Prairie Football Conference: PFC Week Two Preview

EDMONTON HUSKIES (0-1) AT CALGARY COLTS (1-0) – AUGUST 20, 7PM MDT

The Colts open up their home schedule following a 9-5 win at Clarke Park over the Huskies’ Clarke Park co-tenants, the Wildcats last Sunday.

Rookie RB D.J. Whetton got off to a great start as he dashed for 99 yards in the win. One source of concern is the quarterback spot as Clayton Masikewich & Jeremy Long found the going tough as they went a combined 4 of 18 on the day.

Defensively, the Colts got off to a blazing hot start, holding the Wildcats to only 159 yards in net offense. Defensive End Prince Baffoh had a pair of sacks & a forced fumble, while Steven Dereniwski recorded 10 solo stops & a sack. Calgary racked up 4 sacks on the day.

The Huskies had Winnipeg on the ropes at halftime last Sunday before the Rifles fired back with a 20-point third quarter.

PFC Offensive Player of the Week Ben Gorniak had a superb start to his season as he completed 27 of 47 for 407 yards. Eric Gilmour had 6 grabs for 101 yards. On defense, Kevin Francis had 8 tackles and blocked a convert.

EDMONTON WILDCATS (0-1) AT REGINA THUNDER (0-1), SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 1PM (LOCAL)

The Cats as previously mentioned dropped a 9-5 decision to the Colts last Sunday. Sophomore running back Taylor Souster ran for 79 yards on 24 carries in the loss. The Edmonton defense was led by Steven Giang who had 3 tackles, a forced fumble & fumble recovery and an interception. Foremost on Head Coach Darcy Park’s mind will be finding a way to get the Wildcats offense firing on all cylinders after only getting 159 yards of net offense last week.

The Thunder dropped a 15-10 decision to Saskatoon in their home opener. Quarterback Wyatt Catley completed 21 of 41 passes for 221 yards. Kolten Solomon had 7 grabs for 56 yards. However, the run game was held to only 72 yards.

Linebacker Phil Bairu led Regina with 3 tackles, 6 assists, a special teams stop and an interception

WINNIPEG RIFLES (1-0) AT SASKATOON HILLTOPS (1-0), SUNDAY AUGUST 21 1PM (LOCAL)

The Rifles come into Saskatoon with a little momentum, thanks to a come from behind 41-34 win over the Huskies. Pivot Ryan Marsch rebounded from a shaky first half as he went 7 for 7 in the second half and ended up with 243 yards & 3 touchdowns. Receiver Matt Lariviere had 6 grabs for 99 yards. Tailback Martin Hovi leads the conference in rushing with 122 yards. Punt returner Kyle Willis picked up Special Teams Player of the Week, thanks in large part to his 57-yard punt return touchdown. But the defense will have to step it up a notch as they surrendered 512 yards in net offense last week.

The Hilltops gutted out a season-opening win in Regina. Defensive Player of the Week Richard Zacharias had a forced fumble and an interception. Linebacker Dylan Kemp had 5 tackles and 4 assists. Quarterback Chase Bradshaw struggled somewhat as he threw for 218 yards with a touchdown and 3 interceptions. Graham Unruh hauled in 5 catches for 78 yards, while Kyle McGinnis had a major as he snagged 4 catches for 44 yards.

The Hilltops swept the regular season set in 2010, 51-14 at home & 42-9 in Winnipeg.