Thunder score late touchdown to win 30-27, beat Hilltops for second straight week

The Regina Thunder united behind a backup quarterback from Unity to hand the Saskatoon Hilltops their second loss of the season.

After an injury to starting quarterback Carter Shewchuk late in the game, the team turned to Zenon Orobko to lead the final drive, down by four to their provincial rival.

But the Unity, Sask. born quarterback drove down the field and connected with wide receiver Isaiah Woodley who ran to the end zone with 1:14 remaining to put the Thunder up 29-27. Regina added a single on the kickoff and defeated the Hilltops 30-27 in front of 1,807 fans at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday.

“This has got to be up there with being born and a couple other things,” Orobko said after the win. “It was a lot of fun.

“When Carter got hurt, we dealt with some more adversity because he’s good – I think he’s the best quarterback in the league and he was proving it tonight. We just overcame it together – we talk about being united and everyone was on the same page and everyone believed in each other.”

Orobko, who is technically a second-year player with the Thunder after his first season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, knows all about the Regina and Saskatoon rivalry.

His dad played for the Hilltops for a season.

“I remember going to Hilltops games because I live two hours away from Saskatoon so as a kid I would always go there and watch. This rivalry is huge. There are the two best teams in the (Canadian Junior Football League),” Orobko said.

And while his dad donned Hilltops colours, Orobko said there isn’t a family rivalry between the two.

“He was cheering for the Thunder all the way.”

In relief, Orobko went four for 12 on pass attempts for 103 yards and the game winning touchdown toss.

The win has put the Thunder into the driver’s seat when it comes to the Prairie Football Conference, remaining undefeated and handing the Hilltops two losses. Prior to the Hilltops 16-13 loss to the Thunder on Sept. 12, Saskatoon hadn’t lost a game in 32 straight CJFL contests.

“To beat the Hilltops is pretty awesome and to be able to do it at home, which has been a long long time, is awesome and to win the series and be up 2-0 on these guys is super awesome as well,” Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay said. “Both teams are elite teams and the bottom line is our guys are a bunch of relentless and resilient guys that just aren’t going to quit and have each others backs.”

But while the Thunder can rejoice about having handed their rival two losses, on the other sideline Hilltops coach Tom Sargeant says his team needs to play better.

“Two straight weeks where it’s clutch time and the end and they clutch up and we don’t,” Sargeant said. “We have a long ways to go and it’s games like this where you see the true character of your football team and as long as we keep learning these tough lessons, there’s a good chance we improve and get a lot better.”

The Hilltops haven’t lost two games during the regular season since 2014 where they went 6-2 and still claimed the top spot in the conference.

Sargeant said he enjoys being a part of close games as a coach.

“I get to learn about my team and I learned a lot about this football team again tonight – some positive and some negative so at the end of the day we just have a lot of work to do,” Sargeant said. “They had their backup quarterback in and the kid came in and played well. That’s on us.”

Prior to his injury, Shewchuk had completed 12 of 19 attempts for 242 yards and a touchdown to Rylan Sokul. Thunder running back Brayden Long added 103 yard son the ground and a touchdown as well.

For Saskatoon, quarterback Damon Dutton completed 27 of his 33 pass attempts for 329 yards and a touchdown. Dutton also rushed one in as well. Running back Carter McLean rushed 20 times for 72 yards and a score of his own.

Thunder kicker Eric Maximuik, who had hit the game winner against the Hilltops the week before, connected on all three of his field goal attempts and two of his three extra point kicks. He did put the ball through the back of the end zone for a single point as well.

Saskatoon kicker Teijon Able-Douglas was good on both his field goal attempts and both convert kicks.

The Thunder (4-0) will travel to meet the Edmonton Huskies on Sept. 26 for their next game. Also on the day, the Hilltops (2-2) will host the Winnipeg Rifles.