Rifles Misfire As Wildcats Take Rematch
The Edmonton Wildcats move to 3-1 and a share of second place with the Saskatoon Hilltops after there convincing win over the Winnipeg Rifles this past Sunday by a score of 42 -30 at Clarke Parke in front of approximately 500 fans.
The Rifles and Wildcats met for the second time in 2012 with Winnipeg wanting not only a measure of revenge for a 34-20 Week 1 loss, but also a win to stay in contention for a playoff berth as they sit 4 points out of the 4th and final berth.
The Wildcats were looking to resume their winning ways after dropping a 28-18 decision to the Calgary Colts 2 Sundays ago and try to get back a share of top spot in the process.
The visitors opened the scoring early in the opening frame with Brad Mikoluff connecting on a 20-yard field goal try, however from there the Wildcats would take control as Brad Quartel hauled in a 25-yard strike from Jordan Olson to give the Cats a 4-point edge after one quarter.
Like they did in Week 2 against their co-tenants the Huskies, the Wildcats had a big middle frame as they racked up 18 unanswered points as they would get touchdowns from tailback Jordan Samoil who found the end zone for the 8th time on the season thanks to an 18-yard dash to daylight & Tylor Henry took in a 10-yard touchdown toss from Jordan Olson after a Ideen Samadi field goal and David Ness punt single. The teams went to the locker room with the Cats up 25-3.
Jordan Olson, who threw for 203 yards on the afternoon, would call his own number early in the third quarter and ran 75 yards for the touchdown that would put the game out of reach. But to Winnipeg’s credit, they would rally in a big way in the final 15 minutes. Julian Banares scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from John Kiesman, but a two-point convert try was no good. Tailback Jon Waters appeared to put the game on ice with a 9-yard touchdown run, but that was the cue for the Rifles to load up and would do just that as Jason Kelly took the ensuing kickoff and raced 101 yards for the six-pointer to make it 39-15. Another two-point try went by the boards. Then it was Brett Carter’s turn as he caught a 25-yard touchdown throw from Kiesman to make it 39-23. Samadi would make it a 3-score game again, but the Rifles would find the end zone one last time in the final minute as a Kiesman 1-yard sneak into the end zone made it a 12-point game, capping a 27-point fourth quarter, but it was too little to late as the Wildcats hung on to win 42-30
Next week sees the Wildcats head down to Calgary to clash with the Colts at McMahon Stadium on Sunday September 16th game time 2:00pm
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) 718-3447
www.edmontonwildcats.com