Following a 19-11 loss to the Winnipeg Rifles in a Prairie Football Conference pre-season game on Saturday, head coach Erwin Klempner and Co. plan to have the Thunder roster whittled down to 70 players by today.
Regina resumes practising today at Scotty Livingstone Field in preparation for its season opener against the host Edmonton Huskies on Sunday.
"We're not ready for the regular season just yet," Klempner said Saturday. "We've got four practices left and we're going to have to have four great practices to get it going. We made mistakes (Saturday) and left some points off the board when we should have finished. But the good news is we worked hard -- everyone is more or less in that boat -- so we're very confident where we're headed going into that game, but we have a lot of work to do."
Perhaps not as much of that work as expected will need to come along the offensive and defensive lines. The Thunder retained only two starting offensive linemen (Mike Bradshaw and Jordy Kyle) and one starting defensive lineman (Max Amyotte, who started half the team's games last season) from the 2008 squad.
Klempner conceded there were missed blocks and other mistakes along the lines, but doesn't have any overwhelming concerns heading into the regular season.
"The first quarter (when Regina opened up a 10-0 lead), we really moved the ball and had as many yards rushing as we did passing," said Klempner. "They had nothing on the ground. Our defensive line -- and the whole front seven -- did really well."
After the Thunder led in the opening 15 minutes, it was outscored 19-1 the rest of the way (full statistics were not available). Not exactly what coaches want to see, but Klempner was comfortable with his team's play considering substitutions began after the first quarter.
"After the first quarter it should have been 20-0," said Klempner. "The score could have been a lot higher, but that's OK. That's what a game like this is about.
"We saw the things we needed to see. The young guys made some mistakes, but they also fought back and made some plays."
Klempner said there still wasn't a clear-cut winner between third-year quarterbacks Reid Quest and Wyatt Catley. Quest, the 2008 starter, is the likely favourite despite having battled tendinitis in his throwing shoulder over the last month. Regina coaches are looking at returnees Mark Coons and Brennan Kasbrick as well as University of Saskatchewan Huskies transplant Shohruh Noraliev at the running back spot.
"It's a work in progress," said Klempner. "What we go with (Sunday) isn't necessarily what we're gong to finish with. Right now, we'll go with what we think the best combination is, but that could change."
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