Wednesday, 16 November 2022

Canadian Bowl loss will sting for Thunder for a bit

Regina club had great season but missed out on some spoils

Carter Shewchuk has played his final game with the Thunder.
Had all gone to plan, the Regina Thunder could have been the local darlings of Grey Cup week.

Instead, the powerhouse CJFL club had to wonder what might have been. Last Saturday, the Thunder were on the cusp of arguably the biggest moment in program history looking to complete the club’s first perfect season at Mosaic Stadium hosting the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

The Okanagan Sun, who are based out of Kelowna, B.C., spoiled the party. The BCFC champions downed the PFC champions 21-19 erasing a 15-point deficit in front of about 1,400 spectators.

The Sun completed their first perfect season with a 14-0 record to account for their third CJFL title in team history. 

They had an undefeated season in their first CJFL championship campaign in 1988 that included one tie in posting an 11-0-1 mark. Okanagan also captured the CJFL crown in 2000.

The Thunder, who first took the field in 2000, finished the 2022 campaign with a 10-1 record. Had Regina won that encounter with the Sun, they could have enjoyed some spoils of Grey Cup week in Saskatchewan’s capital city.

Odds are high the team could have taken the Canadian Bowl trophy to various events during Grey Cup. They could have had alums Dan Clark and Logan Ferland, who are both members of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, in tow too. The two linemen could have pumped up the CJFL club they once played for.

Being able to show off a Thunder CJFL championship team could have been the big thing local football fans including the casual ones who could have beamed with pride and bragged about to visitors coming in from across Canada.

With the setback, the mainstream outlets that were giving the Thunder attention got the game story done as fast as possible and quickly turn attention to other things.

With all that noted, there are always two clubs trying to win a game when it comes to team sports. In championship games, you usually have a clash between two high caliber squads, or at least two teams that are battle tested via post-season play. The Sun were intent on writing their story, when it came to the CJFL title match up.

Rylan Sokul was held to one catch for 12 yards in the Canadian Bowl.
For the first 29 minutes of the Canadian Bowl, it looked like it was going to be the Thunder’s day. After a scoreless opening quarter, the Thunder surged out to a 15-0 lead in the second.

Star running back Ryland Leichert had a one-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Carter Shewchuk followed with a six-yard touchdown run. The surge was capped by a 44-yard punt single by star kicker and punter Eric Maximuik.

The Sun proceeded to get the ball down to the Regina six-yard line with enough time to run one last play before halftime. Instead of running out the field goal unit, the Sun elected to go for the end zone.

Sun quarterback Dominic Britton was able to stick in a six-yard touchdown pass into the upper pads of a tightly covered receiver in Colby Milleto to cut the Thunder lead to 15-7. That score proved to be a key turning point in the game.

Had the Thunder gone in at halftime holding a 15-0 lead, you had to think doubt would have started to creep in on the Sun’s side. The host Thunder would have had confident control of the contest.

Instead, the Sun went from being in position to being on the cusp of being out of the game to all of a sudden getting back into the contest going in at halftime. The belief in being able to win the contest had to have grown exponentially on the Sun’s side, which was going to make the second half a challenging one for the Thunder.

The visitors had to concede a safety at the 7:15 mark of the third quarter due to bad field position to allow the Thunder’s edge to grow to 17-7. That lead would evaporate before the third quarter ended.

With 5:07 remaining in the third quarter, Sun running back Jevan Garwood ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run to trim the Thunder’s advantage to 17-14.

A short time later, the Sun got the ball back thanks to an interception at midfield by linebacker Dawson Puk. On the ensuing offensive series with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter, Britton hit receiver Mike O’Shea with a 24-yard touchdown toss to put the Sun in front 21-17.

Ryland Leichert had a TD in the Canadian Bowl.
The Thunder weren’t able to recover. With 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Sun conceded a safe due to bad field position and also trying to run down the clock to round out the final score of 21-19 in their favour.

The win marked the first time a BCFC champion won a Canadian Bowl in a game hosted by the PFC champion. It also marked the second straight year a BCFC team won the Canadian Bowl as the 2021 CJFL title was claimed by the Langley Rams.

Garwood was named the offensive player of the game carrying the ball 21 times for 128 yards to go with his major score. He also caught two passes for 10 yards.

Puk took home honours as the defensive player of the game. He had two solo defensive tackles and three defensive tackle assists to go with this timely interception.

O’Shea was tabbed the special teams player of the game. He returned two kickoffs for 70 yards and five punts for 38 yards.

On offence, O’Shea led all pass catchers with 69 receiving yards coming off five catches that included his touchdown grab. He also had one carry for eight yards.

Britton completed 16-of-31 passes for 130 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Shewchuk completed 18-of-36 passes for 188 yards, while throwing one interception. He ran the ball twice for eight yards including his touchdown jaunt.

Leichert ran the ball 22 times for 77 yards to go with his major score. He also returned three kickoffs for 67 yards. Isaac Foord led the Thunder with 68 receiving yards coming on four catches. Rylan Sokul was held to one catch for 12 yards.

Linebacker Stephen Smith paced the Thunder defence with five solo defensive tackles and seven defensive tackle assists.

Kicker/punter Eric Maximuik exhausted his CJFL eligibility.
Shewchuk, Foord, Sokul and Maximuik all exhausted their CJFL eligibility following the completion of last Saturday’s contest. The Thunder will have to figure out next season how they will move on without those long time stars.

Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay claimed the CJFL’s Gordon Currie Coach of the Year award, and the Thunder were named the winners of the inaugural Rick Smoke Team Award for exemplary community service.

The Thunder had an outstanding season, and their 10 overall wins are a team record for most victories in a single CJFL campaign.

As time passes, the sting from the loss in last Saturday’s Canadian Bowl will die down. Still in the immediate aftermath, the Thunder have to wonder what the spoils of victory would have felt like with Grey Cup week happening in their own backyard.

Hilltops’ Johnson and Sawi pick up major CJFL awards

Konner Johnson is the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player.
The Saskatoon Hilltops saw two of their stars capture major honours at the CJFL awards.

Last Friday at the CJFL awards banquet in Regina, Hilltops weak side linebacker Konner Johnson won the CJFL’s Larry Wruck Most Outstanding Defensive Player award, and running back Charles Sawi took home the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Johnson, who is a 22-year-old from Melfort, Sask., played out his final campaign of CJFL eligibility with the Hilltops this season. During the Hilltops eight regular season contests, Johnson piled up 31 solo defensive tackles, 13 defensive tackle assists, four special teams solo tackles, two special teams tackle assists, two quarterback sacks, five pass knockdowns and four interceptions.

Individually, Johnson picked up a lot of accolades this season. He was named a PFC all-star, the PFC’s most outstanding linebacker, the PFC’s most outstanding defensive player and a CJFL first team all-Canadian all-star.

Johnson started his career with the Hilltops in 2018 and was a member of their 11-0 CJFL championship team that season and their 12-0 CJFL title winner in 2019. This past May and June, Johnson attended the training camp of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Before Johnson, the last Hilltops player to be named the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player was linebacker Jadyn Pingue in 2019.

Charles Sawi was named the CJFL’s rookie of the year.
Sawi played through his rookie campaign in the CJFL at just 17 years of age and made some of the season’s most electrifying plays on offence and special teams. During the regular season, Sawi carried the ball 30 times for 342 yards and scored two touchdowns.

On special teams, Sawi returned seven kickoffs for 168 yards and one touchdown, and five missed field goals for 271 yards that included a 125-yard return for a touchdown.

Johnson and Sawi helped the Hilltops finish second in the PFC’s regular season standings with a 5-3 record. The Hilltops advanced to the PFC final, where their season came to an end with a 39-21 loss to the Regina Thunder.

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