PFC Week Nine Preview: Lack of suspense hilites week 9

PFC Week Nine Preview

The season’s closing week will not have a whole lot of suspense to it, as the 4 clubs who’ll make the playoffs sewed up their spots last week.

Edmonton Huskies (0-7) @ Saskatoon Hilltops (7-0) – October 9 – Noon @ Griffiths Stadium

The Huskies will wrap up another frustrating campaign in Saskatoon, where to be honest, the Bridge City has more resembled a house of horrors the last number of seasons. The Huskies 2010 visit wasn’t a pleasant experience as the Hilltops routed the Huskies 75-13.

Quarterback Ben Gorniak has been sidelined the last 2 weeks by a concussion and as of this writing; his status for Sunday’s game is unknown. Kicker/Punter Jonathan Heidebrecht earned Special Teams Player of the Week thanks to connecting on 3 long 3-pointers last Saturday against the Wildcats.

The Hilltops offense was on a roll last Sunday in Winnipeg as Chase Bradshaw went from a career-worst performance the week before to one of his best as he completed 21 of 28 passes for 362 yards and 4 scores. Slotback John Trumpy picked up Offensive Player of the Week thanks to his 5 catch, 180-yard, 3 score effort.

Winnipeg Rifles (3-4) @ Calgary Colts (5-2) – October 9 – 1:00 pm @ McMahon Stadium

The Rifles look to pull out of the three-game dive they’re currently in and finish the season at the .500 mark for the first time since the 2005 season, when they were 7-1 and appeared in the PFC Championship Game.

The Winnipeg offense under Ryan Marsch shows no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Marsch threw for 3 more touchdowns last Sunday, giving him 27 on the year. Winnipeg receivers still hold the top 3 spots in the receiving race, but it’s Alex Vitt on top now, with Derek Dean & Matt Lariviere close behind. But as has been the case throughout the season, the defense is giving up alarming amounts of yardage and points. And with the playoffs just around the corner, it’s a
problem that needs to be rectified in a hurry.

The Colts have a chance to nail down a home playoff date and at the same time, get their offense untracked just in time for the playoffs. Coach Keith Kendal & crew would likely want to put last Sunday’s 32-19 defeat in Regina behind them as the Thunder defense held them to 99 yards of offense as well as forcing them to concede 4 safeties. That feat has only been
turned twice in 28 years. Calgary won in Winnipeg 2 weeks ago by a 49-33 count

Regina Thunder (4-3) @ Edmonton Wildcats – October 9 – 1:00 pm @ Clarke Park

The last game of the Turkey DayWeekend Triple-Dip sees the Thunder, who are on a 3-game-roll, have a chance to nail down a home playoff date against a Wildcats club who will miss the post-season party for the second straight season.

Wyatt Catley returned to the lineup last week after missing the win over the Huskies with a concussion and impressed as he threw for 265 yards and 3 majors. Clay Cooke had 5 catches for 147 yards and moved up to 4th in receiving with 526 yards on 37 grabs.

The Thunder defense looks to keep up the momentum they built courtesy of a phenomenal effort against the Colts in which they held Calgary to only 7 first downs and 99 yards of total offense.

The Wildcats would like to end their season on a good note with a performance similar to last week’s 51-25 win over the Huskies which saw the Cats rack up over 500 yards of offense. Quarterback Jordan Olson & receiver Andrew Johnson had monster contests; Olson went 15 of 20 for 334 yards and passed for 5 majors, while Johnson had 10 catches for 182 yards
and was on the receiving end of 3 Olson touchdown strikes.

Tailback Shiane Runcie carried the mail 14 times for 106 yards and a pair of 6-pointers as well as reeling in a 27-yard pass for a third. Taylor Souster has a hold of 3rd place in the conference rushing race with 567 yards.

The Thunder took the first meeting of the season 44-10 on August 21.