Photo courtesy of Eclectic Shots

An exciting three games across the Prairie Conference this past weekend with the Hilltops, Colts and Huskies each claiming a win.

Saskatoon Hilltops 36
Regina Thunder 6

The battle of the top two teams in the Prairie Conference on Saturday night turned into a one-sided affair as the Hilltops blasted the Thunder.

Defensively they were simply outstanding, not allowing a Thunder touchdown and forced four turnovers including three interceptions, two by Carter Wingert, the other by Matt Wist.  Furthermore, they held the passing attack of the Thunder to under 100 yards. 

Offensively they scored 22 of their 36 points in the first half and used a balanced attack.  Quarterback Trey Reider is gaining confidence with each game and completed 19 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns hitting Noah Flaman for all three.  Running back Boston Davidsen added to the production with 120 yards on 24 carries and had a major. 

The Thunder didn’t have much offensive push against the Hilltops defence but did see some success on the ground with Ryland Leichert who rushed 22 times for 149 yards.

This coming weekend the Hilltops (4-0) will visit the Edmonton Wildcats (0-4), and the Thunder (3-1) will travel to Winnipeg for a date with the Rifles (1-3).

Calgary Cols 33
Winnipeg Rifles 21

The Colts offence woke up in a big way this past weekend recording their first win and gained 440 total offensive yards. 

Quarterback Liam Ozkowski shredded the Rifles secondary for 346 yards on 31 completions and two touchdowns.  He found his favourite target Nicholas Sirleaf 11 times for 159 yards and a score, and hit Alan Xiang leaking out of the backfield for an 18-yard touchdown strike.   Xiang also rushed for two more touchdowns on 15 carries. 

The Colts defence held the Rifles to 14 yards on the ground, collected four sacks with Brady Johnson leading the way with 1.5 sacks, two tackles and a fumble recovery. 

All 21 points from the Rifles came through the air.  Quarterback Thomas Hubbard threw for a pair of majors, while Brady Meeks threw one on a trick play.   Receiver Kaiden Banfield made two touchdown receptions and Adam Fast hauled in the other. Hubbard did throw for 236 yards on 14 completions. 

This weekend the Colts (1-3) will host the Edmonton Huskies (3-1) and the Rifles (1-3) head back home to welcome the Regina Thunder (3-1).

Edmonton Huskies 39
Edmonton Wildcats 11

For the second straight game the Huskies took down the Wildcats in the battle of Edmonton and move to 3-1 on the campaign. 

Through the air Carson Neitz completed 10 passes for 122 yards and had a touchdown, while Jackson Harnett was a perfect 5-5 for 77 yards and threw two touchdowns.  Williams Campbell caught two of those majors and Jordan Howe hauled in the other.   Neitz also had a rushing touchdown on his three carries.  Running back Carson Eddy had a two-yard touchdown plunge. 

The Huskies defence played a solid game, not allowing the Wildcats to gain much traction.   Sam Kolkman and Cedric McCallum each had an interception as they held the ‘Cats to 228 yards of total offence. 

The only Wildcats touchdown came from their defence in the second quarter.  Devan Boos picked up a fumble and returned it 63-yards for a score. 

This coming weekend the Huskies (3-1) will visit the Calgary Cols (1-3) and the Wildcats (0-4) host the Saskatoon Hilltops (4-0).