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Prairie Conference Summary

By Ryan Watters (@ryan2tswatters), 09/13/21, 7:30PM PDT

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The Thunder, Huskies and Rifles score a W

Photo courtesy of Jake Bradley

Regina Thunder 16
Saskatoon Hilltops 13

In front of nearly 2000 fans at SMF Field in Saskatoon the visiting Regina Thunder got a 51-yard field goal off the right foot of kicker Eric Maximuik with no time remaining to hand the Hilltops their first loss since 2017.  Oddly enough it was the Thunder to beat them that season and again at SMF Field.

The battle of Saskatchewan was defensive following the Thunder’s opening drive.  The visitors went five plays and 76 yards in 3:11 capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run from Ryland Leichert.  It would be the only major the Thunder could muster on the night.  Maximuik accounted for the rest of the scoring hitting field goals from 29, 39 and 51 yards in the win.

Offensively quarterback Carter Shewchuk completed 19 passes for 253 yards finding Isaac Foord for a game high seven receptions and 108 yards.

On the defensive side the Thunder pitched a second half shutout and held the Hilltops to 269 yards of net offence.  Stephen Smith had a team high seven solo tackles, Ryan Mills had a pair of sacks and Adam King and Bobo Kisusari each picked off a pass.

The Hilltops scored 10 of their 13 points in the second quarter.  Jordan Tabin’s lone carry of the night was a one-yard touchdown plunge giving the Hilltops a 13-10 lead at the half.  Running back Carter McLean had another outstanding game rushing 22 times for 100 yards.

Defensively the Hilltops gave their team a chance to win.  Jared Giddings led the team with seven tackles, Brady Fossen collected five stops and sack and Connor Johnson intercepted a pass and returned it 33 yards.

These two teams will play the second half of their home and home this coming Saturday night but this time the Thunder (3-0) will host the Hilltops (2-1) at Mosaic Stadium.

Winnipeg Rifles 20
Edmonton Wildcats 18

The Winnipeg Rifles scored their first win of the season when they held on to beat the Edmonton Wildcats at Emerald Park in Sherwood Park.  The Rifles did all of their scoring in the first-three quarters leading the Wildcats 20-0 heading into the fourth and almost coughed up their lead.

Quarterback Bryson McNeil completed 13 passes for 195 yards and hit Luke McMillan for a 73-yard touchdown pass.  In all McMillan had five receptions for a game high 110 yards.  Kicker Matt Kennedy was good on two of three field goal attempts connecting from 23 and 37 yards out.

The Rifles defence helped out on the scoreboard when Brandon Kamez picked off a pass and returned it 65-yards for a major in the second quarter.  Kyle Chorney gathered a game high eight solo tackles.

The Wildcats fell two-points short in their comeback attempt scoring all 18 points in the fourth quarter.  Lucas Howe caught two more touchdown passes from 33 and 23 yards out giving him six on the season in three games.  Quarterback Devin Desormeau threw both touchdown passes completing 17 in total for 186 yards.

On the ground Nathan Zacharias (pictured) was simply outstanding rumbling 152 yards on 21 carries.

This Sunday the Rifles (1-2) will host the Edmonton Huskies (2-1) while the Wildcats (1-2) welcome the Calgary Colts (0-3).

Edmonton Huskies 62
Calgary Colts 14

It was all Huskies on Sunday as they picked up their second win in a row behind 563 yards of total offence while their defence created six turnovers.

Offensively quarterback Declan O’Flaherty led the way with 262 yards on 13 completions and found three different receivers for touchdowns including Adner St. Hilaire, De Shawn Le Jour and Carver Trapp.  St. Hilaire caught four passes for a game high 132 yards which was highlighted by an 86 yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.  Running back Alex Gayle scampered 18 times for 118 yards and also scored a touchdown.

The defence meanwhile featured a 110-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ben Wilton early in the third quarter.  The total is the second longest in Prairie Conference history.  Amo Mothale added a touchdown of his own with a fumble recovery for a score.

The Colts struggled on the offence but did find the end zone twice courtesy of the pass.  Cole Belway and Justin Verloop each tossed a touchdown finding Brandon MacIsaac and Brendt Adams.

This coming weekend the Huskies (2-1) will visit the Winnipeg Rifles (1-2) and the Colts (0-3) go on the road to face the Edmonton Wildcats (1-2).