Photo courtesy of Wanda Harron Photography

Saskatoon Hilltops 19
Regina Thunder 10

The Hilltops clinched first place and homefield advantage throughout the Prairie Conference playoffs with a nine-point victory in the rain on Saturday night.   They did this by not even scoring a touchdown.

Kicker Teijon Able-Douglas connected on five field goals and had a single to score 16 of the teams 19-points. 

Offensively running back Boston Davidsen became the second back in the CJFL to reach the 1000-yard plateau.  He carried the ball an incredible 33 times for 131 yards and has now rushed 1036 yards with one game still to come. 

On the defensive side the Hilltops were solid forcing five turnovers including two interceptions from Johnathon Stevens. 

They held the ground attack of the Thunder to 115 yards and kept Ryland Leichert to 61 yards on 20 carries.  He did score the game’s lone touchdown in the second quarter. 

The Thunder were playing without their #1 quarterback Carter Moberg.  Back-up Ethan Hugg made his first CJFL start and finished with 20 completions and 202 yards.  His favourite target was Isaiah Woodley who caught 10 passes for a game high 107 yards.

Next weekend the Hilltops (7-0) welcome the Winnipeg Rifles (2-5) and the Thunder (5-2) host the Edmonton Huskies (4-3) with the winner clinching a home playoff game to host the other.  

Edmonton Huskies 27
Winnipeg Rifles 18

The Huskies did almost all their damage in the second quarter, scoring 21 of their 27 points en route to their fourth win of the season. 

On the offensive side, quarterback Carson Neitz completed 15 passes for 209 yards and threw a touchdown pass to William Campbell.  When not throwing, he would hand the ball primarily to Ife Adebogun who rushed for 115 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown.  Carson Eddy also got into the endzone. 

The defence combined to make four sacks and Sam Kolkman made two interceptions.

The Rifles meanwhile scored 10 points in the first quarter, but then were quiet after that.  Most of their scoring came from the foot of Alex Minor who booted three field goals.  Their lone touchdown came in the first quarter when Kaiden Banfield scored on the ground.  He rushed 24 times for 144 yards on Saturday morning. 

Next weekend the Huskies (4-3) visit the Regina Thunder (5-2) in a playoff preview with the winner hosting the other in a semi-final.  The Rifles (2-5) head to Saskatoon to face the Hilltops (7-0).  If they can manage to beat them and the Edmonton Wildcats can win, the Rifles would clinch a playoff spot. 

Edmonton Wildcats 43
Calgary Colts 36

The winless streak is finally over for the Wildcats who claimed victory on Saturday. 

They got into the endzone in some non-traditional ways to help their cause.  Rookie Breyan Elias returned two kick-offs for touchdowns, both in the third quarter.  He returned the opening kick of the second half 92 yards for a major, then later in the frame returned another kick-off 100 yards to paydirt. 

On the receiving end, Travis Heggart played his final game in the CJFL, and it will be one to remember. He caught four touchdown passes including the game winner with six minutes to go.  In all he hauled in six passes for 149 yards as quarterback Julien Beaulieu threw all four majors. 

Over on defence Kieran Harris had 10 tackles and Tyler Monds had two sacks. 

Down 36-15 heading into the final quarter the Colts turned on the jets and scored 21 points in the fourth to make the game extremely close.  Running back Alan Xiang rushed for two touchdowns and Adley Mayala had another.   Quarterback Liam Oszkowski found Nicholas Sirleaf in the fourth for a TD strike, but it wasn’t enough.

Next weekend the Wildcats (1-6) have an opportunity to create a three-way tie for the final playoff spot.  They face the Colts (2-5) again and need a win, coupled by a Rifles (2-5) loss in the regular season finale.