Photo courtesy of Matthew Hamilton

Saskatoon Hilltops 18
Edmonton Huskies 17

First game jitters and inclement weather in Edmonton led to a low scoring affair in this 2019 Conference final rematch.   It was a tail of two halves with the Huskies heading into the locker room up 14-0 at the half with the Hilltops storming back in the second half outscoring the home side 18-3 for their 32nd straight road win (including playoffs).  Incredibly their last home loss came on August 17, 2014.

The game came down to a wild finish set up nicely by a 25 yard reception by Hilltop Dillan Heintz in the final minute of a 17-17 tie.   The Hilltops actually decided to punt for the winning single point with time ticking away.  Kicker Doug Fleming kicked the ball into the Edmonton end zone, where it was fielded by Christopher Smith who in turn punted the ball back out of the end zone, where Fleming fielded it with no time left on the clock.  However, a number of Huskies players were inside five yards when Fleming picked up the punt resulting in a no yards penalty giving the Hilltops one more play with the clock at 0:00.  The Hilltops lined up to punt once more, but the snap was low, Fleming managed to keep his wits, pick the ball off the turf, avoided the rush and got the kick away.  The ball went out of bounds in the Edmonton end zone for the winning point.

Hilltops’ running back Carter McLean rushed 29 times for 167 yards and touchdown while backup quarterback Damon Dutton threw for 126 yards in the second half and found Ethan Godson for a touchdown.

Defensively Matt Wist had a pair of sacks and four tackles.  CJFL history was also made when rookie linebacker Emmarae Dale became the first woman to play in a CJFL game.  Playing primarily on special teams she hit the stats sheet making a tackle.

The Huskies had a balanced offensive attack.  Veteran quarterback Declan O’Flaherty completed 16 passes for 172 yards and found Adner St Hilaire for a wide open touchdown.  Running back Alex Gayle was very strong on the ground with 157 yards on 25 carries and had a major.

On the Huskies defensive side Ben Wilton led the way with his five tackles and Roman Iwuc intercepted a pass.

Next week the Hilltops (1-0) will stay on the road and travel to Calgary for a date with the Colts (0-1) on Sunday at 1:00pm while the Huskies (0-1) will play their crosstown rivals the Wildcats (1-0) on Saturday at 7:00pm at Sherwood Park.

Edmonton Wildcats 36
Calgary Colts 25

The Wildcats took advantage of six Colts turnovers and 17 penalties leading to points to claim their opening day win.

Three different Wildcats players had interceptions and as a unit they held the Colts offence to just 60 yards on the ground.

Offensively the Wildcats scored 29 of their 36 points in the first half thanks in large part to turnovers and great field position.  Quarterback Devin Desormeau threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns finding Lucas Howe twice and Tanner Holt once.  Desormeau also rushed for a touchdown as did Jayden Sak.  Meanwhile Nathan Zacharias rumbled 19 times for 118 yards.

The Colts offence started to grow and got better as the game went on scoring 24 of their 25 points in the second half.   Quarterback Justin Verloop threw for 247 yards and found Brendt Adams with a pair of touchdown passes.  Adams finished with 152 yards and Derin Esan got into the end zone on the ground.

Next week the Wildcats (1-0) host the Edmonton Huskies (0-1) while the Colts (0-1) welcome the Saskatoon Hilltops (1-0).

Regina Thunder 37
Winnipeg Rifles 0

It was all Thunder on Sunday compiling 449 yards of total offence.  Quarterback Carter Shewchuk showed he’s ready to take over the starting role throwing for 181 yards and threw a 44 yard touchdown pass to Isaac Foord.

On the ground the Thunder collected 289 yards led by Ryland Leichert’s 146 on 17 carries and he had a touchdown.  Justin Reiger also got into the end zone on the ground.

The defence got onto the scoreboard when Justin McKerracher returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown.  Branden Janotta also picked off a pass.

The Rifles struggled to get rolling on the offence and were held to 28 yards on the ground.  Over on the defensive side one of the bright spots was Joseph Funk-Clements who had a Conference high eight solo tackles.

Next week these two teams will meet again, but this time the scene will shift to Regina on Sunday at 1:00pm.