The Saskatoon Hilltops haven’t had many games they’d like to have back in recent years, but Sunday night was most certainly one of them.
The Edmonton Wildcats overcame an early deficit with 10 fourth-quarter points to take a 28-22 Prairie Football Conference win over the Hilltops at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
The victory was the first for Edmonton over Saskatoon in at least 18 games and came on the heels of a 56-1 loss to the Regina Thunder in their home opener last week.
Regina, meanwhile, had no difficulty in their second road game of the season, cruising to a 27-9 victory over the Calgary Colts.
Regina takes over sole possession of first place in the Prairie Football Conference at 2-0, Saskatoon falls to 1-1.
Edmonton 28, Saskatoon 22
The Hilltops got off to a good start against Edmonton, taking a 14-0 lead out of the opening quarter. The Wildcats clawed back into things over the next 15 minutes, though, outscoring Saskatoon 9-0 to go into halftime only down by five.
Edmonton trimmed that lead to four 18-14 in the third quarter and then put together their late-game surge to secure the win.
Brody Komarnicki ran one in from six yards out to get Saskatoon on the board in the first, and Luke Bednarik caught an 18-yard pass for a touchdown to stake the Hilltops to their early lead.
Komarnicki scored Saskatoon’s only other major on a goalline plunge in the third quarter, setting the stage for the Wildcats comeback.
Sam Bowen hit a 27-yard field goal to make it a one-point game 1:39 into the final frame and Taishaun Okorodudu scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 7:24 left in the contest.
Saskatoon had a final play hail mary to try and find a miracle win, but it was intercepted in the front corner of the end zone.
Corbin Eben led the Hilltops’ ground game with 17 carries for 104 yards. Bednarek was Saskatoon’s top receiver with six catches for 151 yards, Charles Sawi also had a solid outing with five catches for 97 yards.
Quarterback Griffin Sander finished 26-for-40 passing for 359 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Darien Currie had eight carries for 86 yards for Edmonton, Jacob St. Hilaire had nine catches for 80 yards.
Edmonton pivot Marcos Soltero went 22-for-30 through the air for 218 yards and a pick.
Saskatoon had 477 yards of offence, Edmonton 373 yards.
Regina 27, Calgary 9
The Thunder got off to a good start and never really found themselves in difficulty, leading 8-0 after the first quarter and 17-7 at halftime. Their smothering defence kept the Colts to only two points after the break, and that was more than enough to secure the win.
Receiver Ben Walz scored Regina’s first major on a 14-yard catch 3:37 into the game and quarterback Jayden Zelionka punched one in from a yard out on the final play of the half. Combined with an 82-yard single by Harry Case on the opening kickoff and a safety in the second quarter and the Thunder had their 10-point lead at the break.
Case had been perfect on field goals in the season opener but missed a 48-yarder late in the second quarter, and Jordayne Falconer took it 116 yards the other way for a touchdown.
Case rebounded with a 31-yard field goal for the only points of the third quarter, and Zelionka had a seven yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to finish off Regina’s scoring.
Calgary’s only other points came on a safety with just over three minutes to play.
Peter Boersch had an absolutely terrifying day on the ground for the Thunder, getting 33 carries for 240 yards. Mathew Morris had 81 yards rushing, and Regina racked up 349 yards total on the ground.
With things going that well in the run game, there wasn’t a whole lot of passing, with Walz and Lucas DiIorio each having two catches for 22 yards.
Zelionka ended up seven for 16 passing for 64 yards, a major and two interceptions to go along with his two touchdowns on the ground.
Calgary had only 12 yards rushing and ended up using 11 receivers, with Falconer having six catches for 122 yards.
Three quarterbacks saw action for the Colts, Billy MacCready was the most effective with 13 completions on 25 attempts for 195 yards.
Regina had 383 yards total offence, Calgary 214.
Up Next
The Thunder are back in action on Sunday, Aug. 23 when they play their home opener against the Winnipeg Rifles. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Liebel Field in Regina.
The Hilltops will look to get back on the winning track when they take on Calgary, with that game at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
