Snowy photo courtesy of Wanda Harron Photography

The Prairie Conference concluded their regular season schedule on Thanksgiving Sunday, and the playoff bracket is now set. 

Regina Thunder 56
Edmonton Wildcats 3

Snow was falling in Regina on Sunday, so the Thunder turned to the run game and pounded their way to a victory, clinching first place and homefield advantage in the process.

They shattered a CJFL team rushing record in a single game combining for an eye-popping 632 yards on the ground.  Both Peter Boersch and Carter Ashman rushed for over 200 yards, and each scored a touchdown.  Jackson Harnett scored two touchdowns and Jayden Zelionka, Jakeb Cortus and offensive lineman Caleb Barajas added one each.   A total of seven rushers carried the ball 44 times helping them set the new record of 632 yards.  The previous mark was 588 yards set by the Edmonton Huskies in 2002.

Quarterback Adam Mosher completed three passes, one of which resulted in an Andrew Sweeney touchdown. 

The Thunder defence forced five Wildcat turnovers and Lucas Dakiniewich had the lone sack.

With the win the Thunder will host the Edmonton Huskies on Sunday as the Conference opens the CJFL Canadian Bowl playoffs.   The Wildcats meanwhile are eliminated from postseason play after not being able to stop the Thunder running attack.

Saskatoon Hilltops 31
Calgary Colts 6

The Hilltops head into the CJFL Canadian Bowl playoffs with a victory during the regular season finale and have locked down the second seed and will host a semifinal next weekend. 

Offensively they were dominating on the ground led by the CJFL’s newest 1000-yard rusher David Collins.  He galloped for 119 yards on 12 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.  Charles Sawi was outstanding, scoring two majors on nine carries and gathered 51 yards.  In all, four rushers collected 235 yards.

The Toppers defence was awesome in holding the Colts to 111 net offensive yards. As a unit they forced 10 turnovers, recovering four fumbles. 

The lone Colts points were recorded in the fourth with three minutes to play.   Quarterback Jan Djoumessi scampered into the endzone from three yards out.  The most exciting Colts play came on a Davin Bajema interception return of 50 yards giving his club something to cheer about.

Sunday afternoon the Hilltops will welcome the third seeded Winnipeg Rifles in the seasonal series rubber match and a semifinal with the winner advancing to the Conference championship.  With the loss the Colts season comes to an end.

Winnipeg Rifles 47
Edmonton Huskies 11

The Rifles went on the road on Sunday and put up 47 points, clinching the third seed in the Conference.  It was arguably their most complete game of the season. 

Defensively they gave up 11 first quarter points, then didn’t give up much the rest of the way, shutting out the home side for the final three quarters.   Nigel Reader intercepted a pass and returned in 33 yards, Christian Czezowski recorded the lone sack, and Cohen McCluskey tallied a game high 9.5 tackles. 

On the offence, running back Kaiden Banfield seemingly had his way against the Huskies defence rushing 26 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns.  Quarterback Riley Element only completed eight passes but two of them were for touchdowns finding Jalen McDonald and Cole Davies. 

The Rifles special teams even got in on the scoring when Jarome Penner returned a third quarter punt 80 yards for a major and in the process killed any momentum the Huskies may have had at that point.

After a successful opening quarter, the Huskies were shutout.   Their lone touchdown was a four-yard rush by Sena Mortotsi with four minutes to play in the first frame.   Their defence did force six turnovers but they couldn’t take advantage.  Matt Alloway intercepted a pass and jumped on a fumble and Moise Mutebutsi blocked a field goal attempt. 

The Rifles clinch the third seed and will travel to Saskatoon next weekend to meet the Hilltops in a Conference semifinal.  Despite the loss, the Huskies clinched the fourth seed also heading on road when they visit the Regina Thunder on Sunday.