HILLTOPS PUT RUN TO COLTS
Loss for Calgary junior footballers
The Calgary Colts got a good look Sunday at the brute force that will be standing in the road to the Prairie Football Conference title in 2015.
The Saskatoon Hilltops, the reigning Canadian Junior Football League champions, smothered the Colts 31- 10 at McMahon Stadium to open the regular season. The game was a rematch of last year’s PFC final, a 27- 7 decision that gave the Saskatoon franchise its 16th national junior title.
Saskatoon scored 17 points in the third quarter to break open a 10- 10 halftime tie. After coming to life with what would be their only touchdown of the afternoon, the Colts stayed in their stalls over the final 30 minutes and registered nary a point.
“We weren’t prepared to come out and compete in that third quarter, it was pretty obvious,” Colts second- year head coach Matthew Blokker said.
“I have to do a better job as a head coach, No. 1, and our coaching staff has to do a better job. It’s our job to have our players prepared.”
The game turned on a blocked punt 4: 17 into second half. Saskatoon’s Bobby Ehmann got to Kyle Byrne’s kick, and nose tackle Dillon Buckle recovered in the end zone. With the point- after it was 20- 10 Saskatoon. Logan Fischer took a screen pass and went 29 yards for the final points six minutes later.
The Colts had 102 yards offence in the second half — of 279 total in the game — and six of their 16 first downs. The Hilltops offence amassed 360 yards total.
“It’s disappointing, but the best thing about it is we get to go to work again tomorrow morning and get better and get ready for next week,” offered Colts quarterback John Kiesman, a Winnipeg native who came to Calgary this year from the University of Regina Rams.
“We have to turn the page and wipe it clean. We know we are a good team but we have to do better.”
Kiesman was 11 for 14 in passing for 109 yards and also led the Colts with 46 yards rushing on nine carries. Kyle Brick and Coel Bazinet each had five grabs to lead Calgary’s pass catchers.
Kiesman’s lone touchdown pass woke up the Colts with 56 seconds left in the opening half, with running back Dylan Minshull hitting the end zone on a 15- yard pass and run play. The Colts got on the board on Byrne’s 38- yard field goal five minutes into the second quarter.
Minshull’s score drew the Colts even after the Hilltops took advantage of a Colts’ opening play fumble to get a 28- yard field goal from Brett Thorarinsson 2: 20 into the game. That was followed 39 seconds later by a beauty of a scoring strike from Jared Andreychuk to Evan Kopchynski, who found himself wide open behind the Calgary defensive secondary and galloped untouched for 65 yards.
The loss is the second straight to start the season since Blokker took over the Colts for the 2014 season. They went 0- 3 to start last year, before clawing their way back to 4- 4 to conclude the regular season schedule and reaching the final in Saskatoon.
“( The Hilltops) are the defending champs and they are the best team in our league for a reason,” Blokker said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better test. We could have competed a lot better in the second half than what we did, but we now know what it takes to beat this team and we will.”
The winning coach wasn’t completely happy, either, though Tom Sargeant can take comfort at least in recording a win.
“I don’t think we played our Sunday best,” he said. “We left a lot on the field and I wasn’t happy with some of our decision making — football IQ, which we talk about all the time. Certainly, that’s on me and my coaching staff. We’re going to have to refocus and tighten up the ship.
“I was impressed with the way Calgary competed, though. We were just fortunate enough to get a few more breaks at the end.”
The Colts now prepare for three straight games on the road, beginning with a visit to the Edmonton Huskies on Saturday. They are next at home Sept. 19 against the Edmonton Wildcats.