I'm Dave Thomas, and this is the Junior Football Report. The Prairie Football Conference kicked off with a full slate of three games last Sunday. The defending champion Regina Thunder opened the campaign with a come-from-behind 31-16 win in Edmonton over the Huskies.
Thunder running back Peter Boersch was instrumental in the victory that saw the Thunder score 25 second-half points.
"In the first quarter, it felt like both teams were kind of on their game and battling for control, and in the second quarter, we hit a bit of a lull. We were playing up to our standard and just had to find our identity again as a team that likes to go to battle regardless of the score or whatever else is happening. Then we came out in the second half, defence was fantastic, the whole line was playing lights out all game, and we just kind of started putting it together, and we got a couple of huge fumble recoveries as well, which swung momentum around."
The offensive line wasn't the only thing that was lights out. Boersch ran for 310 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
"Yeah, I know it was fun, and again, I can't emphasize enough how fantastic the O line played and how they were just moving people around and making my job really easy, and it really doesn't happen without being touched for the first five yards and picking up a full head of steam."
And he didn't have access to a calculator on the sidelines, so he had no idea that he had run for over 300 yards.
"No, I had no clue, actually. Right after the game, some guys asked me and my parents, and I kind of conservatively estimated that I would be around that 220 mark. And yeah, I had no clue where I was. Honestly, I was too tired to try and keep track of that stuff."
Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay echoed that the offensive line was good, but praised his running back.
"Peter did a hell of a job trying to open holes, running north and south, taking what he could. There were a lot of opportunities where he kind of got stopped, but then he was able to quickly adjust, and he must have great eyesight to find the little openings and hit them hard. He was outstanding, and he definitely ran hard and broke through some tackles, which allowed him to gain even more yards."
Also in Week 1, the Winnipeg Rifles scored an upset 31-11 win over Saskatoon, and the Edmonton Wildcats topped Calgary 35-19.
Week 2 kicks off on Sunday with Regina at Calgary, and Boersch knows what they need to do.
"We're only going to get more and more comfortable with our systems and our playbook, and it's only going to expand, right? We're going to get more multiple and versatile, and as long as we're all just kind of, you know, assignment sound and we're all on the same page, then we're going to be in control again."
In other Week 2 action, Saskatoon hosts the Edmonton Huskies, and Winnipeg plays the Edmonton Wildcats.
And that's the Junior Football Report, I'm Dave Thomas.
