skip navigation

Prairie Conference Week 9 Summary

By Ryan Watters (@ryan2tswatters), 09/19/22, 1:15PM PDT

Share

The Thunder, Rifles and Huskies each win

Photo courtesy of Wanda Harron Photography

Regina Thunder 23
Saskatoon Hilltops 7

In front of over 2000 fans the Regina Thunder completed the seasonal sweep with a 16-point win over their provincial rivals. 

They played an extremely balanced game as their offence collected 431 total yards while their defence held arguably the most potent running attack to just 93 yards and forced three conceded safeties. 

The lone offensive touchdown didn’t come until the late stages of the third quarter when Ife Adebogun punched it in from a yard out.   Quarterback Carter Shewchuk threw for 344 yards on 24 completions but was held off the scoresheet. 

Over on the defensive side Justin McKerracher was outstanding with three interceptions including one he returned 35-yards for a touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter.  He also had a tackle, a knockdown and assisted on four other tackles. 

The Hilltops woes continue this season and they have lost three straight for the first time in franchise history.  Their lone touchdown came in the second quarter when quarterback Trey Reider scored on a one-yard run.  He also threw for 180 yards on 18 completions. 

A bright spot on the defence was the play of Matt Wist who had six solo tackles and nine assisted stops.  Evan Mantyka was also good with an interception and three tackles.

This coming Sunday the Thunder (5-0) will travel to Winnipeg for a showdown with the Rifles (3-2) and the Hilltops (2-3) will look to snap their skid at Calgary against the Colts (2-3).

Winnipeg Rifles 48
Edmonton Wildcats 20

It was a tail of two halves as the Wildcats held a 17-13 lead at halftime before the Rifles exploded in the second half outscoring the home side 35-3 to win their third in a row.

The Rifles offence collected 503 yards of total offence, 440 of which came through the air. Quarterback Bryson McNeil completed 25 passes, four of them for touchdowns. Both Everett Findley and Luke McMillan each caught two touchdown passes with Findley gaining 206 yards on nine catches.  Thomas Hubbard added a rushing touchdown in the onslaught. 

Defensively Gabriel Grenier also scored a touchdown after recovering a fumble.   Linebacker Brandon Kamenz was outstanding with nine tackles, an interception and two knockdowns. Sam Hezekiah collected 10 solo tackles. 

The Wildcats came out flying scoring a touchdown just four minutes into the game when quarterback Caleb Taylor connected with Travis Heggart for a five-yard TD strike.  Then in the second quarter Manny McGill got into the endzone on a four-yard run.  There wasn’t much to celebrate for the Wildcats after that.

On Sunday the Rifles (3-2) will host the Regina Thunder (5-0) in what should be a highflying game.  On Saturday the Wildcats (0-5) will face their crosstown rivals the Huskies (3-2).

Edmonton Huskies 45
Calgary Colts 27

The Huskies scored 23 points in the second quarter and never looked back winning their second straight game as the offence gathered 465 yards.

On the ground the Huskies pounded the Colts with 295 yards and scored five touchdowns.  Alex Gayle was a beast carrying the rock 21 times for 194 yards and scored a pair of majors.  Milos Mandic, Christian Pulis and quarterback Jordan Lane also tallied scores.  Speaking of Lane, he completed 12 passes for 196 yards and hit Jordan Howe for a 23-yard touchdown. 

The Colts on the other hand battled but found it difficult to dig themselves out of the 23-point second quarter.  Quarterback Nick Kennedy threw for 224 yards and hit Tristan Remus-Arevalo twice for touchdowns.  Running back Alan Xiang scored a third quarter touchdown.

Arguably the most exciting play happened in the fourth quarter when Jonathan Dikoume returned a kick-off 101 yards for a touchdown for the visiting Colts.

This coming weekend the Huskies (3-2) will face the Wildcats (0-5) for the second time this season on Saturday and the Colts (2-3) will host the Saskatoon Hilltops (2-3) on Sunday.