Photo courtesy of Jake Bradley Photography

Saskatoon Hilltops 52
Edmonton Wildcats 7

Second time around and almost a repeat performance as the Hilltops blast the Wildcats once again scoring over 50 points.

Defensively the Hilltops shut out the Wildcats for the first three quarters and only allowed 148 total offensive yards.  They forced four turnovers and collected a pair of sacks.  Matt Wist led the way with six tackles and a sack while Isaac Rivilan and Dalton Urban recorded interceptions.

On the offensive side the Hilltops scored 17 points in the first quarter and didn’t look back.  Running back Boston Davidsen paced the ground game with 131 more yards on 20 carries and scored twice.  Charles Sawi also got into the endzone on the ground.

Through the air Trey Reider completed 13 passes for 187 yards and threw touchdowns to Evan Ward and Trystan Ginther. 

The lone Wildcats touchdown came late in the fourth when quarterback Julien Beaulieu found Breyan Elias for the score. 

This coming weekend the Hilltops (5-0) will visit the Edmonton Huskies (3-2) in a big game for both teams.  The Wildcats (0-5) will visit the Winnipeg Rifles (1-4).

Regina Thunder 23
Winnipeg Rifles 11

This was a hard-fought battle with the Thunder doing just enough to escape with a win in Winnipeg. 

Running back Ryland Leichert carried the rock 19 times for 110 yards and got into the endzone.  The aerial attack struggled against the Rifles secondary, but quarterback Carter Moberg did manage 18 completions for 218 yards and found Leichert for a touchdown leaking out of the backfield. 

Kicker Sean Green was solid with three field goals including a 40 yarder.   

The Rifles found it difficult to move the football against the Thunder defence.  As a matter of fact, their only touchdown came from their own defence.  Josh Yanchishyn intercepted a pass and returned it 69- yards for a major late in the fourth quarter.   He ended the game with two picks. 

With the win the Thunder move to 4-1 and will host the Calgary Colts (2-3) next weekend while the Rifles (1-4) fight for their playoff lives and entertain the Edmonton Wildcats (0-5).

Calgary Colts 48
Edmonton Huskies 40

It was a shootout in Calgary with the hometown Colts coming back to score 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull out their second win of the season. 

Their offence gained 596 total yards and was very balanced.

 Through the air quarterback Liam Ozkowski was outstanding completing 32 passes for 369 yards and found Nicholas Sirleaf nine times for 151 yards and two touchdowns including the game winning score with 43 seconds left. To add to his incredible performance, Ozkowski rushed five times for 61 yards and scored two majors.  Zion Dogbe-Brown was outstanding with 114 yards on nine carries and two more touchdowns. 

The Huskies offence was just as impressive, but their defence couldn’t get the stop they needed in the fourth quarter to secure the win. 

Offensively they tallied 399 yards, most of that through the air.   Quarterback Carson Neitz completed 12 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns.  He found Jordan Howe twice, along with Carver Trapp and Nolan Baragar once.  Neitz also ran for a touchdown. 

Next week the Colts (2-3) will look to extend their win streak to three when they visit the Regina Thunder (4-1).  The Huskies (3-2) need a win to keep pace in the Conference and will welcome the Saskatoon Hilltops (5-0).