Thunder comeback falls short, season ends with 20-17 loss to Huskies

For the second straight year, the Edmonton Huskies have ended the Regina Thunder’s season.

The Thunder couldn’t overcome a slow start, ultimately falling short in a comeback bid and falling 20-17 to the Huskies on Sunday at Leibel Field.

“We weren’t very crisp. That’s sort of what happens when you have a week off,” Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay said following the defeat. His team won by forfeit over the Winnipeg Rifles on Oct. 13 after the Rifles were unable to travel due to weather.

“I thought that we would come out a little bit stronger than we did … But our guys never quit, they played all the way down to the end and we had a chance to make something happen but fell short.”

It was a rematch from a 2018 Prairie Football Conference semifinal, in which the Huskies eliminated the Thunder with a 24-21 score in Edmonton. The Thunder scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to earn a 24-21 win in Regina on Sept. 22.

The Huskies struck first in the game with kicker Luca Cupelli’s opening kickoff rolling into the end zone for a single point.

The Thunder tried to pull ahead in the first quarter on a 35-yard field-goal attempt but kicker Eric Maximuik’s kick just leaked right and would only score a single point.

Huskies quarterback Declan O’Flaherty got Edmonton the first major score of the game with a pass to Sam Clayton for a touchdown. The point-after by Cupelli made it an 8-1 game.

Thunder quarterback Blake Scherle, who came into the game as the PFC passing leader with 2, 196 yards, tried to answer but was intercepted by defensive back Justin Hodinsky. On the very next play, O’Flaherty connected with wide receiver Ronnie Oling for the touchdown. With the extra point, the Huskies led 15-1.

Maximuik scored the only other points for the Thunder in the first half, connecting on a 41-yard attempt to make it 15-4.

The Thunder, which honoured the top 28 players in its 20-year history at halftime, came out and tried to regain momentum in the third.

While defences dominated the first half of the third quarter, Scherle threw the football and caution to the wind into double coverage but would connect with wide receiver Ethan Douglas for a big gain.

The catch extended a drive that ended with running back Maxwell Foerster punching it into the end zone for the Thunder’s first touchdown. The Thunder elected to go for two points but came up short so the score was 15-10.

Cupelli hit a field goal from 20 yards out in the third quarter to extend the Huskies’ lead.

In the fourth quarter, Cupelli tried to extend the lead to 11 but was wide on a 33-yarder which scored a single point to make it 19-10.

But Scherle and the Thunder offence answered back quickly, with Scherle leading a 75-yard drive that ended with him running in a touchdown from 18 yards away to make it 19-17.

Cupelli’s struggles with field goals continued late in the fourth quarter, missing a 13-yarder but scoring a single to make it 20-17.

Scherle got the ball back but was intercepted by Hodinsky for the second time in the game.

The Thunder defence forced a two-and-out to give its graduating quarterback another crack at leading a game-winning drive with 2:01 remaining.

The comeback effort nearly came to an end with Scherle’s pass hitting Douglas’ hands on a diving effort but it ultimately fell incomplete.

The Thunder got the ball back but wouldn’t be able to get close enough for a game-tying field goal, so the scoreboard read 20-17 with zeroes on the clock.

Despite the game ending in a loss, MacAulay says he’s proud of how his team played all year.

“The culture of the team was very strong and to rate the season it was one of our better ones but it’s still tough to be ending it this way when you put all this time and effort into it,” MacAulay said.

The game marked the end of the Thunder careers for Scherle, running back Greg Lamb, wide receiver Tanner Zaharia, offensive lineman Logan Ferland, defensive back Tyrel Latoski, defensive back Jon Martin, defensive lineman Carson Bell, wide receiver Sean Renouf and defensive lineman Ryland Gibb.

MacAulay said it’s a tough moment for the players.

“Football you can only play for X amount of years and some of these guys might not ever play again,” MacAulay said. “It’s kind of that crushing moment when that realization comes.”

The Huskies will now meet the Hilltops in Saskatoon on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Hilltops won their semifinal 31-7 over the Edmonton Wildcats.

All-time Thunder players

• Dan Clark, OL
• Logan Ferland, OL
• Matt Halbgewachs, OL
• Max Ivanov, OL
• Jeff Yorga, OL
• Ryan Anderson, Receiver (also honoured on special-teams)
• Chris Getzlaf, Receiver
• Wil Heward, Receiver
• Jay Smith, Receiver
•  Kolten Solomon, Receiver
• Stu Foord, RB
• Victor St. Pierre Laviolette, RB
• Asher Hastings, QB
• Reid Quest, QB
• Ivan Brown, DL
• Zack Evans, DL
• Jason Skolney, DL
• Ryan Warner, DL
• Scott Magee, LB
• Brett Selinger, LB
• Steve Wilson, LB
• Dustin Erbach, DB
• Mark Ingram, DB
• Jon Krahenbil, DB
• Jimmy Stewart, DB
• Paul Woldu, DB
• Jeff Bolen, K