PFC Semi Final Sunday Preview: Hilltops v Rifles, Colts v Thunder

Winnipeg Rifles (3-4-1) @ Saskatoon Hilltops (7-1) – Noon – October 16 @ Griffiths Stadium in Potash Corp Park

The Winnipeg Rifles make their seemingly annual semi-final trip to Saskatoon. This will be the third time in four years & fourth overall time they battle the Toppers. The Toppers have won all 4 playoff pairings including a 59-25 decision in 2010.

The Rifles come into the playoffs with the best offensive unit in the conference with pivot Ryan Marsch at the controls coming off a record-setting regular season, having thrown for 3,030 yards, a brand-new CJFL single-season record and tying the conference mark for touchdown passes with 31. Alex Vitt, Derek Dean & Matt Lariviere finished 1st, 2nd & 4th respectively in receiving yards. Don’t be at all surprised to see tailback Martin Hovi bounce back on Sunday after having a rough last few games. He rushed for 237 yards on 21 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns as Winnipeg nearly made a mammoth comeback in the ’10 semi-final.

The Hilltops will be undoubtedly in a surly frame of mind after the Edmonton Huskies knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 31-22 come-from-behind win. The first-stringers led by quarterback Chase Bradshaw looked very impressive last Sunday as he passed for 125 yards in about 25 minutes of work and Regan Schuler scored a pair of sixpointers as they charged out to a 22-0 lead. When Head Coach Tom Sargeant gave the keys to the second stringers, the car so to speak, ended up going in reverse as the Huskies scored 31 straight points to get the win.

The key to a Winnipeg upset is as usual, Ryan Marsch & company. This game will likely be another air show between Marsch & Bradshaw. If Winnipeg is to stay step-for-step with the Toppers, they must get stellar play from their defense.

They can ill afford to spot Saskatoon 20+ points as has been the case over the last two seasons. Saskatoon, as stated before will be a surly bunch and will go for the knockout blow early. PFC rushing champion Regan Schuler will be a huge piece of the puzzle. If Bradshaw connects with his receivers as he did 2 weeks ago in a 48-28 road win against the Rifles, they’ll punch their ticket to the PFC title game.

Regina Thunder (5-3) @ Calgary Colts (5-2-1) – 1:00 pm – October 16 @ McMahon Stadium

This will be the second year in a row that the Thunder & Colts meet one another in the semi-finals, but this year they’ll lock horns at McMahon Stadium. The Thunder won last year’s semi-final clash 17-6 at Mosaic Stadium as the teams played through a fierce wind.

Regina enters the playoffs on a 4-game roll, which includes an impressive 53-37 win over the Edmonton Wildcats on the road last Sunday. Quarterback Wyatt Catley threw for 372 yards and 5 scores in the win and finished 2011 with 2,080 yards along with 19 touchdowns. Receiver Clay Cooke led his club in receiving yards with 631 yards and 6 touchdowns. Kolten Solomon returned from injury and picked up right from where he left off; reeling in 9 passes for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finishes the regular season with 448 yards.

The Thunder ground game is seemingly split between Thomas Ringlein & Nick Brown at the moment. Ringlein racked up 446 yards on the year, while Brown had 230.

Calgary is led by a steady ground game with Cuong Thai Lieu pounding the rock as had 574 yards and 6 touchdowns. The 574 yards ranked 4th in the conference and 6 touchdowns placed him 1 back of Regan Schuler. Colts pivot Clayton Masikewich had an up and down campaign throwing for 1.413 yards and 13 scores.

The Colts defense has some of the best in the conference as linebacker Steve Dereniwski was runner-up in the defensive points standings with 104.5. Defensive back Skylar Pinchak placed 5th with 85 and had a clutch interception against Winnipeg, which preserved the home playoff date. Defensive end Prince Baffoh led the PFC in quarterback sacks, racking up 7.5.

If anything, this semi-final is a toss-up as this one looks to be a defensive battle on paper as both defenses are very strong as the Colts found out about Regina’s crew when they last met on October 2nd at Mosaic Stadium. Calgary was held to a paltry 99 yards of offense that day.
The key to a Colts win will be if the offense has a solid all-around game, they should advance. But if Catley & company come out with guns a-blazing for the Thunder, Regina will be on their way to the PFC title game.