PFC Week Five Preview: Hilltops v Thunder, Colts v Huskies

Regina Thunder (1-2) @ Saskatoon Hilltops (3-0) 7:00 pm @ Gordie Howe Bowl

Even though the Thunder sit at 1-2 at present, Saturday night’s game may fall into the “Must-Win” category as a victory would put the Thunder back at the .500 mark and move Regina to within a game of the conference leading pack which includes Saskatoon, Calgary and Winnipeg.

Quarterback Wyatt Catley posted huge numbers in Regina’s 52-31 loss in Winnipeg two weeks ago as he went 33 of 59 for 466 yards & 3 touchdowns. The 33 completions were the third most completions in a PFC/CJFL game, while the 59 attempts ranked 2nd in PFC/CJFL for a single game.
One thing is certain, and that is the Thunder cannot afford to be playing catch-up like they had to two weeks ago. The Thunder will have to make good use of its ground game and give Thomas Ringlein more touches, so a “ground-andpound” offensive attack might be the way to go.
If one asks Hilltops bench boss Tom Sargeant about his 3-0 club, he may surprise you with his answer. After his team’s 26-5 road win over the Edmonton Huskies, Sarge stated on the CJWW Saskatoon post-game show that he would put his charges through “boot camp”. Yes, Sargeant seems none too happy with the performance of the Hilltops as they have yet to put a solid 60-minute effort in all three phases of the game, offense, defense & special teams. One week, it would be the offense struggling, while the defense would come up big, only to have the trend reverse itself the next week.
Quarterback Chase Bradshaw aims to rebound from his 8 of 25 performance two weeks ago. Tailback Regan Schuler looks to be back at top form as he is third in conference rushing with 255 yards. On the defensive side, linebacker Dylan Kemp has been among the conference leaders in tackles as he’s been in on a combined 25 stops and is fifth in defensive points with 44. Defensive back Richard Zacharias is ninth in defensive points with 34 and has a pair of interceptions.

Calgary Colts (3-0) @ Edmonton Huskies (0-3) 7:00 pm @ Clarke Park

The Calgary Colts finish up their” All-Edmonton, All-The-Time” first half as they play the Huskies in the 2nd half of the Saturday twinbill. Colt quarterback Clayton Masikewich had his best game of 2011 in the win over the Wildcats. Masikewich completed 12 of 21 passes on the night and utilized his receivers well as 7 different Colts recorded catches. Tailback Cuong Thai Lieu
dashed for 129 yards and a major against the Wildcats. The third-year back trails only Martin Hovi of Winnipeg in the rushing standings.
Rookie kicker Marshal Broom got off to a fine start two weeks ago as he was a perfect 3-for-3 in the field goal department.
He’ll again fill in for Andrew Fabian who’s sidelined with Mononucleosis.
However, the story of the Colts terrific start has been the play of their defense which has only allowed 13 of the 15 points against them in 3 games, surrendering only a single touchdown. Steven Dereniwski leads the club in defensive points with 46. Defensive end Prince Baffoh leads the conference with 4 sacks.
The Huskies showed sparks on offense in their last contest against Saskatoon, but pivot Ben Gorniak and company had a dreadful time trying to score six-pointers as fumbled snaps and interceptions, particularly inside the Hilltops 20, snuffed out drive after drive. Gorniak and his mates again need to display the form they had in the season opener at Winnipeg to have a shot on Saturday night.
The defense kept Edmonton in the game two weeks ago as they held the Toppers to a dozen
first downs and just over 200 yards of offense. Braedon Kopernick had a pair of interceptions
in the defeat. Colton Nickurak also added an interception.
Should the Huskies defense keep things going, they may surprise some clubs in the final few
weeks.