PFC WEEK 9 PREVIEW

                                           Tom Hallick, PFC Media Coordinator

                WINNIPEG RIFLES AT EDMONTON HUSKIES    OCTOBER 7   NOON

The conference basement dwellers battle it out in the opening contest of the Sunday tripleheader. The Rifles gave the Regina Thunder a few fits last Sunday, but ultimately dropped a 31-26 decision. The Huskies come into Sunday’s season finale following a 42-33 defeat at home to Calgary.

Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball very well at times in last Sunday’s loss. The ground game led by Martin Hovi who plays his final junior game on Sunday racked up over 200 yards, thanks to Hovi’s 145-yard effort as well as quarterback John Kiesman’s 85 yards on 8 carries. The passing game shows flashes of brilliance as Brett Carter leads the conference in receiving yards with 724 with 43 catches. But Kiesman has struggled percentage-wise as he’s completed only 39 percent of his attempts on the season.

The Huskies offense has really cranked it up in the last 3 weeks as Trevor Erdmann has taken over the conference lead in passing yards with 1650 and has thrown for 7 scores in those 3 contests. However, Head Coach Rick Walters has got to be alarmed by the points & yardage surrendered by his team’s defense with each game. The Huskies have given up 1201 yards of real estate and 90 points in the last 2 games alone.

     EDMONTON WILDCATS AT REGINA THUNDER OCTOBER 7 1PM

Third place goes to the winner of the middle game of the weekend, while the vanquished squad heads to either Saskatoon or Calgary. The Wildcats look to rebound from a 28-15 loss, while Regina looks to finish the campaign on a 2-game roll after their 31-26 win in Winnipeg.

Wildcats quarterback Jordan Olson was diagnosed with a broken wrist last week after having troubles throwing the ball, so Taylor Yaremchuk & Jesse Schneider guided the Cats offense against Saskatoon and combined for 107 yards through the air. Conference leading rusher  Jordan Samoil was held to a season-low 37 yards last week by a strong Hilltops defense.

The Thunder may have themselves a platooning system at quarterback as Asher Hastings & Kyle Siemens split time in the win over Winnipeg, but no matter who’s throwing the pigskin, the Thunder have 2 pass catchers in the top 5 in Will Heward, who sits 2^nd and has 34 grabs & 5 touchdowns as well as Mitch Thompson who sits 4^th with just under 500 yards

   SASKATOON HILLTOPS AT CALGARY COLTS- SUNDAY OCTOBER 7 1PM

For the second time in 4 seasons, the PFC regular season crown is up for grabs on the season’s final day & game. In 2009, first place was on the line on the final day as the Colts jumped out to a huge first half lead, only to have a 180-degree momentum swing toward the end of the half and the Hilltops rallied from a 20-0 deficit to rout the Colts 48-27 to take the regular season title.

The Colts come into the final day with a 1-0 edge in the season series, thanks to their 32-30 season opening win in Saskatoon.

The Hilltops marched into Edmonton last Sunday and got out to an 18-0 lead as they downed the Wildcats 28-15, while the Colts dispatched the Huskies 42-33. Head Coach Tom Sargeant was concerned a little about the passing game, but was very happy with the effort put forth by the rushing game as well as the defense. As mentioned before, the Hilltops have 2 legitimate number 1 tailbacks in Brendon Gryba & Andre Lalonde, who lugged the leather for 202 yards.

The Colts of course look to put the clamps down on first place in the conference and with a win join an elite group of undefeated squads in PFC history, as they would join Saskatoon who have pulled off the feat 5 times in club history, with 4 of those coming in the 2000’s (02-04 & 08) along with the Regina Rams, who now ply their trade in the CIS as they had 4 undefeated seasons (1971, 84-85 & 88).

The Colts offense appears to have gotten things in gear at just the right time as they’ve handily won their last 2 contests and racked up 105 points in the process. PFC Offensive Player of the Week Derek Cooper passed for a season high 353 yards and 4 scores in the win. The defense had a slight slip as they gave up 33 last week. Calgary’s run game is improving by the week as DJ Whetton had a 93-yard game in the Edmonton win including a 76-yard touchdown run and Chucks Okafor ran for 89.

However, this contest looks to be a battle of the 2 best defenses in the conference as the Colts have conceded only 112 points, while the Toppers gave up 170 points

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                                                For more information, please contact,

                                                  Tom Hallick, PFC Media Coordinator

                                                             Cell: (204) 218-6596

                                                    E-Mail:  thallick@shaw.ca

                              Web: www.pfcfootball.com; www.gorillacagemedia.com