Thunder Rock Wildcats in Regular Season Finale

The Edmonton Wildcats wanted to finish their season on a winning note but the Regina Thunder had other ideas as they outscored the Wildcats in a TD fest 53-37 Sunday afternoon at Clarke Stadium in front of approximately 600 fans

The Thunder opened the scoring early in the first quarter with a 10 yd toss by Wyatt Catley to Kolton Solomon to put the Thunder up 7-0. The Wildcats answered right back though as they drove the ball down the field capping it off with a 28yd strike by Jordan Olson to Ryan Smith to tie the contest at 7. Late in the first quarter the Thunder struck again hitting Clay Cooke for a 12yd TD catch to put the Thunder back on top 13-7 after a missed convert attempt. The second quarter saw the Thunder add to their lead with a 16 yd field goal by Ben Koot to make it 16-7. The Cats answered the field goal with one of their own as Ryan Smith nailed a 25yarder to cut the lead to 16-10. The Wildcats gave up a 2 point safety late in the quarter to up the Thunders lead to 18-10. With just over a minute left in the half the Thunder drove the ball down the field, hitting Solomon with an 18yd strike for his 2nd TD on the afternoon to add to their lead 25-10. But the Wildcats never say die, driving the ball down the field with seconds left on the clock with Olson throwing a strike to Johnson for a spectacular catch in the end zone to send the Cats into the locker room only down 25-16 after a missed covert attempt. The third quarter saw the Thunder post a pair of TD’s as Regina pulled ahead 39-16 heading into the final quarter. The Wildcats had no quite in them though as early in the 4th quarter Jordan Olson scampered in from 9yds out to claw their way back and cut the Thunders lead to 39-23. The Cats kept coming, cutting the lead to just 9 as Olson hit Tyler Henry on a 28yd toss in the end zone to cut the lead to 39-30. The Thunder though added a pair of TD’s late in the quarter to increase their lead to 53-30. But the Wildcats would not go down easy as they posted their 4th TD pass of the day with a 7yd strike from Rookie QB Taylor Yaremchuk to Brad Sloman to make the final score on the afternoon 53-37 Thunder.

The Wildcats posted 362 yds of net offense with Jordan Olson completing 12 of 24 attempts for 242yds and 3 TD’s. Justin McEvoy ran the ball 9 times for 43 yds, while Taylor Souster carried 6 times for 38 yards. Andrew Johnson had a stellar afternoon hauling in 7 catches for 148 yds and a TD along with fellow team mate Ryan Smith snagging 2 for 58 yds and 1 TD. The Thunder had 570 yds of net offense with Wyatt Catley completing 20 of 32 for 372 yds and 5 TD’s. The Thunders running game posted 191 yds with Nick Brown carrying the ball 15 times for 84 yds, while Derek Bell rushed 6 times for 47 yds and 2 TD’s. Receiver Kolton Solomon caught 9 for 135 and 2 TD’s, with Clay Cooke hauling in 6 for 105 and 1TD

Miguel Barker, Ronald Mawamba and Josh Madsen led the defense, posting 12 defensive points each. Defensively for the Thunder, Yianni Cabylis led the way with 18 defensive points, while Philmon posted 17 points.

This will conclude the Wildcats regular season with the team unfortunately missing the post season this year. Have a great remainder of 2011 and hope to see you all next year.

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Stuart Gibson
Edmonton Wildcats Media Coordinator
media@edmontonwildcats.com
Phone (780) 718-3447
www.edmontonwildcats.com