Calgary Colts – 49 @ Winnipeg Rifles – 33 September 25 @ Canad Inns Stadium

Sunday’s game was a classic offense versus defense match-up as the Rifles offense confronted a stingy Colts defense. But while the Rifle offense put a few dents in the Calgary armour, it was Clayton Masikewich & company that were too much for the Rifle defense on this Sunday and the result was a 49-33 Calgary victory.

The home side scored first as it worked into a gusty south wind as Ryan Marsch found Kurt Goodrich for a 6-yard touchdown and add the Brad Mikoluff point after; it was 7-0 nearly 3 minutes in. The Colts would tie the score in short order as Clayton Masikewich found Ben Hnatiuk open and Hnatiuk scooted down the sideline for a 36-yard major.

Calgary took their first lead later in the period as rookie pass-catcher Mac Sarro took an arrow from Masikewich and scored on 53-yard pass-and-run to make it 14-7. The air show continued on the next Rifle drive as Marsch found Alex Vitt for a 63-yard bomb that took it down to the Colt 22. On a 3rd-and-2 at the Calgary 14, Marsch executed a perfect playaction fake and ran 14 yards to paydirt to make it a 14-14 game after one quarter.

Winnipeg regained the lead 4:06 into the second quarter as Mikoluff made good on a 26-yard field goal. But only 2 plays after that, Clayton Masikewich threw a quick hitch along the line of scrimmage to Rodreke Joseph, who would weave his way 75 yards to put the Colts back in front to stay at 21-17. Fabian would give up a safety going into the wind to make it a 2-point game; but would hit a 32-yard field goal to give the Colts a 5-point edge at the half.

The third quarter would tell the tale as the Rifles had the wind, but were only to able to muster a 58-yard Mikoluff single on a missed field goal, while the Colts would tally a baker’s dozen as Fabian notched a pair of field goals and backup pivot Jeremy Long dashed 13 yards for the score that put Calgary up 37-20 after 3.

After Mikoluff gave up a safety, the Rifles would get a major as Matt Lariviere took a 1-yard pass from Marsch to draw within 12. But Calgary tailback Cuong Thai Lieu, who the Rifles defense kept in check for most of the day, erupted in the 4th, going 31 yards for a score to restore the 19-point margin with under 2 minutes remaining. Fabian would round out the
Colt scoring with his 4th placement of the afternoon from 29 yards away 3 plays after a Marsch interception. Marsch would score his 2nd TD of the day with 16 seconds left, but a 2-point try went incomplete.

Marsch went 26-50 for 425 yards with 2 touchdowns and a pair of picks. 2 Rifles receivers had 100-yard receiving days; Alex Vitt had 8 grabs for 126 yards, while Brett Carter had 5 for 106. Martin Hovi had 71 yards on a dozen carries. The Rifle offense racked up 516 yards, while the Colts picked up 412.

Masikewich went 13-27 for 217 yards with 2 majors and an interception. Lieu ran 20 times for 128 yards, while Joseph was Masikewich’s go-to guy with 5 grabs for 52 yards.

Winnipeg closes out their home schedule next Sunday as they host the 6-0 Hilltops at noon. The Colts will head to Regina next week.

Regina Thunder – 42 @ Edmonton Huskies – 4 – September 25 @ Clarke Park

The Thunder came into Sunday’s game looking to get back to the .500 mark, while the Huskies looked to break their losing streak which stands at 29.

Regina conceded a single from Jonathan Heidebrecht on the game’s opening kickoff, but after that it was all Thunder as they took a 2-1 lead on a safety at the 11:20 mark. Camille Lagimodiere scored a major on the final play to vault Regina into a 9-1 lead. Receiver Clay Cooke would cash in for his first of 2 TD catches from Asher Hastings who started in place
of an injured Wyatt Catley. Ben Koot would give the Thunder a 17-point lead with a 45-yard field goal.

The Thunder would crank it up again in the third frame as Cooke & Will Heward each found paydirt, while Huskie kicker Heidebrecht was good on a 36-yard field goal to make it a 32-4 game after three.

Regina rounded out the scoring as Koot was good on a 43-yard field goal & tailback Nick Brown added a touchdown of his own with 5 minutes left.

The Thunder head home to play Calgary, while the Huskies will host the Wildcats in a battle of out of playoff contention clubs next Saturday.

Edmonton Wildcats – 7 @ Saskatoon Hilltops 10 – September 25 @ Gordie Howe Bowl

The Wildcats came into Gordie Howe Bowl on a high after getting their first win over their co-tenants Huskies, while the home side aimed for their sixth straight victory and put them one win away from a second straight regular season crown.

Both defenses held serve in a scoreless opening quarter and the scoreless stalemate would continue into the ninth minute of the middle fame when Hilltop pivot Chase Bradshaw got his 2nd rushing TD in as many weeks as he dashed 18 yards to the Wildcats end zone to put his club up 7-0. The Wildcat defense held the 5th-year passer to only 4 completions in 13
attempts for 100 yards and intercepted 2 passes.

Edmonton drew even as Jordan Olson, who was 13 of 19 for 218 yards in the first half, found Andrew Johnson for an 18-yard touchdown toss to knot the game at 7 after 30 minutes.

The third quarter played out exactly as the first and the clubs headed to the final 15 minutes even at 7, but the Hilltops were on the march as the quarter wrapped up and Zach Schmidt would make good on a 21-yard field goal to put the Toppers up by 3. The Cats would drive into Saskatoon territory where kicker Ryan Smith would try a game-tying 42-yard field goal with: 10 left on the clock. Saskatoon Head Coach Tom Sargeant would utilize both of his second half time outs in an attempt to “ice” Smith and it would work, as the attempt landed at the Hilltop 5.

The Hilltops moved to 6-0 and head to Winnipeg next Sunday to try to lock up the regular season crown. The 1-5 Wildcats will miss the post-season dance for the second straight season and will play the Huskies for the second & final time next Saturday night.