Photo courtesy of Matthew Hamilton

Week 8 in the Prairie Football Conference saw some movement in the standings, with two blowouts and a tie.

The Saskatoon Hilltops moved into first place with a 44-19 victory in Winnipeg, and their second straight win over the Rifles thanks in large part to a 24 point third quarter.

The running attack was again key for the Toppers as PFC leading rusher Wayndel Lewis carried 26 times for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  In all eight players recorded rushing yards totally 256 yards and three majors.   Offensive lineman Drayke Unger pounded two yards for his first touchdown.

Quarterback Jared Andreychuk finished 11 of 21 for 217 yards and threw two touchdowns.  Evan Kopchinski caught four balls for a team high 155 yards and a major, while Logan Fischer caught the other TD pass.

The PFC’s leading scorer, kicker Brett Thorarinsson was a perfect 3-3 in field goals, including connecting from 42 yards out.

The Hilltops defense was solid not allowing a point in the fourth quarter.   They created five turnovers as Derek Sadownick and Tom Schnitzler picked off passes and Blake Herman and Justin Filteau recovered fumbles.  The Rifles also turnover the ball on downs.  Filteau led the club with five solo tackles.

With the victory the Hilltops (5-2) take sole possession of first place and will host the Edmonton Wildcats (3-4) on Thanksgiving Sunday in the regular season finale at 1:00pm.

The Winnipeg Rifles fall to under .500 for the first time this season after the loss.

Once again on offense Kurt Goodrich was featured.  The veteran hauled in a game high 12 receptions for 158 yards and a two touchdowns.  Niclas Bembenek caught three passes for 76 yards.

Quarterback Tyler Vieira finished 24 of 36 for 309 yards and the two touchdown passes to Goodrich.

On the defensive side Chris Brown-Fillion had a monster game.  He collected 11 solo tackles, an assist and share a sack with Brady Carter.   The lone turnover was fumble recovery that Brooks Falloon jumped on.

The Rifles (3-4) have lost three straight and three games at home this year. They will conclude the regular season, fighting for a playoff spot, on Thanksgiving Sunday when they travel to Regina (4-2-1).

The Calgary Colts inched closer to a playoff spot after their 34-6 win over the Wildcats in Edmonton despite just 219 yards of total offense.

The defense was outstanding, holding the Cats without a touchdown and to a single point in the second half.   Brock Ramias had solo tackles and Jakub Jakoubek collected six solo tackles, a knockdown and an interception.  Eric Chamberland recovered a fumble, while Tariq LaChance and Serge Archambault each had a sack.

Offensively quarterback Brett Hunchak completed 10 of 23 passes for 155 yards and threw a TD pass to Jevon Cottoy. 

On the ground Cam Fox carried the rock 17 times for 61 yards scored his fifth touchdown of the season.

Kicker Mashal Broom hit four of five field goal attempts, including a 40 yarder.

The Colts (3-4) will look to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday night when they play their third straight road game, heading to Edmonton to face the Huskies (2-4-1).

The Edmonton Wildcats have lost two straight and four of their last five games despite outgaining the Colts last weekend.

Quarterback Jordan Olson was 14 of 23 for 155 yards, while Colton Hippe completed three of four for 25 yards.  Neither player threw a touchdown pass, however Ryan Smith caught seven passes for 74 yards.

Running back Anthony Myroon did most of the damage with 21 carries for 110 yards.

Defensively Mike Hansen led the Wildcats with seven solo tackles, and half a sack.  Isaiah Hoeppner had the other half sack, while Marcus Goods collected four solo tackles and a full sack.

The Wildcats (3-4) will try and turn the ship and hold onto a playoff spot when they travel to Saskatoon to play the Hilltops (5-2) in a Thanksgiving Day showdown.

Sunday afternoon the Edmonton Huskies showed they would not roll over against the defending champs forcing a 27-27 tie with the Regina Thunder.

The Huskies kicked a field goal with just over seven minutes to go to tie the game and each team kicked field goals in overtime to finish in the deadlock.

It was the Huskies who outgained the Thunder offensively with 434 total yards.  More than half of those (262) were gained the ground.  Running back Jimmie Airey carried 25 times for 146 yards, both game highs.  Quarterback Trevor Erdmann scrambled eight times for 53 yards and scored to touchdowns with his legs.

Through the air Erdmann finished 14 of 34 for 198 yards.  He connected with Colton Balicki five times for 90 yards.

Kicker Marc LaPlante was a perfect 4-4 in field goals, his longest from 33 yards out.

Defensively the Huskies created four turnovers as Daniel Loggale, Chase Paylor and Gaetano Minto each intercepted passes, while Jacob Battenfelder recovered a fumble.  Both Connor Knox and Darcy Miner had a sack while Bryce Lea and Cole McCormick shared one.  Branden Modin collected nine solo tackles.

The Huskies (2-4-1) will host the Calgary Colts (3-4) on Saturday night at Clarke Park.

The Regina Thunder got touchdowns on offense and on special teams in the tie with the Huskies.

Due to an injury to their starting quarterback Jaeden Marwick, back-up Spencer Mack was thrust into action and finished nine of 20 for 118 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Preston Bews.  He also threw three interceptions.

Bews made a team high three catches for 56 yards.

Nick Brown led the running attack with 20 carries for 98 yards.  Matt Frass chipped in with eight carries for 57 yards.

Following a Huskies kick-off halfway through the second quarter, Thunder returner Kristiane Desautels sprinted 90 yards to the end zone to answer the Huskies major.

Kicker William McGee was three of four in field goal attempts including a 47 yarder.

The Thunder defense didn’t create turnover, but Brandon Whitehouse had a game high nine solo tackles and two sacks.  Marcus Hall had eight solo tackles and Mason Dick had seven.

Thanksgiving Sunday the Thunder (4-2-1) will host the Winnipeg Rifles (3-4) in the regular season finale with playoff positioning on the line.