EDMONTON HUSKIES 36 @WINNIPEG RIFLES 43 β AUGUST 29 @ CANAD INNS STADIUM
The Winnipeg Rifles & Edmonton Huskies served up a back and forth offensive battle in front of 592 fans at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It went down to the very last play as the Green Gunners hung on to eke out a 43-36 win to even their 2010 record at 1-1.
The Huskies opened up the scoring nearly 7 minutes into the opening frame as Braedon Kopernick returned an Andrew Wiebe punt 55 yards for the gameβs opening major.
The Green Gunners then opened up the Kienan Lafrance Show as he would scamper 66 yards for the game-tying score. That would be the start of a phenomenal afternoon.
Yembeh Moiba would haul in a 27-yard pass from Tyler Nickel to give Winnipeg a 14-7 lead. But the visitors would rebound as Anthony Barrett reeled in a 55-yard Ben Gorniak pass to even the score at 14 apiece nearly 90 seconds later.
But the Rifles would quickly build a 2-score edge with touchdowns from Matt Lariviere on a 26-yard catch from Nickel at 13:04, and then only 38 seconds later, following the first of 2 Pedja Hamzic picks, Lafrance would barge in the end zone from a yard out to up the advantage to 28-14. An Andrew Wiebe kickoff single followed and a Mike Goldring 26-yard field goal for the Huskies would hand the Rifles a 29-17 halftime cushion.
The teams would trade touchdowns in a 90-second span early in the third as Sam Schwab scored on a 19-yard pass from Gorniak, and then Lariviere got his 2nd TD thanks to a 42-yard reception. Lariviere would have 3 catches for 106 yards.
Only 94 seconds later, Lafrance would get his 3rd score, a 68-yard dash to give the Gunners a 43-24 lead. Goldring would connect on a 30-yard attempt to make it 43-27 Winnipeg after 3. Lafrance would finish the day with 24 carries for 291 yards, a new single game Rifles record and unofficially, the 8th-best single game mark in PFC history.
A 4th quarter safety, followed by a Zach Wilkie 36-yard touchdown would set up a nail-biting finish as the visitors drove from their 19 to the Winnipeg 17. Anthony Barrett had dropped the game-tying score, leaving the Huskies with 1 second & 1 chance to tie or win it. Pedja Hamzic would get the game saving interception in the end zone to preserve a wild win.
Head Coach Greg Graceffo had this to say after the win, βAs I said to the players after the game, βWe should be pleased that we won, but we cannot be content with our overall play today. There are many positives to take from todayβs game, but we still have a lot of work to do as a team in order to improveβ.
The Rifles ran for 320 yards on the day and had 483 total yards. Tyler Nickel would complete 8 of 20 for 170 yards, with 3 TDβs and 1 INT. The Huskies replied with 438. Gorniak was sensational, completing 25 of 37 for 377 and 3 majors.
The Green Gunners & Huskies wrap up the back-to-back set next Sunday in Edmonton, the only game on the week 3 slate.
SASKATOON HILLTOPS 27 @ EDMONTONWILDCATS 13 β AUGUST 29 @ CLARKE PARK
The middle matchup of the second week was a rematch of the 2009 PFC Championship Game with the Hilltops aiming to regain a bit of revenge. On the other hand the Wildcats were looking to get back to the .500 mark after dropping their home opener 32-14 to Regina.
The game was scoreless until Regan Schuler scored on a 14-yard run to give Saskatoon a 7-0 lead. The Toppers doubled their lead as Kit Hillis would return a punt 68 yards for his 2nd punt return TD on the young season. Saskatoon led by 14 after 15.
The Wildcats would register the only three points of the second stanza as Donavan Kavich would connect on a 14-yard chipshot to wrap up a 6-play, 51-yard drive. The Wildcats would be stopped on a third-and-goal at the Saskatoon 1 toward the end of the half.
Shiane Runcie would score on a 3-yard scamper to pull the champions to within 4 at 14-10. The drive would take 8-plays, 57 yards and nearly 4 minutes. Jean-Luc Bugeaud would round out the 3rd quarter scoring with a 35-yard field goal to make it 14-13 coming home.
The Hilltops started the final frame with Ian Miller getting his 4th TD, thanks to a 19-yard pass from Chase Bradshaw a mere 11 seconds in. Zach Schmidt would make good on 18 & 24-yard placements, with the last one coming with 46 seconds left to seal a 27-13 win that sees the Hilltops go to 2-0 and the champions fall to 0-2.
CALGARY COLTS 10 @ REGINA THUNDER 59 β AUGUST 29 @ MOSAIC STADIUM
The finale of the Sunday triple-header featured 2 of the PFCβs best outfits slugging it out at Mosaic Stadium. This slugfest turned out to be a very one-sided bout as the Thunder scored a shockingly easy win in Reginaβs home opener.
The home side owned quarter leads of 14-0, 28-2 & 52-2. The Thunder held Calgary passers Jeremy Long, Brett Serhyenko & Clayton Masikewich to a combined 177 yards passing and intercepted 5 passes on the afternoon.
Reid Quest threw for 282 yards, completing 15 of 22 with 5 TDβS and an INT. Kolten Solomon reeled in a 75-yard bomb, his 3rd TD grab and 4th major of the season. Jay Smith would get his first 2 TDβs of the year. Newcomer Brandon Sieber would get in on the fun with a TD snag. Clay Cooke & Jon Probe also tallied touchdowns as Wyatt Catley would throw for a major score. The Thunder would amass 520 yards in net offense.
Jake Harty scored on a 20-yard 4th quarter run for the lone Colt touchdown dash; he would run for 93 yards. Coung Thai Lieu would end up a yard short of 100 on 18 carries.
Team Record Home Away PF PA Pts
Regina Thunder 2-0 1-0 1-0 91 24 4
Saskatoon Hilltops 2-0 1-0 1-0 78 27 4
Calgary Colts 1-1 0-0 1-1 43 66 2
Winnipeg Rifles 1-1 1-0 0-1 57 87 2
Edmonton Wildcats 0-2 0-2 0-0 27 59 0
Edmonton Huskies 0-2 0-1 0-1 43 76 0
WEEK 2 IN REVIEW
By Tom Hallick
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
CFC Prospect Game Spotlight: Alberta DB looking to beat the best at TD Place Stadium
