A storybook season for the Regina Thunder has ended in the best way possible.
For the second time in team history, they’re Canadian Junior Football League champions.
The Thunder battled through a back-and-forth contest before securing a 42-21 victory over the B.C. champion Westshore Rebels in the Canadian Bowl national title game on Sunday afternoon.
The final score wasn't indicative of how the game played out, as things were exceptionally close until the fourth quarter.
Westshore got things started on the afternoon when quarterback Anthony Cancellare found Gio Linuzzi for a 38-yard touchdown through the air only 1:32 into the contest.
Regina had a couple of promising drives come up short not long after, but kicker Harry Case was, well, on the case. He hit field goals from 34 yards and 18 yards at five minutes and 11:52 to see Westshore leading 7-6 after the opening quarter.
The Thunder offence found their stride early in the second, with quarterback Jayden Zelionka punching it in from two yards out at the 2:30 mark for a 13-7 lead.
A missed 43-yard field goal increased Regina’s lead to seven with 7:14 to play in the half, but that edge wouldn’t stick. Westshore’s Zion Brown hauled in another 38-yard pass with just over two minutes left in the half to tie things 14-14 heading into the break.
Another short rushing touchdown by Zelionka with 6:14 gone in the third quarter restored Regina’s seven-point lead, and they carried that 21-14 margin into the final frame.
There, a two-yard pass to the Rebels’ Kwame Franklin with 1:41 gone once again tied things up. That was the last good news on the day for the home team.
Standout Thunder running back Peter Boersch finally broke one free on Regina’s next possession, going 33 yards to the house to give Regina a lead they never relinquished.
Zelionka scored his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge with 2:54 remaining and Matthew Morris finished things off with a 10-yard run with 29 seconds to play.
And with that, the Regina Thunder were national champions.
Zelionka ended up completing 18 of 23 passes for 283 yards, while Boersch had another incredible game with 39 carries for 281 yards. Tanner Donovel caught all six passes thrown his way for 83 yards. Ben Walz had five catches for 60 yards.
Cancellare was 18-for-36 passing for 387 yards. Franklin was his top target with five catches for 108 yards. Regina absolutely smothered the Rebels run game, allowing only 36 yards total, with Jerin Harinen getting 26 of those.
Regina had an impressive 607 yards of offence on the day. Westshore picked up 423.
It was a run of incredible success for Regina all season long.
The Thunder put together a 7-1 regular season record in the Prairie Football Conference before a commanding playoff run to get the Canadian Bowl.
That included a 40-10 victory over the Calgary Colts in the league semifinal before downing the defending national champion Saskatoon Hilltops 44-19 in the PFC championship game.
The Thunder then rolled to a 44-15 victory over the Sault College Cougars in the national semifinal to book their spot in the title game in Langford, B.C.
The Thunder had a single Canadian Bowl title to their credit, a 55-26 win over the Vancouver Island Raiders back in 2013. They also reached the national final in 2022 but dropped a 21-19 heartbreaker to the Okanagan Sun.
Fans looking to welcome the Thunder back to Regina should be at the airport between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
