Regina Riot repeat as champions

REGINA The Regina Riot achieved its goal of a perfect season on Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium, defeating the archrival Saskatoon Valkyries 14-10 in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League final.

Regina posted a 4-0 regular-season record before winning both of its playoff games en route to the team’s second straight league title and the third in four seasons.

This year was also the first time that the Riot won both of its regular-season games against the Valkyries, who lost 28-7 and 21-16 and finished with a 2-2 record. Regina made it a clean sweep in Sunday’s final thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback led by running back Mallory Starkey, who rushed for two touchdowns.

Saskatoon jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 29-yard field goal by Carly Dyck and a two-yard touchdown run by Sarah Wright.

The home team responded in the second quarter when Courtney Tafelmeyer intercepted quarterback Alex Eyolfson at Saskatoon’s 47-yard line. That led to a 12-play drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Starkey.

Regina made it 10-8 in the third quarter with a single by Morgan Turner.

The Riot threatened to take its first lead early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Aimee Kowalski scrambled 64 yards to the four-yard line. However, Saskatoon’s defence stiffened at the goal-line, forcing a turnover on downs.

Regina got the ball back with 6:30 left in the fourth and marched 59 yards on 10 plays, culminating in another one-yard TD run by Starkey.

On the ensuing series, Saskatoon got the ball but Eyolfson was sacked for a 19-loss by Adrienne Zuck with two minutes left. Zuck added her second sack with 22 seconds remaining to seal the victory.