Rifles fall after high-calibre effort

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This article was published 24/10/2022 (1420 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was Ryland Leichert’s world on Sunday and the Winnipeg Rifles were just living in it.

The Regina Thunder’s bell cow running back was a problem all afternoon for the Rifles in the CJFL Prairie Conference semifinal at Leibel Field, totalling 390 rushing yards to lead the hosting Thunder to 23-14 victory.

Leichert tallied 724 ground yards on 124 attempts during the Thunder’s undefeated (8-0) regular season. He gained more than half of those yards while touching the ball at least 45 times on Sunday alone (the unofficial stat sheet ran out of room to track Leichert’s carries during the fourth quarter).

The Thunder’s lopsided attack, which featured just nine passing attempts, was indicative of playing conditions. The first Colorado low of the fall delayed the highly anticipated matchup by more than two hours as upwards of 20 centimetres of snow fell over Saskatchewan’s capital.

“Classic Prairie football,” said head coach Geordie Wilson before kickoff.

Wilson’s Rifles entered the game as heavy road underdogs without star quarterback Bryson McNeil, who sustained a shoulder injury last week.

Though the Rifles played Regina tough during the regular season — losing twice by a combined eight points — new QB1 Thomas Hubbard was making his first start of the season.

He completed 20 of his 39 pass attempts on the day for 199 yards and two interceptions while adding 34 yards on the ground. A do-or-die situation paired with less than favourable conditions created a daunting task for Hubbard, who made his first start of the season. But Wilson credited the second-year player for his moxie.

“It was a pretty gutsy effort,” Wilson told the Free Press after the game. “They brought the kitchen sink. They were bringing six, seven-man pressures all game and he was under siege. He got knocked around quite a bit but he stood in there and did a good job.

“He hasn’t played a lot, obviously, but he battled hard today.”

Receiver Eric Adams proved to be Hubbard’s favourite target on the afternoon, reeling in a team-high seven catches for 52 yards. Jacob Roger paced the team with 67 receiving yards on six grabs.

Even with a backup quarterback at the helm, the Rifles still played the Thunder tough, leaving Wilson optimistic about his club, who trailed by six points at halftime.

“To me, right away, I was good because we wanted to have to wind in the fourth quarter because it was like a hurricane wind,” he said.

After Rifles running back Sam Hezekiah scampered for a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the visitors found themselves with the wind they had longed for, down by six with 15 minutes to go.

A scrappy game script had created an ideal situation until the Thunder broke through the Rifles’ protection on third down, blocking a Donovan Downing punt and setting them up in prime scoring position.

Indeed, the Thunder cashed in on the Rifles’ miscue, ultimately putting the game out of reach.

“We had them on the ropes a bit but we let them off the hook,” Wilson said. “They had a great deal of success running the ball on us today. We dropped some balls, it was tough conditions out there, but it was a tough Prairie football game.”

“We had our opportunities but we didn’t seize the moment. They made a splash play in blocking that punt and we didn’t make one, right? And that’s probably the difference in the game.”

Wilson, who remained in high spirits after the season-ending defeat, praised his team for their unrelenting effort while facing adversity throughout the season, especially going into Sunday’s matchup.

“I love these guys. These kids are hardworking guys. You sit there and think, from the start of the season, we lost seven starters. Our guys, they were resilient. It was kind of like the next-guy-up mentality and they battled hard.”

Last week, the Rifles also lost starting right tackle Tyrone Crook, an anchor along the offensive line, forcing Wilson to play three first-year players, all fresh out of high school, against Regina.

“It’s the difference,” Wilson said. “This team (Regina), they have 13 23-year-olds on this team. It’s an old team. I would say it’s arguably the best team in the country. They’re good.”

“We’re good. We’re a good team. Sometimes when you have older kids, who have been around a program for a long time, when it gets in those tight moments they step up and make a play because they’re experienced. They’ve seen it lots of times and they’ve done it. Our guys, you haven’t done it until you’ve done it.”

The Thunder will host the Saskatoon Hilltops in the Prairie Conference final.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam