Thunder rolls over Huskies

Regina Thunder players had been waiting a year for the kind of defensive success they are having against the Edmonton Huskies this season.

The latest example came Sunday when the Thunder used two interceptions and a momentum-swinging quarterback sack in a 38-7 win over the Huskies in front of 863 fans at Mosaic Stadium.

In a Week 1 win over the Huskies on Aug. 9, Regina recovered four fumbles and grabbed an interception.

"That's one thing we talked about in the off-season is that we never had any big plays," said linebacker Tyler Hogan, who had five solo tackles Sunday. "Sure we were stopping guys, but we never had any big turnover plays or big sacks or anything like that. That's one thing we're really focusing on this year -- big plays, emotional plays that will turn the game around."

The Thunder was last in the PFC in 2008 with just two interceptions and was second last with eight sacks.

On Sunday linebacker Landon Perra acted out the 2009 script to perfection. After Regina quarterback Reid Quest threw an interception in the end zone, the Huskies were attempting to get out of the shadow of their goal posts when Perra blindsided Edmonton pivot Drew Jacobson, forcing a fumble. Thunder safety Kurtis Sullivan picked up the ball on the three-yard line and walked it in for an easy touchdown.

"That was huge," said Quest, who finished 13-of-23 for 299 yards and four touchdowns. "After that play, we started putting points up on the board. We were down inside the 10 and never scored off it so for him to have a play like that was huge for our offence."

Up 14-0 at that point (after Jay Smith's one-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter), the Thunder went on to add two more majors in the half on 37- and 87-yard receptions by Kolten Solomon. The onslaught continued in the third as Regina built a 38-0 lead on a 33-yard field goal by Ben Koot and a five-yard touchdown catch by Jonathan Probe. Koot converted all five majors as the Thunder improved to 3-1.

It was the Regina defence though, that kept giving Quest and Co. the opportunity to score.

"If they got 125 yards on us, I'd be surprised," said Hogan, whose team is entering its bye week. "They couldn't run the ball and completed maybe 10 passes."

In fact, the Huskies tallied 154 total yards and 12 first downs, but were held to 10-for-28 passing and 85 yards. Two of those incomplete passes ended up in the arms of Mark Ingram and Cailen Musselman while the Huskies were in Regina territory in the fourth quarter. Edmonton did not get on the board until Colby Briard connected with Kevin Francis from 18 yards out with three minutes left in the game.

While the victory was being billed as a redemption game for the Thunder after many players felt they didn't perform well in a Week 3 loss to the Calgary Colts, it did come against the Huskies, who are 0-4 on the season.

"We can't get cocky, but it's still huge," said Ingram. "They're a team in this league and any team in this league is a force to be reckoned with. We outplayed them badly so there's nothing wrong with that."

"By no stretch of the imagination are we there and we have to understand who our opponent was," added head coach Erwin Klempner.

"But overall, the defence really took it to them -- there's no question -- as did the offence. When you're playing a team with nothing to lose and all they do is come at you ... it makes your job that much tougher."

Regina enters its bye week tied atop the standings with the Calgary Colts, who beat the Edmonton Wildcats 24-10 on Saturday, and the Saskatoon Hilltops, who defeated the Winnipeg Rifles 18-16 on Sunday. The Wildcats are one game back at 2-2 while the Rifles are 1-3. The Thunder's next game is Sept. 12 at Saskatoon.