Hilltops – Thunder Set To Collide For PFC Title

Football Hilltops Top Stories

For the third time in four seasons the Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder will meet in the Prairie Football Conference Final.

This will be the third meeting of the inter-provincial rivals as the teams split there season series.

I will have the call this afternoon on CJWW. Pre-game coverage starts at 11:30am.

Here’s a complete look at the match-up:

The Prairie Football Conference title will be claimed on Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon as the Hilltops (7-1) host the Regina Thunder (5-2-1) for the second consecutive season in the Conference championship game and second time in three years.

How they got here: PFC Semi-Final – Saskatoon 41 – Edmonton Wildcats 10 PFC Semi-Final – Regina 26 – Edmonton Huskies 17

Head to Head: Week 2 – Saskatoon 30 – Regina 15 @ Regina Week 4 – Regina 29 – Saskatoon 28 @ Saskatoon

During the regular season each team won on the opposition’s field.  In Week 2 the Hilltops beat the Thunder 30-15, then two weeks later the Thunder handed the only loss of the season to the Hilltops in a 29-28 victory.

In the two game regular season series the Hilltops have owned the ground game.  Hilltops running back Andre Lalonde has carried 54 times for 438 yards, while the Thunder have rushed just 32 times for 128 yards as a team.

While the Hilltops strength is clearly the run game and their defense, the Thunder rely on the passing attack of quarterback Asher Hastings and his Conference leading 103.2 passer efficiency  rating.  He has completed 19 more passes than Hilltops QB Matt Karpinka and thrown for 259 yards more, along with four more touchdown passes.

In the first meeting of the season Hastings was injured and saw limited playing time. In game two in Saskatoon he finished 33 of 50 for 327 yards and threw two touchdowns.

Both defenses have been solid this season, the Hilltops giving up the fewest amount of points (121), while the Thunder “D” is third on the list behind the Edmonton Wildcats allowing 183 points.  The Toppers lead the Conference with a +16 in the takeaway category.  The Thunder are second with a +6 led by Chris Tunnicliffe’s conference leading five interceptions.

If this championship comes down to the kicking game, both teams are equipped with a big leg.

The Hilltops Brett Thorarinsson led the Conference in scoring during the regular season with 86 points.  He was good on 19 of 28 field goal attempts, hitting on 67.9%.

The Thunder will counter with rookie William McGee who connected on 75% of his field goals finishing 12 of 16.

This game is a rematch of the 2012 PFC final when the Hilltops shutout the Thunder 33-0 on route to their third straight National Championship.  The last time Regina won the PFC was in 1998 when they were called the Rams.  Oddly enough that year they beat the Hilltops 48-10.

The winner of today’s game will advance to host the Canadian Bowl Championship Saturday November 9th.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.