OUT OF THE TUNNEL: A BIT OF EVERYTHING
BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF
Another great weekend of football with a little of everything. In the CFL alone it had a rookie playing well in his first start at quarterback, a 400-yard thrower and a couple of thrilling, but silly, finishes. Let’s kick things off with a couple of quarterbacks leading our ups this week.
We begin with the veteran Zach Collaros and his Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30-9 waxing of the B.C. Lions. He had the first 400-yard passing game of the season and the first since Trevor Harris in week 22 of the 2019 season against Montreal. Collaros finished with 417-yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first 400-yard passing game since a week 10 win over Calgary in 2016.
He completed passes to seven different receivers, but Kenny Lawler continues to be Collaros’ favourite target with 12 catches for 205-yards and a touchdown.
The Bomber offence continues to fire on all cylinders and look unstoppable halfway through the season.
This week as a whole is an up week as we had offensive fireworks in the first two games and a couple of great finishes to end the week.
Edmonton and Ottawa fired the ball all over the field as the Redblacks won their second game of the season, both against the Elks. Winnipeg had offensive fireworks in Vancouver in their victory over B.C. meanwhile Montreal needed everything they could muster coming from 17 down to knock off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in overtime 23-20.
Vernon Adams Jr. led the Als down the field to tie the game as regulation ended and in overtime, Sean Thomas-Erlington fumbled and in the next possession Montreal kicked a field goal to win.
In Calgary, the Stampeders came out smoking against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and held on like grim death to their 23-17 victory. The Riders scored late to cut the lead to six but after multiple short kick attempts with the first being successful but being called back by penalty review; Brett Lauther tried another short kick that he recovered giving the Riders a chance to win.
In the end, the lack of offensive fireworks by Saskatchewan was their downfall as Cody Fajardo was intercepted on a deep ball attempt.
Ottawa quarterback Caleb Evans is another up of the week as the rookie quarterback out of the University of Louisiana Monroe was solid in the Redblacks victory over Edmonton.
In his first ever CFL start, Evans finished the day with 191-yards passing with three touchdowns as well as another 59-yards on the ground.
One last up is the overall parity in the CFL. After Winnipeg’s 7-1 record, the other eight teams are separated but just six points. It’s tight and with Calgary’s win the crossover is still in effect but in a return season this is what the CFL needed.
A couple of downs come from the West Division with something being off with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
They have one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL with Cody Fajardo, William Powell is a great running back and the defence is stout. Saturday night in Calgary, the offence seemed to be able to dink and dunk the ball down the field but couldn’t cash in on the big plays while the defence was a little undisciplined and it felt like the Riders gave the game away.
We will find out a lot about both the Stampeders and the Roughriders over the next little bit as they see each other two more times over the next three weeks.
Edmonton is a big down this week. Sure, we said they are still in the playoff race but with just seven games remaining, this is becoming a big hole to climb out of. Without Trevor Harris, their offence has still been able to move the ball, but their defence cannot let a rookie quarterback do what Caleb Evans did to them in Ottawa Tuesday night.
One last down…Tuesday night games. No thank you.
Regina (1-1) 34 Calgary (1-1) 21
In a game that shook the whole country, the Regina Rams knocked off the number one ranked Calgary Dinos 34-21 at Mosaic Stadium.
It was the Ram defence that was able to wreak havoc on the Dinos with three interceptions and three sacks on the day. This is the Rams first victory over the Dinos since 2016.
Manitoba (2-0) 31 Alberta (1-1) 17
The Manitoba Bisons are the lone undefeated team in the Canada West with their 31-17 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears.
In his first ever start, quarterback Jackson Tachinski threw for 180-yards and three touchdowns in the Bisons victory.
Saskatchewan (1-1) 43 UBC (0-2) 15
The Saskatchewan Huskies bounced back from their opening week loss in Calgary by going on the road to Vancouver and knocking off the UBC Thunderbirds 43-15.
Mason Nyhus was incredible for the Huskies with 351-yards and three touchdowns through the air. His longest was an 83-yard pass and catch for a touchdown to Adam Machart.
The Canada West will take the Thanksgiving week off before returning for the final four weeks of the short six-game season.
This Week in the Prairie Football Conference
Regina Thunder (6-0) 44 Edmonton Wildcats (2-4) 13
The Regina Thunder remain undefeated rolling over the Edmonton Wildcats 44-13 and are a win away from clinching first in the conference.
Ryland Leichert caught two touchdown passes and added a rushing score for the Thunder while Rylan Sokul and Brayden Long also found the end zone. Thunder quarterback Carter Shewchuk threw for three touchdowns in the victory.
Saskatoon Hilltops (4-2) 34 Edmonton Huskies (4-2) 20
The Saskatoon Hilltops offence finally broke out as they climb into a tie for second in the Prairie Football Conference with the 34-20 victory past the Edmonton Huskies. Boston Davidsen had three touchdowns while Ethan Goddard added another in the victory.
Winnipeg Rifles (2-5) 28 Calgary Colts 26 (0-6)
The Winnipeg Rifles got a touchdown on the final play of the game to knock off the still winless Calgary Colts 28-26 on the road in Calgary.
The Prairie Football Conference will also take the Thanksgiving weekend off before finishing off the final two weeks of the regular season.
Canadian Player to Watch in the NCAA
Kevens Clercius (Fr.)
Receiver
University of Connecticut
6’3”
Montreal, Quebec
High School – Henri Bourassa
Kevens Clercius is one of a handful of Canadians playing on a Connecticut Huskies program that is deep in another state of rebuilding. In the sickos game of the week, the winless Huskies almost pulled off a victory on the road in Nashville. The Vanderbilt Commodores were able to pick up their first win of the season with a walk-off field goal.
In the game, Clercius had four catches for 68 yards and his first ever collegiate touchdown. He also made a great defensive play as early in the second quarter. Vanderbilt came up with an interception but in the pouring rain, Clercius made a great tackle, forcing a fumble that the Huskies recovered.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)
