(NOTE: OFC Week 7 Recap to be posted later today)
PFC Week 7 Recap
Just two games in the PFC this past weekend as both teams from Saskatchewan scored victories.
On Saturday the Regina Thunder compiled 597 yards of total offense and blew out the Winnipeg Rifles 40-13.
Quarterback Asher Hastings had a terrific game finishing 18 of 27 for 301 yards and threw four touchdowns. He found Mitchell Thompson eight times for a game high 130 yards and a major, while Brady Keller hauled in five balls for 103 yards and two scores. Preston Bews’ only reception was a 27 yard touchdown strike.
Not only did the Thunder have success throwing the ball, but they had equal success running it. Nick Brown carried 17 times for 131 yards, while Justin Banin rushed five times for 60 yards.
The Thunder defense played solid as four players each had four solo tackles. Dustin Erbach was one of those players and also had an interception and a knockdown. Taylor Garrett forced and recovered a fumble and tallied a sack.
The Thunder (5-1) have won four straight and will conclude the home and home with the Rifles (2-4) in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon.
The Winnipeg Rifles had good success throwing the ball against the Thunder on Saturday, but didn’t have much luck running the ball, or stopping the home side defensively.
Quarterback Ryan Marsch completed 17 of 37 for 261 yards, finding Kurt Goodrich five times for 107 yards and the lone touchdown. Scott Naujoks and Matthew Lariviere both caught three passes.
Blair Mattes did manage 53 yards on the ground on nine carries.
The only other scoring for the Rifles was two field goals off the foot of Brad Mikoluff.
Defensively the Rifles did force four turnovers as Donovan Gregoire intercepted a pass to go along with his six solo tackles. Braedy Will also picked off a pass and recovered a fumble. Logan Thacker also jumped on a loose ball. Myles McInnes tallied five solo tackles.
The Rifles (2-4) will get another crack at the Thunder (5-1) on Sunday afternoon, this time on their home field.
The only other game in the PFC saw the Saskatoon Hilltops beat the Edmonton Wildcats in a strange 8-6 final.
The Cats conceded a safety just over a minute into the game, which turned out to be the difference.
Hilltops kicker Brett Thorarinsson connected on two field goals in the first quarter for the only other scoring.
Quarterback Matt Karpinka finished 11 of 25 for 182 yards for the defending champs. He found Graham Unruh four times for 74 yards and Evan Kopchinski for three catches and 61 yards.
Andre Lalonde rumbled 26 times for 129 yards.
The Hilltops defense didn’t record a turnover, but Cam Schnitzler, Cole Benkic and Austin Thorarinson all had six solo tackles. Matt Kozun compiled three knockdowns while Brett Pisio had three special teams tackles.
Sunday afternoon the Hilltops (5-1) will face the Wildcats again, but this time at the Gordie Howe Bowl.
The Edmonton Wildcats outgained the Hilltops with 355 yards of total offense, but couldn’t score.
Running back Levon Hawreliak rushed 22 times for 179 yards, while quarterback Taylor Yaremchuk finished 12 of 35 for 152 yards.
The only scoring the Cats could muster was two first half field goals from Ideen Samadi.
Aiden Panchyshyn had a terrific game with 10 solo tackles. Geoff Piper recorded the lone sack, while Luc Catellier intercepted a pass for the lone turnover of the game. Brett Morrow chipped in with five solo tackles.
The Cats (3-3) will travel to Saskatoon to face the Toppers (5-1) again on Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm.
Photo courtesy of Trevor Robb
BCFC Week 10
A few more things became clear in the hunt for the four playoff spots this past weekend as the Raiders, Sun and Rebels all recorded wins.
The Game of the Week in Langley saw the visiting VI Raiders run their winning streak to six after a 22-12 victory over the Rams. Statistically both teams were fairly even as the Raiders collected 294 yards of total offense compared to the Rams’ 279 total yards.
The Raiders suffered a big blow when starting quarterback Jamie Ybarra was knocked out of the game with an injury. Jaeden Marwick took over and finished seven of 15 for 141 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Alex Thompson. Marwick also scampered eight yards for a major.
On the ground Andrew Deleon rushed 10 times for the Raiders gathering 106 yards.
With five catches Thompson led the Raiders receiving corp gaining 106 yards and the lone touchdown. Dylan Schrot made two catches for 47 yards.
Kicker Ryan Jones added to the Raiders scoring connecting in a 20 yard field goal.
On the defensive side of things the Raiders forced four turnovers and four sacks. Nigel Henry, Cole Sampson and Cole Bishop each had interceptions while Hayden Mebs jumped on a fumble. Ash Gayat had a terrific game with three sacks and three solo tackles. Tristen Koronkiewicz tallied the other sack. With seven solo tackles Dylan Chapdelaine led the club.
With a win this coming Saturday the Raiders (7-2) will win the BCFC regular season and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They will host the Westshore Rebels (2-7) at 1:00pm on Saturday.
With the loss this past weekend the Langley Rams sit on the outside looking in at a home playoff date.
Quarterback Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren finished 13 of 31 for 150 yards, a touchdown, but threw three interceptions. His lone touchdown pass was to Malcolm Williams who hauled in four balls for 65 yards. Gilbert-Knorren also scrambled nine times for 40 yards.
Kyle Albertini was again a force on the ground for the Rams. The veteran carried a game high 15 times for 118 yards.
Defensively the Rams collected five sacks, led by Evan Foster who had a pair, for 12 on the season which ties a BCFC single season record. He also had three assisted tackles and a forced fumble. Joe Patko was named the McKinnon Career College Player of the Game after collecting a game high nine solo tackles, a sack, and forced and recovered a fumble. Nate De Rappard-Scott and Jacob Patko also had sacks and four tackles each.
The Rams (6-3) will finish the regular season on the road in Chilliwack on Saturday afternoon against the Valley Huskers (2-6-1).
Also on Saturday afternoon the Westshore Rebels snapped a three game losing streak with a nail-biting 22-20 win over the Kamloops Broncos.
Rebels’ running back Niles Goguen rumbled 10 times for 65 yards and had two touchdowns in the victory, while quarterback Hunter Lake completed nine of 23 for 178 and threw a touchdown pass.
Eric Eggleston made four catches for 93 yards and the lone touchdown through the air. He added two rushes for 28 yards.
Defensively the Rebels recorded two turnovers and three sacks. Chris Pastro was named the McKinnon Career Coaching Player of the Game with four tackles, seven assists, two special teams tackles, a block and a forced fumble. Tanner Rodinsky was terrific with four solo tackles, three assists, and a sack and forced and recovered a fumble. Jake Hauge had a pick, knockdown and two tackles, while Nevil Meyer and Mike Barry also had sacks.
The Rebels (2-7) will travel to Nanaimo to face the VI Raiders (7-2) in their season finale on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the loss the Kamloops Broncos remain in the playoff hunt and actually outgained the Rebels offensively.
Running back Jacob Palmarin had his best game of the season galloping 21 times for 221 yards and scored a touchdown. He becomes the third Kamloops player to rush for over 200 yards in a game. Sheldon Brown chipped in with six carries for 28 yards.
Quarterback Steve Schuweiler was eight of 14 for 74 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Devin Csincsa, who made five catches in total for 45 yards.
Kicker Anthony Arduini kept the Broncos in the game with two field goals from 22 and 35 yards out.
On the “D” Dan Orydzuk led the way with two interceptions and three solo tackles. Julio Makambo recovered a fumble to go along with his two tackles and two assists. Grady Chalmers tallied the lone sack and Kyle Haddow led the club with four solo tackles.
The Broncos (2-6-1) currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot and with a win in Kelowna on Sunday afternoon against the Okanagan Sun (7-2) will nail down their first ever post season berth.
The Okanagan Sun took sole possession of second place on Sunday afternoon with a commanding 61-0 shutout of the Valley Huskers, for their second consecutive shutout. It’s the 250th win for the Sun in just 311 games.
Running back Alex Bradley was terrific, racking up 208 all purpose yards. He carried the rock 16 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns, and then returned a kickoff 100 yards for a fourth TD. He was named the McKinnon Career Coaching Player of the Game.
Quarterback Theo Deezar completed seven of 10 passes for 126 yards and threw three touchdown passes. His favourite receiver was Tommy Howes, making six receptions for 82 yards and a major. Zach Regert and Lerone Robinson both caught a touchdown pass.
The Sun defense got on the scoreboard as well as Wes Giesler intercepted a pass and brought it back 62 yards for a touchdown. Matt McConnel also picked off a pass while Landon King, Alan McKearney and Dan Ruddy recovered fumbles. Jonas Gering led the club with five tackles and a sack and Brandon Donkers and King each blocked a kick, adding to the team total of 12.
The Sun (7-2) will face the Kamloops Broncos (2-6-1) for the third time this season on Sunday afternoon at the Apple Bowl at 2:00pm.
The Valley Huskers concluded the road portion of their schedule on Sunday in the loss to the Sun, gaining just 124 offensive yards.
Quarterback Cody Parray was 10 of 21 for 63 yards through the air and carried five times for 48 yards on the ground. He connected with six different receivers and Blake Draper led the way with five catches.
Defensively the Huskers were led by Josh Giroux with four tackles while both Hayden Jefferies and Cody Vinnish each had three stops.
The Huskers (2-6-1) will finish the regular season on the newly installed turf at Exhibition Stadium on Saturday afternoon when they host the Langley Rams (6-3). In order for the Huskers to capture a playoff spot, they will need to beat the Rams and hope the Broncos fall in Kelowna and the Rebels lose in Nanaimo.
Photo courtesy of Greystoke Photography
OFC
Brody Essery caught two touchdown passes but the Burlington Braves could not overcome a 20-7 halftime deficit as they fell 47-21 to the Windsor AKO Fratmen in Saturday’s Ontario Football Conference game at Nelson Stadium.
Windsor shut down the Burlington running game, holding the Braves to just 30 yards on the ground while the Fratmen rushed for 299 yards. Burlington had more success with its passing game as Tyler Bistrovich completed 12 of 27 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Essery (five catches for 94 yards) and Kurtin Cadette (three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown) were Bistovich’s main targets.
Defensively, Kevin Beckstead had four tackles and recovered a fumble while Joey Christian had a team-best five solo tackles. Cory Pattison also recovered a fumble and Bistrovich had an interception. Steve Connery and Nigel Spencer each had four solo tackles.
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