PFC Week 2: HIlltops take “Battle of Saskatchewan”, both Edmonton squads victorious

The Game of the Week in the PFC was the first “Battle of Saskatchewan” match up of the season as the Saskatoon Hilltops beat the Regina Thunder 30-15.

The Hilltops would pound the ball on the ground with five different ball carriers as Andre Lalonde would lead the way with 23 carries for 181 yards.  Nolan Graham rushed eight times for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Matt Karpinka would finish just seven of 15 for 101 yards and threw two touchdowns and two interceptions.  Chad Braun caught three passes in total for 58 yards and both touchdowns.

Kicker Brett Thorarinsson was a perfect three for three in field goals, his longest being 34 yards.

The Hilltops “D” would force four interceptions as Cole Benkic, Derek Sadownick, Taylor Rehn and Chris Friesen each had one.  Quinn Pierce would lead the club with five tackles, while Brett Pisio.  Adam Morrison recorded the lone sack.

The Hilltops (2-0) will have a bye during the Labour Day long weekend, then will host the Thunder (1-1) on Saturday September 7.

The Regina Thunder were held without a touchdown in their home opener.

Starting quarterback Asher Hastings was ineffective completing one pass, throwing two interceptions in five attempts.  Backup Kyle Siemens would play the majority of the game, finishing 14 of 32 for 236 yards, but also threw two picks.

Six different receivers caught passes, while Trysten Dyce, Daniel Jacob Carr, Brady Keller and Will Heward each hauled in three.

On the ground Nick Brown would carry 12 times for just 28 yards.  Justin Banin rushed seven times for 40 yards.

The only scoring came from kicker William McGee, who was a perfect five for five in field goal attempts, his longest travelling 33 yards.

The Thunder defense was led by Michael Bittman, who tallied seven tackles and forced a fumble. Christian Mbanza recorded an interception while Tanner Hope had a pick and a fumble recovery.  Chris Tennicliffe, Brett Selinger and Shawn Russell also had big games recording six tackles each.

The Thunder (1-1) will face the Saskatoon Hilltops (2-0) following the Labour Day bye weekend.

 

The Edmonton Huskies and Winnipeg Rifles displayed two high flying offenses in Week 2 combining for 1,112 yards of total offense as the Huskies held on for a 36-29 victory.

Huskies quarterback Trevor Erdmann would finish 17 of 27 for 341 yards and threw three touchdown passes.  His favourite target was Colton Balicki who caught seven balls for 105 yards and a major.  Both Anthony Barrett and James Aldred each tallied two catches and a touchdown.  Barrett’s was a 94 yard TD pass.The ground attack of the Huskies was led by Jimmie Airey who would scamper 21 times for 189 yards and a score.

The Huskies defense was led by Dillon Garry who compiled six tackles and an assist.  Rees Paterson chipped in with five stops. Teno Clarke had a sack, while Craig Dorey had a sack and recovered a fumble.

The Huskies (2-0) will host the Calgary Colts (0-2) on Saturday in the PFC’s only game of the Labour Day weekend.

The Winnipeg Rifles fall in their 2013 home opener at Investors Field despite a terrific game from quarterback Ryan Marsch.  He would finish 24 of 39 for 446 yards and threw four touchdown passes.  His “go-to” receiver was Kurt Goodrich who had a Conference high 11 receptions for 210 yards and a major.   Matthew Lariviere caught five balls for 95 yards and a score while Julian Banares and NIclas Bembenek also hauled in touchdown passes.

The Rifles run game was led by Devin Cox who had eight carries for 62 yards.  Thomas Coates carried seven times for just 21 yards.

Defensively the Rifles forced two interceptions as Joshua Onyebuchi and Tain Heywood each picked off passes.  Both Brooks Falloon and Christian Brown-Fillion led the club with four tackles each.

Following next weekend’s bye the Rifles (0-2) will travel to Calgary to take on the Colts (0-2).

Photo courtesy of Winnipeg Rifles

 

The Edmonton Wildcats would more than double the Calgary Colts in total offensive yards on route to a 29-8 victory, their first of the season.

The Wildcats would pound the rock for 249 yards led by Levon Hawreliak who would rush 23 times for 131 and two touchdowns.  Quarterback Jordan Olson rushed nine times for 98 yards, while Chase Nahrebeski rushed twice and score a short touchdown.

Through the air Olson would finish 18 of 24 for 246 yards, finding Brad Quartel 10 times for 146 yards.  He would also hit Ryan Smith five times for 73 yards.

Defensively the Cats played a sound game as they were led by Kael Schryver who tallied six tackles.    Aiden Panchyshyn and Isaiah Hoeppner shared a sack.

Following the Labour Day bye week, the Wildcats (1-1) will look for payback when they host their cross town rivals, the Huskies (2-0) on Sunday September 8.

The Calgary Colts, who didn’t lose a game in the regular season last year, have lost their first two this season, compiling just 219 yards of offense against the Wildcats and didn’t score a touchdown.

The Colts used two quarterbacks as Jeremy Long finished four of nine for 45 yards and Kiefer Olson completed five of 14 passes for 66 yards.  They would find Richard Sawatsky three times for 54 yards to lead the club.

On the ground the Cam Fox carried the load, rushing 17 times for 97 yards.

Kicker Andrew Fabian was a perfect two for two in field goal attempts.

The defensive side of the ball the Colts were led by Vince Greco who recorded seven tackles.  Stephen Dereniwski had six tackles and the lone interception, while Jakub Jakoubek recovered a fumble.  Victor Fayemi, Zach McEachern and Richard Pilkington also recorded six tackles each.

The Colts (0-2) will travel to Edmonton for a date with the Huskies (2-0) on Saturday in the lone PFC game of the weekend.T