The Winnipeg Rifles closed out their road schedule at McMahon Stadium on Sunday afternoon in search of a win to nail down the 4th and final playoff berth. It would prove to be a wild ride as the Colts would eke out a 42-35 win and drop the Rifles a game under .500 at 3-4.
The home side jumped out to a 9-0 first frame lead as Rifle punter Nick Bowen conceded a safety, followed by a Ryan McDermit 5-yard catch from pivot Clayton Masikewich.
The Green Gunners would strike for a pair of majors 46 seconds apart to take the lead in the second stanza. Linebacker Chris Friesen would pick off a Masikewich pass and ramble 63 yards for the score. The Bowen convert made it 9-7. Friesen would then record his 2nd interception of the day and return it 15 yards. On the very next play, Ryan Marsch would connect with Alex Vitt for a 17-yard TD toss and put Winnipeg in front 14-9.
The Colts would get the next 8 points as punter Andrew Fabian nailed a 47-yard punt single, followed by a Masikewich 1-yard plunge to vault the Colts into the lead 17-14. The Rifles soon regained the upper hand as fullback Bryan Giesbrecht scored from 2 yards out to make it a 21-17 game. Fabian would draw the Colts to within 1 as he was good on a 47-yard field goal. The Rifles led 21-20 at halftime.
Calgary would rack up all 19 third quarter points. Jake Harty would put the Colts back in front as he took in a 32-yard touchdown strike from Masikewich to make it a 27-21 game. Bowen would concede a second safety; then Masikewich aired it out and found Ben Hnatiuk to make it 36-21. Fabian added a 22-yard chipshot to give Calgary an 18-point lead after 3.
The visitors found the end zone again early in the fourth as Marsch connected with Matt Lariviere for a 25-yard TD pass to draw the Rifles to within 11. Fabian would get his third field goal of the day with 3 minutes left. The Gunners mounted one last charge as Derek Dean scored on a 29-yard pass from Marsch who would complete 21 of 37 passes for 310 yards and 3 touchdowns. They would also recover a pair of onside kicks in that time frame. After the second recovery, they would drive down to the Colts 28-yard-line, but the defense held to preserve the win.
Matt Lariviere had yet another sensational game as he made 8 catches for 147 yards. Not to be outdone, tailback Kienan LaFrance ran the rock 18 times for 134 yards as the Rifles amassed 433 yards of net offense and 22 first downs. Calgary recorded 563 yards of net offense and 25 first downs.
All was not totally doom & gloom, as the Green Gunners clinched the 4th and final playoff berth as the defending champion Edmonton Wildcats were knocked out of post-season contention after a 19-10 defeat in Saskatoon.
The Rifles put the wraps on the regular season next Sunday when the Regina Thunder comes to Canad Inns Stadium for a 12 noon start.
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