Kendal’s Colts all set to saddle up in PFC final versus host Hilltops

Well done, Coach Kendal! Here’s mud in yer eye . . . and we don’t mean that literally.

Veteran head coach Keith Kendal has led his Calgary Colts back to the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) championship final for the fourth time in club history, booking a date with the defending national junior champion Saskatoon Hilltops on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 12 p.m. at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium.

And Kendal, now in his 10th season overall at the club’s helm, would dearly love to wash away the memories of his club’s last trip to the conference championship in 2008 — when the Colts surrendered 31 first-half points, and lost 31-14 to the Hilltops, in the muddy quagmire otherwise known as Saskatoon’s Gordie Howe Bowl.

“Last time we went there, it was in a mud bowl. This time, we’re playing on turf, and that’ll be a little bit of a help for us,” notes Kendal. “But they are always a very good, very tough football team. Very, very well coached.

“Saskatoon’s been that nemesis forever. It would be so nice to go there and crack that goose egg.”

The Hilltops, winners of five Canadian Junior Football League titles last decade, finished atop PFC standings this season at 7-1 — but only qualified for the conference final on Sunday by the narrowest of margins, needing two touchdowns in the final two minutes to squeak past the visiting Winnipeg Rifles 36-34 in a semifinal. The Colts, meanwhile, took the Regina Thunder to the woodshed in their own semi, scoring 34 points off interceptions in a 55-6 romp at McMahon Stadium.

The Hilltops finished the regular season with the PFC’s top rusher in Regan Schuler, who carried the rock for 836 yards, averaging 5.57 yards a carry, and a conference-high seven touchdowns. Calgary’s Cuong Thai Lieu (3rd year, Nanaimo, B.C., John Barsby HS), meanwhile, rambled into the end zone six times, and was fourth overall with 574 yards along the ground.

The teams’ starting quarterbacks, Saskatoon’s Chase Bradshaw and Calgary’s Clayton Masikewich (3rd year, Calgary, John G. Diefenbaker HS), were third and fourth, respectively, in regular-season passing yardage with 1,711 and 1,413, respectively. Bradshaw threw for 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while Masikewich tossed 13 TDs and only six picks.

Sunday’s final will feature the top two defensive teams in the conference, with Saskatoon surrendering 139 regular-season points and Calgary giving up 147. Individually speaking, the Colts finished the eight-game campaign with six players among the top 12 on the defensive points leaderboard — linebacker Stephen Dereniwski (2nd year, Medicine Hat, Alta., Medicine Hat HS), second overall with 104.5; halfback Skylar Pinchak (4th year, Cardston, Alta., Cardston HS), fifth with 88; cornerback and 2010 CJFL all-star Alex Saretsky (5th year, Cochrane, Alta., Cochrane HS), seventh with 79; linebacker Jase Skelton (3rd year, Medicine Hat, Alta., Medicine Hat HS), eighth with 77; safety Pat MacDonald (3rd year, Calgary, St. Mary’s HS), 11th with 71; and rush end Prince Baffoh (3rd year, Hamilton, Ont., BCFC Vancouver), 12th with 69.5.

“Saskatoon, obviously, is a tough team. They always are,” says Pinchak. “We think we match up well with them. Whoever comes out and makes fewer mistakes on Sunday is going to win this game.”

Historically speaking, the Colts have won two of the three PFC finals they’ve played. With Kendal at the controls, Calgary defeated the Hilltops 33-30 in the 1989 title game, and dispatched the Regina Rams 45-14 in 1990, en route to back-to-back national junior crowns.

Calgary and Saskatoon met once during the 2011 regular season, with the ’Toppers winning 22-15 at McMahon Stadium on Sept. 18.

Ten members of the Colts are graduating from junior football after this season, and will be playing their final PFC game on Sunday — Baffoh, Lieu, Masikewich, Saretsky, Skelton, running back Taylor Austin (4th year, Lethbridge, Alta., Catholic Central HS), defensive lineman Peter Dominic (4th year, Calgary, Notre Dame HS), linebacker Layne Semenchuk (1st year, Calgary, Bowness HS), offensive lineman Allan Lazarenko (5th year, Calgary, Springbank HS), and cornerback Robbie Morgan (5th year, Calgary, John G. Diefenbaker HS).

The Colts will practice nightly at 7 p.m. at Optimist Athletic Park from Wednesday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 21.

They’ll board the team bus for Saskatoon on Saturday, Oct. 22. The PFC’s annual awards banquet will be held in ’Toon Town on Saturday night.

Sunday’s final will be broadcast live by Saskatoon radio station CJWW 600, with a pre-game show at 11:30 a.m. and kickoff at noon. Listen live to the game by visiting www.cjwwradio.com