There is a logjam in the Prairie Football Conference after seven weeks of play.
The Regina Thunder and Saskatoon Hilltops are tied for first place in the league with 5-and-1 records, while the Edmonton Huskies, Edmonton Wildcats, Calgary Colts, and Winnipeg Rifles are all tied with 2-and-4 records.
In week seven, Saskatoon topped the Edmonton Wildcats 52-25, and the Edmonton Huskies scored a 41-30 win over Calgary. While in Winnipeg, the Regina Thunder hung on for a 41-40 victory over the Rifles.
Thunder defensive back Cooper Filazek says a win is a win despite giving up 40 points.
“You said it perfectly. It's not a good look to have them drop 40 on us, but it shows the resilience of our group and how hard we fight. Winnipeg's a great team, so you can never take a team lightly, especially in the PFC. We came back, made some adjustments in the second half, and played good football.
In that game, Winnipeg scored a touchdown in the final minute, and instead of attempting to tie the game by kicking a conversion, the Rifles elected to try a two-point conversion. Filazek said those moments were difficult to reset and defend for the conversion attempt.
“Yeah, it was high intensity, obviously, gave up the last-minute touchdown, and I was getting ready for the point after defence, and they went for two. So, I was a little nervous, but I knew I had trust in all of us to do our job, and that's exactly what happened. Jake Mayo made a great play, and we came out with the win.”
The game was the back half of a home-and-home series between the teams, and Filazek says that the Rifles added some wrinkles that they didn’t anticipate.
“They did a lot of what they did in the first game. We thought that on my side of the field, they liked to run a concept that my halfback partner and I were looking for. They didn't run it at all. Instead, they got a lot of yards on drags and shallows. The first game, they were kind of launching it up more, so that kind of caught us off guard, having to come up and play drags and stuff, but we knew that they have a gunslinger of a quarterback, so it was going to be on the DBs and secondary to stop him.”
After making three interceptions in the last two games, Filazek is the reigning PFC Defensive Player of the Week.
“It feels great. You want to do your part in helping the team and give the offence some good field position, but I give all the credit to coaches and my teammates. We've always had this mentality about doing your own job, and the system will provide us with success, and that's exactly what happened. We all worry about doing our one single job, not trying to do anything else, and we've been victorious.”
The 21-year-old Filazek graduated from Regina’s Campbell Collegiate, which he credits with allowing him to pursue post-high school football.
“Everywhere I went, I've always had great coaches. At Campbell, I had Kris Hadesbeck; he was the first guy who made me fall in love with the defensive side of the football. I was always on the offensive side. Then Matt Rumpel, as soon as I came to the Thunder, he's one of my favourite coaches of all time, so he makes it seem less like practice and grinding more, and just having fun with your friends and teammates.”
The Thunder will take on the Saskatoon on Saturday night, looking to avenge an 18-15 Week 5 loss to the Hilltops. Filazek is looking forward to the rematch.
“It'll be a big game for sure. Whenever we go there, there's a bunch of people in the crowd, and it's a high-intensity, big, physical, and hard-hitting game. It'll be fun. Hopefully, we're looking to get our revenge and get back in the win column against those guys. It's always a big game there.”
As mentioned, Week 8 will feature a first-place showdown. Saskatoon will host the Thunder on Saturday night at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Then the Edmonton Wildcats play in Winnipeg on Sunday, and the Edmonton Huskies are home to Calgary.
And that’s the Junior Football Report, I’m Dave Thomas
