Riot versus Valkyries – the title showdown the WWCFL was waiting for

Amy Kowalski (#12) calls out signals for the Riot against the Valkyries.

    It seems only fitting there will finally be a Western Women’s Canadian Football League championship game between the Regina Riot and the Saskatoon Valkyries.

    Since the WWCFL played its inaugural season in 2011, the Riot and Valkyries have the powerhouse clubs on the circuit combining to win all seven WWCFL titles that have been handed out to date. The Valkyries won the first four titles from 2011 to 2014 and a fifth championship in 2016. The Riot won it all in 2015 and last year.

    In last year’s championship final held at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Riot bombed the Calgary Rage 53-0 to capture the WWCFL crown.

    On Sunday, the Riots host the Valkyries in this year’s WWCFL championship game set for 3 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Pre-game festivities begin with a party at Confederation Park outside the stadium at 1 p.m.

    This year’s WWCFL title game meeting between the defending champion Riot and the Valkyries was made possible by a change in the playoff format. Normally, teams played through their conference to get to the league’s championship game, but the semifinal was played in a cross conference format this year.

    The change was made to create the possibility of having a final that featured a match between the Riot and Valkyries assuming they would be the league’s two best clubs once again. The two clubs have battled in a number of competitive and tight games, and there are hopes that history will repeat itself on Sunday.

    In the seven previous WWCFL championship games, the closest game occurred in 2013 in Regina, when the Valkyries downed the Lethbridge Steel 27-13. The other six title clashes were lopsided blowouts.

    The greatest battle that occurred between the Riot and Valkyries occurred on June 28, 2015 in the Prairie Conference title game in Regina at Taylor Field. The Riot slowly built a 28-7 lead in the fourth quarter only for the Valkyries to storm back and go ahead 29-28.

Valkyries QB Alex Eyolfson (#15) fires a pass behind Shelby Payne’s block.

    With 15 seconds to play in the contest, Riot kicker Morgan Turner booted a 12 yard field goal into a strong wind to give Regina a 31-29 victory.

    In last year’s Prairie Conference final, the Riot downed the Valkyries 34-24 in an entertaining clash in what would be the final competitive tackle football game ever played at Taylor Field before it was demolished.

    The Riot enter this year’s contest sporting a 6-0 overall record, while the Valkyries are 4-2 overall. Regina claimed both head-to-head encounters with Saskatoon this year.

    On May 12 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, the Riot downed the Valkyries 28-7. On June 3 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Riot slipped past the Valkyries 21-16.

    Both teams had their share of adversity. For head coach Olivier Eddie and his Riot, they had to at first try and avoid some rust. They had an unexpected bye week during the regular season when the Winnipeg Wolfpack elected to suspend operations for the 2018 campaign and won that encounter via forfeit.

    With the Wolfpack out of the playoff picture, the Riot received a bye through the first round of the post-season.

    Before they were to host the Edmonton Storm in a league semifinal, a Riot team van was stolen that contained the club’s game day informs.

    The Riot wore the uniforms the Canadian Junior Football League’s Regina Thunder for the WWCFL semifinal clash with the Storm last Sunday. The Riot romped to a 45-9 victory.

    The stolen van and the club’s uniforms were recovered earlier this week, and the Riot are expected to wear their regular gear in the WWCFL title game.

    For head coach Pat Barry and his Valkyries, they had to play through a number of injuries this season and overcome some key departures from last season. As a result, some younger players gained a pile of experience, while some veterans were moved to new positions to fill holes and gained new experience as a result.

    The Valkyries received a big scare in their WWCFL quarter-final match, when they just slipped past the much improved Manitoba Fearless 16-13. Following the win over the Fearless, the Valkyries traveled to Calgary on June 16 and downed the Rage 30-6 in a WWCFL semifinal contest.

The Valkyries D tracks down Riot RB Mallory Starkey (#7).

    Both sides have numerous talented players to rely on. The Riot offence is guided by star quarterback Aimee Kowalski, while veteran linebacker Adrienne Zuck helps steady the defence.

    Defensive back and kick returner Payton Kuster stepped into the spotlight in last year’s WWCFL title game returning two punts for touchdowns in the Riot’s win over the Rage.

    The Valkyries offence has been guided by quarterback Alex Eyolfson and received a big season from running back Sarah Wright. Veteran linebacker Denise Kolosky has been a key leader on defence.

    Saskatoon received a huge boost when Carly Dyck returned from injury to resume her duties in the kicking game in the semifinal win over the Rage.

    The elements are there to help make this year’s WWCFL championship game a classic.

Hurricanes fire incident unfortunate accident

Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive (#15) was hurt in a campfire mishap.

    Two current members and one alumnus of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes are still dealing with the after effects of a pretty big scare.

    On June 15, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive, centre Ryan Vandervlis and former team member Matt Alfaro, who currently plays for the University of Calgary Dinos, were all involved in a mishap at the family home of former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong just west of Calgary. Wong was hosting nine of his friends at the family residence, and they were planning to go golfing and camping the next day.

    There was an explosion from the campfire that was started that night at the Wong residence. Bellerive, 19, and Alfaro, 21, sustained burns to their upper bodies and Vandervlis, 20, sustained burns to the front of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma. Vandervlis was taken off dialysis on Monday.

    A release from the Cochrane RCMP on June 17 stated a substance was placed in the fire pit that caused an explosion.

    Alcohol was ruled out as a contributing factor and there wasn’t any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

    Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt held a press conference on Tuesday in Lethbridge to provide an update on the situation. Anholt said there had been inquiries about aiding the Vandervlis family, and he added the Hurricanes will help and aid the Vandervlis family to make that process clearer in the near future.

Dinos F Matt Alfaro was hurt in a campfire mishap.

    On Tuesday, Bellerive released a statement through his Twitter account thanking the public for their support. Alfaro, who spent a lengthy stretch in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice, released a statement through the Dinos Twitter account offering those same thoughts. 
    Anholt also said on Tuesday everyone involved with the Hurricanes was shaken up by what happened including Wong’s parents Julie and Will. Those that have dealt with Anholt over the years know he cares about the players under his watch like they were his own sons.

    The Hurricanes wanted to clarify that the gathering was not a stag or bachelor party.

    What happened with Bellerive, Vandervlis and Alfaro is one of those situations were accidents will happen.

    It is common during the off-season where members of major junior teams will have social gatherings at somebody’s place. The odd time there will be an innocent mishap, and that is just life.

    In most cases, the gathers go off without a hitch.

    By the sounds of things coming out of Lethbridge, Bellerive, Vandervlis and Alfaro will all make full recoveries, and at the end of the day, that is the best news that could be passed along.

Thumbs up to StarPhoenix for following Broncos to Vegas

    A thumbs up has to go to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix this week for sending staff down to Las Vegas to cover the journey of 10 surviving members of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash to Las Vegas.

    Veteran sportswriter Kevin Mitchell and photographer Liam Richards followed the junior A Broncos down to Las Vegas as they attended the NHL Awards on Wednesday night along with taking part in other festivities put on by the NHL

    Darcy Haugen, the Broncos head coach and general manager who died in the April 6 crash, was named the posthumous winner of the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero award.

    Darcy’s wife, Christina Haugan, accepted the award and gave a rousing acceptance speech.

    The coverage by Mitchell and Richards in following the SJHL Broncos has been outstanding, and it has been something I believe has gone over well in the local community.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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