The Calgary Colts handed the Saskatoon Hilltops their first loss of the season, downing the defending national champions 36-21 on Sunday at SMF Field.
It wasn’t the start the Toppers were looking for as quarterback Jared Andreychuk was picked off on Saskatoon’s opening possession. Calgary’s Dylan Neidermayer made a good return that would later lead to a Colts touchdown.
After Saskatoon conceded a safety, the Colts were back in the red zone. Quarterback Bailey Wasdal tossed it to Richard Sindani who went in for the seven-yard score, making it 16-0 Calgary.
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In the second quarter, Wasdal plunged in from a yard out to stretch the lead to 23-0.
It went from bad to worse for the Hilltops on the ensuing kickoff. Saskatoon’s Adam Machart fumbled the ball right to Colts Dallas Burke who then took it the distance.
A 37-yard field goal pushed Calgary’s lead to 33-0 by the end of the first half.
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Fast forward to the fourth quarter when Andreychuk threw deep to Jason Price for a catch and touchdown, showing the Hilltops were not giving up hope down 36-14.
Saskatoon kept chipping away at the Colts’ lead with Logan Fischer going over the top from two yards out for a touchdown, but that’s as close as the Toppers would get.
The Hilltops are now 2-1 in the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) and play the Wildcats this Sunday in Edmonton.
Ryan Flaherty contributed to this story