REGINA THUNDER @ SASKATOON HILLTOPS – 1:00 PM KICKOFF SUNDAY
ONLINE BROADCAST: www.magic983.fm 12:30 LOCAL
It will be an all-Saskatchewan final on Sunday afternoon as the Regina Thunder lock horns with the Saskatoon Hilltops in the 34th PFC Championship Game at Gordie Howe Bowl. The winner hosts the Canadian Bowl on Saturday November 13th.
An awful lot has been made and rightfully so about the field conditions in the 2009 PFC title game, and the snow that fell this week may not help matters in that department. Nevertheless, the entire Hilltops organization will be casting their eyes to the skies with the hopes that no further precipitation falls on Sunday.
Let’s have a look at the teams.
REGINA THUNDER:
Regular Season Record: 6-2, 2nd 342 PF, 169 PA
How They Got Here: Defeated the Calgary Colts 17-6 in the semi-finals last Sunday.
Who to Keep an Eye on:
QB Reid Quest:
The PFC’s leading passer retained his title in 2010 with 2194 yards and 25 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 117.2 and has the best receiving tandem in the conference in Kolten Solomon and Jay Smith who combined for 85 catches, 1477 yards and 15 touchdowns at his disposal.
RB Mark Coons:
The veteran back used a 278-yard performance in the final regular season game at Winnipeg to vault past Rifle tailback Kienan LaFrance and claim the rushing title with 1153 yards. Last week in the semi-final, a stellar Calgary defensive effort held him to 76.
DB Mark Ingram:
Ingram intercepted 4 passes on the season, tying fellow DB Cody Johnstone for the team lead. Ingram took one wayward pass in for a major score. Ingram ended up 8th in the defensive point standings with 90.
The Wildcard:
As good a receiver as Kolten Solomon is, he just maybe as big of a threat on kick returns as he took 2 kickoffs for touchdowns in 2010, one of those was a season-high 111-yard return.
The Skinny:
The Thunder has assembled an outstanding cast of players over the last 4 years. If Quest and company can come up with a huge afternoon, then all the work put in over that time frame will pay off handsomely.
SASKATOON HILLTOPS:
Regular Season Record: 7-1 1st, 316 PF, 123 PA,
How They Got Here: Defeated Winnipeg Rifles 59-25 in the semi-finals last Sunday.
Who to Keep an Eye On:
QB Chase Bradshaw:
Bradshaw was the runner up to Quest in passing yards with 1591, touchdowns with 14 and quarterback rating (104.9) in the conference and has an impressive set of receiving targets in his own right with Ian Miller & Kit Hillis. The pair in their own right, combined for 58 grabs, 974 yards
RB/KR Brendon Gryba:
Gryba has emerged as a dual threat as a kick-returner as evidenced by his record-tying 100-yard kickoff return against Winnipeg and also as a tailback as he’s stepped in for injured tailback Regan Schuler who as of this writing is questionable for Sunday’s final and ran for 148 yards & 3 touchdowns last week.
S Graig Newman:
The 5th-year safety turned in a phenomenal effort in the semi-final win, picking up 6 tackles, 3 assists, 2 pass knockdowns, a fumble recovery, a 12-yard interception return AND 2 special teams assists for 27 defensive points. The 27-point afternoon was the 3rd-best single playoff performance in conference history.
The Wildcard:
The Hilltops and Thunder have clashed 3 times previously in the playoffs, with the Toppers taking all 3 semi-finals; 22-17 in 2002, 37-28 in 2007 and 30-24 in 2009.
The Skinny:
The Hilltops defense forced 8 Winnipeg turnovers in last week’s semi-final win, but gave up 501 yards of net offense. If Newman, Corbin Eskelson, Mike Prebble & company can force Regina’s offense to cough up the ball a few times as well as cut down on the amount of real estate conceded, then the Hilltops will regain the conference crown.
– By Tom Hallick, PFC Media Coordinator
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
