Wildcats at Rifles Game Summary
The Edmonton Wildcats met with the Winnipeg Rifles for the first time in the 2015 season on Sunday in Winnipeg. The Rifles took a 35-32 home field win.
The Wildcats started the game off with a Ryan Smith touchdown only 2:37 into the game, giving them an early 7-0 lead. At 5:16 the Rifles saw some points on the board when a safety was conceded. Ian Lee ran one in for the Rifles at 7:55, giving the home team a 9-7 lead. The Wildcats ended the first quarter by taking back the lead with a Ryan Smith field goal, bringing it to 10-9 for the ‘Cats. The second quarter saw no change on the scoreboard until 12:17 when Ryan Smith kicked another field goal for the Wildcats. This was followed by a Rifle touchdown by Odun Ogidan at 13:26, giving them a 16-13 lead. The Wildcats saw a single point added onto the board at 14:52 when a field goal went wide.
The second half started off with an Alexander Tachinski touchdown for the Rifles at 3:19, giving them a 23-14 lead. Brad Mikoluff added to the lead with a field goal at 8:00. Ryan Smith kicked another one through for the Wildcats with 0:12 left in the quarter, ending the third with a Rifle 26-17 lead. Half way through the last quarter, Brad Mikoluff kicked a Rifle field goal, which was followed less than a minute later by another Odun Ogidan touchdown, giving the Rifles a 35-17 lead with 7:53 left in the game. Jordan Olson ran one in for the Wildcats at 9:48, bringing the Rifle lead down to 35-23. The Wildcats tried for a 2-point conversion which unfortunately was not successful. The Rifles conceded a safety at 13:10, which was followed 0:41 later by a Ronnie Oling touchdown, giving the Wildcats an additional 9 points on the board. Despite a strong comeback in the fourth quarter, the game ended with a Rifle win of 35-32.
The Wildcats total offense saw 441 yards, 359 in the air and 121 on the ground. Rushing was led by Bray Josue who had 14 carries for 70 yards. Pass receiving was led by 5th year Receiver Ryan Smith with 4 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jordan Olson completed 19 out of 43 attempts for 359 yards, 1 touchdown, and threw 3 interceptions.
The Wildcats defense was led by Defensive Back Tafara Nemutambwe with 6 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 1 pass knock down, and 1 interception for a total of 20 points. Close behind him was Linebacker Cameron Maschmeyer who had 4 tackles, 5 assisted tackles, and 1 forced fumble for a total of 15 points.
The next game is Sunday, October 4 against the Saskatoon Hilltops at Clarke Stadium.