack.
The Raiders (7-3) will host the Langley Rams (6-4) on Saturday October 17th at 1:00pm.
The Valley Huskers conclude a winless season and are the first team to go winless since 2011.
Quarterback Noah Falconer spread the ball around completing passes to nine different receivers. He finished 25 of 39 for 283 yards and threw a touchdown pass. Blake Draper caught a game high eight passes for 85 yards and the touchdown.
The Huskers “D” tallied five sacks led by James Sturgeon who had a pair. Raphael Olivares, Conner Smith and Travis Dietrich each had one. Smith also had a game high six tackles.
This offseason the Huskers will keep a number of their young players will no doubt come back stronger in 2016.
RAMS 35 – REBELS 23
The Langley Rams secured the third spot on Saturday afternoon with an exciting 35-23 victory over the home town Westshore Rebels.
The Rams offence was balanced as quarterback Dylan Tucker completed 12 of 25 for 244 yards and threw three touchdowns. Dallas Yassinsky caught two passes, both for touchdowns, while Seye Akinsanmi collected a game high 91 yards and the other touchdown.
The ground game tallied 173 yards led by Ryan MacDonald who galloped 11 times for 102 yards. Joe Carter carried 10 times for 51 yards.
The Rams defence shutout the Rebels in two of the three quarters, but allowed 15 points in the fourth quarter to make the game close. Brock Gowanlock led the club with four tackles and a sack and Darrian Matassa-Fung recovered a fumble.
The Rams (6-4) will now head to the Island to face the Raiders (7-3) on Saturday October 17th at 1:00pm in a BCFC semi-final.
The Westshore Rebels made their final regular season game an excited one scoring 15 points in the final frame.
Quarterback Hunter Lake, in his final BCFC game completed 16 of 26 for 258 yards and threw three touchdown passes.
An incredible 11 different receivers caught passes on Saturday, Darcy Cherneff, Nick Spindor and Taylin Davies each hauled in majors.
Defensively the Rebels were led by James Bradley’s four tackles. Jordan Goertzen picked off a pass and Delvyn Waddell blocked a kick.
The Rebels finish the season 2-8 but saw some tremendous growth and will be ready to compete in 2016.
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