Edmonton’s Win over the Colts, The Cats Meow

In less than ideal weather conditions the Edmonton Wildcats won the Battle of Alberta in a PFC Semi Final rematch over the Calgary Colts by a score of 35 -20 and put themselves into the PFC Final against the Saskatoon Hilltops, who won their game 30-24 over the Regina Thunder in the other Semi Final contest this afternoon.

The Wildcats would bust out of the blocks at the 2:40 mark of the opening quarter as LB Matt Lalande would get his 1st of 2 interceptions at the Edmonton 53 & take it all the way back 57 yds for a 7-0 lead.

But the lead would disappear in a flash as Calgary kick-returner Robbie Morgan took a Ben Hnidan kick 100 yds for a tying score. Hnidan would be wide on a 34 yd field goal try to give the Cats an 8-7 lead at the end of the first.

The one score in the second quarter would come at the 11:07 mark as the Colts pivot Jeremy Long capped off a 6 play 77 yd drive with a 1 yd plunge to give the visitors a 14-8 lead heading into the locker room.

After halting Calgary on their first drive of the second half with a fumble recovery, the Wildcats took advantage of a short field with Justin McEvoy putting Edmonton back in front to stay 15-14, thanks to a 3 yd run for the major. A little over a minute later Matt Lalande would get his 2nd interception and take it 20 yds for his 2nd TD of the afternoon and a 22-14 lead. That 2nd score gave Lalande ownership of the PFC record and a share of the CJFL mark for interception touchdowns in a playoff game.

Calgary responded with an 8 play, 80 yd drive which ended with a Kevan Hafichuk chip shot from 13 yds out to cut the deficit to 5. Hnidan would connect from 35 yds away to give Edmonton an 8 point lead, but Hafichuk would hit his 2nd placement from 26 yds out on the final play of the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 25 -20.

In the 4th quarter an early Wildcat drive yielded Hnidan his 2nd field goal of the game to restore the 8 point edge. Then McEvoy would send his club to the title game with his 2nd major score on a 3 yd run to give Edmonton a 35 -20 victory.

It was not a great day for any of the 3 passers as neither threw for a major score. For Edmonton, Andy Pilon completed 10 of 25 for 105 yds and 1 interception, while the ground game picked up 164 total yds with McEvoy running for 47 yds on 12 carries. Kevin Wuthrich would snag 6 catches for 71 yds with a total net offense from the Cats of 259 yds.

The Colts pivot Jeremy Long was 6 of 11 for 100 yds and threw a pair of picks, while Clayton Masikewich would be 6 of 18 for 70 yds and 3 interceptions. The Colts ground game saw a total of 123 yds, with Long being the leading rusher with 62 yds on 8 carries. The Colts had a total net offense of 255 yds.

Next game sees the Wildcats heading to Saskatoon for the PFC Final against the Hilltops at the Gordie Howe Bowl on Sunday October 18th 1:00pm

All Edmonton Wildcat practices are at Rundle Park and the players take to the field at around 7:30 pm nightly.

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Stuart Gibson
Edmonton Wildcats Media Coordinator
media@edmontonwildcats.com
Phone (780) 221-3671
www.edmontonwildcats.com