WEEK #2 IN REVIEW
WINNIPEG RIFLES 43
EDMONTON HUSKIES 36 AUGUST 29 CANAD INNS STADIUM
The Winnipeg Rifles & Edmonton Huskies served up a back and forth offensive battle in front of 592 fans at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It went down to the very last play as the Green Gunners hung on to eke out a 43-36 win to even their 2010 record at 1-1.
The Huskies opened up the scoring nearly 7 minutes into the opening frame as Braedon Kopernick returned an Andrew Wiebe punt 55 yards for the game’s opening major.
The Green Gunners then opened up the Kienan Lafrance Show as he would scamper 66 yards for the game-tying score. That would be the start of a phenomenal afternoon.
Yembeh Moiba would haul in a 27-yard pass from Tyler Nickel to give Winnipeg a 14-7 lead. But the visitors would rebound as Anthony Barrett reeled in a 55-yard Ben Gorniak pass to even the score at 14 apiece nearly 90 seconds later. But the Rifles would quickly build a 2-score edge with touchdowns from Matt Lariviere on a 26-yard catch from Nickel at 13:04, and then only 38 seconds later, following the first of 2 Pedja Hamzic picks, Lafrance would barge in the end zone from a yard out to up the advantage to 28-14. An Andrew Wiebe kickoff single followed and a Mike Goldring 26-yard field goal for the Huskies would hand the Rifles a 29-17 halftime cushion.
The teams would trade touchdowns in a 90-second span early in the third as Sam Schwab scored on a 19-yard pass from Gorniak, and then Lariviere got his 2nd TD thanks to a 42-yard reception. Lariviere would have 3 catches for 106 yards.
Only 94 seconds later, Lafrance would get his 3rd score, a 68-yard dash to give the Gunners a 43-24 lead. Goldring would connect on a 30-yard attempt to make it 43-27 Winnipeg after 3. Lafrance would finish the day with 24 carries for 291 yards, a new single game Rifles record and unofficially, the 8th-best single game mark in PFC history.
A 4th quarter safety, followed by a Zach Wilkie 36-yard touchdown would set up a nail-biting finish as the visitors drove from their 19 to the Winnipeg 17. Anthony Barrett had dropped the game-tying score, leaving the Huskies with 1 second & 1 chance to tie or win it. Pedja Hamzic would get the game saving interception in the end zone to preserve a wild win.
Head Coach Greg Graceffo had this to say after the win, “As I said to the players after the game, “We should be pleased that we won, but we cannot be content with our overall play today. There are many positives to take from today’s game, but we still have a lot of work to do as a team in order to improve”.
The Rifles ran for 320 yards on the day and had 483 total yards. Tyler Nickel would complete 8 of 20 for 170 yards, with 3 TD’s and 1 INT. The Huskies replied with 438. Gorniak was sensational, completing 25 of 37 for 377 and 3 majors.
The Green Gunners & Huskies wrap up the back-to-back set next Sunday in Edmonton, the only game on the week 3 slate.
EDM WPG
1st DOWNS 16 19
YDS RUSH 74 320
YDS PASS 385 186
NET OFF 438 483
PASSING
C A YDS TD INT
GORNIAK EDM 25 37 377 3 3
JOHNSON EDM 1 1 8 0 0
NICKEL WPG 8 20 170 3 1
MARSCH WPG 2 4 16 0 0
RUSHING C YDS TD
GOODING EDM 16 53 0
LAFRANCE WPG 24 291 3
RECEIVING C YDS TD
SCHWAB EDM 6 81 1
SCHUIT EDM 6 46 0
LARIVIERE WPG 3 106 2
MOIBA WPG 1 27 1
DEFENSE:
LAURI EDM 6 TKLS 1 PUNT BLOCK 16 PTS
HAUPTKORN WPG 8 TKLS 16 DPTS
VINCENT WPG 5 TKLS, 2 ASSISTS, 2 SPECIAL TEAMS TACKLES 16 DPTS
SASKATOON HILLTOPS 27
EDMONTON WILDCATS 13 AUGUST 29 CLARKE PARK
The middle matchup of the second week was a rematch of the 2009 PFC Championship Game with the Hilltops aiming to regain a bit of revenge. On the other hand the Wildcats were looking to get back to the .500 mark after dropping their home opener 32-14 to Regina.
The game was scoreless until Regan Schuler scored on a 14-yard run to give Saskatoon a 7-0 lead. The Toppers doubled their lead as Kit Hillis would return a punt 68 yards for his 2nd punt return TD on the young season. Saskatoon led by 14 after 15.
The Wildcats would register the only three points of the second stanza as Donavan Kavich would connect on a 14-yard chipshot to wrap up a 6-play, 51-yard drive. The Wildcats would be stopped on a third-and-goal at the Saskatoon 1 toward the end of the half.
Shiane Runcie would score on a 3-yard scamper to pull the champions to within 4 at 14-10. The drive would take 8-plays, 57 yards and nearly 4 minutes. Jean-Luc Bugeaud would round out the 3rd quarter scoring with a 35-yard field goal to make it 14-13 coming home.
The Hilltops started the final frame with Ian Miller getting his 4th TD, thanks to a 19-yard pass from Chase Bradshaw a mere 11 seconds in. Zach Schmidt would make good on 18 & 24-yard placements, with the last one coming with 46 seconds left to seal a 27-13 win that sees the Hilltops go to 2-0 and the champions fall to 0-2.
EDM SASK
1st DOWNS 22 20
YDS RUSH 184 201
YDS PASS 145 171
NET OFF 321 371
PASSING
C A YDS TD INT
Senuik EDM 16 25 145 0 0
Bradshaw SASK 14 19 170 1 0
RUSHING C YDS TD
Runcie EDM 13 65 1
Senuik EDM 9 53 0
Regan Schuler SASK 24 160 1
Lalonde SASK 2 24 0
RECEIVING C YDS TD
Johnson EDM 3 35 0
Lambert EDM 9 64 0
Miller Hilltops 5 105 1
Hillis Hilltops 5 43 0
DEFENSE
Newman SASK 8 TACKLES 16 DPTS
Splawinski SASK 8 TACKLES 16 DPTS
Podloski EDM 6 TACKLES 12 DPTS
Hanson EDM 5 TACKLES 1 FUMBLE RECOVERY 12 DPTS
REGINA THUNDER 59
CALGARY COLTS 10 MOSAIC STADIUM AUGUST 29
The finale of the Sunday triple-header featured 2 of the PFC’s best outfits slugging it out at Mosaic Stadium. This slugfest turned out to be a very one-sided bout as the Thunder scored a shockingly easy win in Regina’s home opener.
The home side owned quarter leads of 14-0, 28-2 & 52-2. The Thunder held Calgary passers Jeremy Long, Brett Serhyenko & Clayton Masikewich to a combined 177 yards passing and intercepted 5 passes on the afternoon.
Reid Quest threw for 282 yards, completing 15 of 22 with 5 TD’S and an INT. Kolten Solomon reeled in a 75-yard bomb, his 3rd TD grab and 4th major of the season. Jay Smith would get his first 2 TD’s of the year. Newcomer Brandon Sieber would get in on the fun with a TD snag. Clay Cooke & Jon Probe also tallied touchdowns as Wyatt Catley would throw for a major score. The Thunder would amass 520 yards in net offense.
Jake Harty scored on a 20-yard 4th quarter run for the lone Colt touchdown dash; he would run for 93 yards. Coung Thai Lieu would end up a yard short of 100 on 18 carries.
CGY REG
1st DOWNS 20 24
YDS RUSH 210 184
YDS PASS 177 338
NET OFF 368 520
PASSING
C A YDS TD INT
LONG CGY 5 9 67 0 0
SERHYENKO CGY 6 16 71 0 3
MASIKEWICH CGY 2 5 39 0 2
QUEST REG 15 22 282 5 1
CATLEY REG 3 5 44 1 0
RUSHING C YDS TD
LIEU CGY 18 99 0
HARTY CGY 7 83 1
COONS REG 17 129 1
RECEIVING C YDS TD
HARTY CGY 5 57 0
SOLOMON REG 7 205 1
SMITH REG 5 50 2
SIEBER REG 2 41 1
DEFENSE:
SARETSKY CGY 4 TKLS, 1 ASSIST, 1 FR, 1 INT 14 DPTS
INGRAM REG 4 TKLS, 1 ASSIST, 2 INT, 1 FR, 1 TD 21 DPTS
BAIRU REG 6 TKLS, 3 ASSISTS, 1 INT/46 YDS 19 DPTS
