Thunder rolls to regular-season sweep of Hilltops

For the second straight season, the Regina Thunder has swept the regular-season series from the Saskatoon Hilltops.

This time, though, the Thunder will be hoping for a different outcome in the Prairie Football Conference playoffs.

In 2021, Regina took both regular-season contests from Saskatoon, but the Hilltops avenged those losses in the PFC final.

On Saturday, the Thunder posted a 23-7 victory over the Hilltops at Mosaic Stadium as part of Football Weekend in Saskatchewan. Regina won 29-21 in overtime in Saskatoon on Sept. 10 to open the home-and-home series.

With the victory Saturday in front of 2,003 spectators, the Thunder improved its first-place record to 5-0-0. The Hilltops fell to 2-3-0.

Regina led 5-0 after the first quarter thanks to a 35-yard field goal from Eric Maximuik and a conceded safety. The Thunder stretched the lead to 12-0 in the second quarter after a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Justin McKerracher and a convert by Maximuik.

Another safety made it 14-0 before Hilltops quarterback Trey Reider scored on a one-yard run. Connor Green converted Reider’s TD, cutting Regina’s lead to 14-7 at the half.

The Thunder scored nine unanswered points in the third quarter, getting another conceded safety, a one-yard TD run from Ife Adebogun and Maximuik’s second convert of the game. That completed the scoring.

McKerracher had three interceptions to lead the Thunder defence. Offensively, Regina’s Carter Shewchuk was 24-for-41 passing for 344 yards, with Rylan Sokul (122 yards on seven catches) and Isaiah Woodley (110 yards on six receptions) eclipsing the 100-yard mark in receiving.

Reider completed 17 of 28 pass attempts for 181 yards with two picks for the Hilltops, who got 70 yards rushing on 13 carries from Boston Davidsen.

The Thunder had 431 yards of net offence to the Hilltops’ 268.

Regina is to visit the Winnipeg Rifles on Sept. 25, the same day Saskatoon is to take on the host Calgary Colts.