Colts top Huskies; showdown at home with Hilltops Oct. 7
- September 30, 2012
By Jeff MacKinnon Media coordinator
The Calgary Colts took care of an obstacle on the road to what they hope is an undefeated, perfect Prairie Football Conference season late Saturday.
Head coach John Stevens stuck around Edmonton Sunday to watch the team that wants to keep that from happening.
The Colts dumped the winless Edmonton Huskies 42-33 Saturday night to improve to 7-0. The Huskies record is the opposite of that.
On Sunday, the team that is chasing them for top spot in the PFC — the Saskatoon Hilltops — defeated the Edmonton Wildcats 28-15 on the same Clarke Field turf to improve to 6-1.
At stake for the Hilltops Sunday was a huge showdown next Sunday at McMahon Stadium to close out the regular season. The Colts and Hilltops will meet at 1 p.m.
It was a last-minute victory over the Hilltops in the season opener back in August that got the Colts off and running this season and gave them the No. 1 ranking in the Canadian Junior Football League, which they have not relinquished.
Colts head coach John Stevens was pleased with the effort on both sides of the ball Saturday.
“Offensively and defensively we did some good things,” he said.
“Defensively we gave up some plays, but we created six turnovers.”
Starting quarterback Derek Cooper had another big game for the Colts Saturday night, completing 20 of 26 passes for 353 yards and four touchdowns.
“Coop’s vision was immaculate. Everything he was throwing was getting caught,” said running back Dustin Whetton.
His big target was Jimmy Ralph, who caught two TD passes among his six receptions that totalled 133 yards. Ben Hnatiuk caught four passes for 63 yards and a TD. Nik Petros hauled in the other TD pass.
On the ground, Whetton rushed for 93 yards on five carries and Chucks Okafor 89 on 10 rushes. Both had a TD. Whetton’s was on a 76-yard run.
“When it came to the running game, our offensive line was fantastic. They were just pushing people around. It couldn’t have made my job any easier,” Whetton said.
Defensively, Skylar Pinchak had five tackles, two assists and an interception for 16 points. Jermaine Gabriel had four tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble for 14 points.
The turnovers raised the Colts’ giveaway-takeaway ratio to plus-21 for the season.
Tickets for Sunday’s game can be purchased in advance at http://coltshilltops.zoobis.com/.