PFC Week Eight in Review: Hilltops clinch first place

PFC Week Eight in Review

Edmonton Wildcats 51 @ Edmonton Huskies 25 – October 1 @ Clarke Park

The 2 Edmonton clubs faced each other for the second and last time in 2011. The Wildcats headed into the weekend still in the chase for a postseason berth, but needing loads of help. The Huskies are just playing out the string, but aiming to end a losing streak that has reached 30 contests.

The Huskies would open the scoring early thanks to a Jonathan Heidebrecht 38-yard field goal. The Wildcats would score the first two majors of the evening as Shiane Runcie ran the rock in from 18 yards out; and then took a Jonathan Olson pass 29 yards to put his club up by a 14-3 margin at the end of one.

The Cats upped their lead to 21-3 as Olson connected with Tylor Henry on a 73-yard pass and run play just 88 ticks into the second quarter. The Huskies would go two-and-out, but Heidebrecht would find the mark on a 48-yard field goal to make it 21-6. However the Cats would get another pair of majors to close out the first 30 minutes as Runcie scored his
third six-pointer of the contest on a 49-yard run and Andrew Johnson scored on a 7-yard strike from Olson to give the Cats a 35-6 lead at halftime.

The first half was a truly forgettable one for the Huskies, as they were held to only 78 yards of net offense while Trevor Erdmann, starting in place of the injured Ben Gorniak was 0 for 9 passing in the half.

Erdmann would snap out of his funk on the opening drive of the third quarter as he would engineer a 5-play, 74-yard drive that would be capped off by Erdmann calling his own number and scampering 19 yards to make it 35-13 after the convert.

Johnson would snuff out any faint hopes of a Huskie rally as he latched onto a 23-yard strike from Olson to restore the 29-point lead. After a Heidebrecht field goal, Johnson would get his third major of the night on a 23-yard grab to make it 49-16 at 3-quarter time.

Both teams would exchange safeties and then Huskies running back Devin Kondro capped off a 68-yard drive with a 13-yard dash to make the final 51-25.

Wildcats pivot Jonathan Olson would complete 15 of 20 for 334 yards and 5 touchdowns. Andrew Johnson would reel in 10 balls for 182 yards. Erdmann would go 6 of 24 on the night for 96 yards.

Saskatoon Hilltops 48 @ Winnipeg Rifles 28 – October 2 @ Canad Inns Stadium

The Hilltops entered Sunday’s game in Winnipeg with a chance to run their record to 7-0 and claim a 4th straight regular season title. The Rifles were looking to break a 2-game losing streak and stay in the hunt for a home playoff game.

The Rifles got off to a great start as Alex Vitt capped off the opening drive with an 11-yard touchdown grab a little over 4 minutes in to put the home side on the board first.

Saskatoon would even the contest a mere 57 seconds later as John Trumpy reeled in a 51-yard touchdown of his own to knot the score at 7. For Trumpy, it was his first of 3 scores on the day. After a Zack Schmidt punt single, the Rifles regained the lead in the last minute as Devin Cox took the overland route from a yard out to give the Rifles a 14-8 lead after one quarter.

Hilltops pivot Chase Bradshaw put his club back on top in the second stanza as he evaded a pair of Rifle defenders on a 3rd down gamble and ran 3 yards to paydirt to make it 15-14. The Toppers would add to their lead as Graig Newman reeled in a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it a 22-14 game. Newman, who has made his mark in the conference at safety, filled in
the breach left by Jace Muggli, who sustained a first quarter injury and didn’t return.

Kurt Goodrich would rally the Rifles in the last 2 minutes as he made a spectacular 33-yard grab for a six-pointer and after the Brad Mikoluff convert it was a 1-point game. But the Hilltops would venture 92 yards on their last opening half possession as Trumpy scored on a 22-yard reception to give the Hilltops a 29-21 edge at halftime.

After a Zach Schmidt field goal put the champions up by 11, Alex Vitt picked up his second major of the day as he reeled in a 25-yard pass from Marsch to make it 32-28 heading into the final quarter.

The Hilltops would score 16 unanswered points in the final frame. Trumpy would get his 3rd score of the day as Bradshaw found him on the fly and went 80 yards to make it an 11-point game again at 39-28. Trumpy had 5 catches for 180 yards on the afternoon. Running back Tom Shockey scored from a yard away to up the lead to 18. Mikoluff would concede a safety to round out the scoring.

Ryan Marsch would complete 22 of 34 passes for 361 yards and 3 more touchdowns, upping his season total to 27. Derek Dean led the Winnipeg pass catchers with 7 for 148 yards. Alex Vitt had 5 for 99 yards, while Kurt Goodrich came up with 5 for 64.

The two teams would combine for over a thousand yards of offense, with the Hilltops amassing 577 yards to Winnipeg’s 425.

The Rifles drop into 4th with a 3-4 record as Regina moved to 4-3 with a 32-19 home win against Calgary. The Hilltops take their fourth straight regular season title.

Winnipeg wraps up the regular season next Sunday as the Rifles head to Calgary to play the 5-2 Colts. Saskatoon closes out their season with a Griffiths Stadium date with the winless Edmonton Huskies.

Calgary Colts 19 @ Regina Thunder 32 – October 2 @ Mosaic Stadium

After a defensively dominated opening quarter that saw the visitors lead 3-2, the home side would record a second safety go move into a 4-3 lead only 22 seconds into the second frame. Then quarterback Wyatt Catley, returning to the lineup after sustaining a concussion against Winnipeg would find the Colt end zone to make it a 10-3 game.

Colt receiver Brendan Kearl would pull the visitors to within a point with a touchdown grab. Andrew Fabian would promptly tie the game with a kickoff single. Jon Probe would put the Thunder in front to stay with a 7-yard touchdown grab with 3-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half. Regina would pick up their third safety to boost their lead to 8 at the break.

Thunder kicker Ben Koot would add to the lead with a 37-yard field goal. Mike Scheinbein would take a 7-yard pass from Catley to up the lead to 29-11. To round out the quarter, the Thunder would pick up their 4th safety of the day to give Regina a 20-point cushion heading to the fourth frame. The 4th safety tied a PFC single-game best originally set by the Saskatoon Hilltops on September 17, 1983. That feat would be equalled by the Edmonton Wildcats in an October 3, 2009 game.

Ben Koot would be wide on a 26-yard field goal try to make it a 32-11 game. But Calgary, who had a terrible game on the offensive side of the ledger as they amassed only 99 yards of net offense would get into the Regina end zone on the game’s final play as Mac Sarro would score on a 34-yard strike from Jeremy Long.

The Thunder play the Wildcats to close out