Things were close through the first quarter between the Regina Thunder and Winnipeg Rifles on Sunday afternoon, but once Regina found their stride, it was all systems go.
The Thunder scored 51 unanswered points to take a 61-10 road win over the Rifles in Prairie Football Conference action.
The Saskatoon Hilltops had a bit more of a battle on the road against the Edmonton Huskies but came away with a 30-21 victory in their CJFL game.
As a result, Regina remains undefeated on the season at 6-0, while Saskatoon sits in second place at 4-2.
Regina 61, Winnipeg 10
The teams exchanged field goals early, with Harry Case hitting from 30 yards for Regina and Gabriel Yaipaen from 36 for Winnipeg in the first six minutes.
Regina picked up the first touchdown of the game when Jayden Zelionka found Tanner Donovel with a four-yard pass with 3:58 left in the opening quarter, but Winnipeg punched right back 1:40 later on a 50-yard pass to Simon Leckie.
Those were the Rifles’ final points on the day, and Regina went to work.
An 11-yard run by Zelionka with 2:38 left in the half made it a 17-10 game before the Thunder got the ball back at the Winnipeg 40 with 1:15 remaining. A sideline catch by Ambrose Abiara and a 19-yard run by Peter Boersch got Regina up to first and goal before Zelionka finished off the quick drive with a one-yard plunge.
That closed out the scoring in the opening 30 minutes, with Regina holding a 24-10 lead.
Iabara got things started in the third quarter, as he found himself wide open over the middle and went 41 yards untouched to the end zone. A two-point convert gave Regina a 32-10 lead with 6:36 left in the third quarter.
Marcus Butz then got in the action. He picked off a pass at the Hilltops 36, got a couple of nice blocks, and went all the way for a touchdown for the second time in as many games. The major came with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
Zelionka then struck again, running a perfect play-action fake and rumbling 21 yards to the end zone for a 44-10 lead with 12:03 to play in the game. That was the end of the night for the Thunder starter. Eric Heroux took over to finish off the contest at quarterback.
Case added an 18-yard field goal with seven minutes remaining and Lucas Di Iorio had a 53-yard touchdown catch with 3:14 to make it 54-10 Regina.
Di Iorio then struck again, hauling in a 15-yard pass to the back of the end zone with 46 seconds remaining to make it 51 answered points for the Thunder.
That’s where things ended and Regina’s 61-10 victory was in the books.
Zelionka was 20-for-26 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns and also had nine carries for 81 yards. Peter Boerch led the ground game with 16 carries for 93 yards. Di Iorio was Regina’s top receiver with eight catches for 158 yards.
Riley Element went 15-for-25 passing for 183 yards for Winnipeg. Josh Farber was their top rusher with 12 carries for 51 yards. Owen Einfeld had four catches for 58 yards.
Regina had 604 yards of total offence, whereas Winnipeg had 226.
Saskatoon 30, Edmonton 21
The Hilltops opened the scoring with 9:09 remaining in the first quarter, as quarterback Griffin Sander found Jack Boechler in stride down the sideline for a 33-yard touchdown catch
Saskatoon’s Corbin Ebben had a 47-yard punt return to set up the Hilltops on the Edmonton 15 to start their next possession. They managed a short field goal from Ryden Gratton a couple plays later to make it a 10-0 game.
Ebben then had another big play for Saskatoon, taking the handoff on a sweep and going 50 yards for the major and a 17-0 Hilltops lead.
A penalty-aided drive led to Edmonton scoring its first points of the afternoon late in the second quarter, with Dustin Campbell finding the end zone on a sweep from a yard out.
Saskatoon had a promising drive going into the final minute of the opening half, but Edmonton's Juven St. Hilaire snagged a potential touchdown pass before going down and giving up the single point.
Gratton added a field goal late, and Saskatoon went into the half with a 21-7 lead.
The Huskies got back into the game in the first minute of the fourth quarter when quarterback Nathaniel Backe scrambled to his left and unleashed a throw from the Hilltops 50 that was caught in traffic by Dezso Garaba at the 20. He went the rest of the way to make it a 23-13 Saskatoon lead.
Gratton increased the Hilltops lead to 13 points with a 39-yard field goal with 10:14 remaining in the game. He added a 38-yarder with 5:04 to play to make it a 29-13 lead.
A checkdown pass to Ethan Grannum resulted in a 20-yard touchdown run for Edmonton with just over two minutes remaining. After Saskatoon’s next drive stalled at midfield, the Huskies had a chance to drive for the tying touchdown. They got to their own 32, but that’s where their final series ended.
The Hilltops added a rouge on their final possession, and they had their 30-21 win.
Further stats will be added once they become available.
Up Next
The Thunder and Hilltops will meet for the second time this season on Saturday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. from Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
