‘Mind-blowing:’ Thunder’s Leichert reflects on rushing records

Ryland Leichert carried his share of the load — and then some — during the Regina Thunder’s semifinal victory over the Winnipeg Rifles.

In Sunday’s Prairie Football Conference game at Leibel Field, Leichert carried the ball 52 times for 390 yards in Regina’s 23-14 win.

“I had no clue during the game (what the yardage total was),” Leichert told The Green Zone’s Jamie Nye. “It was a pretty tight game at a few points and I was just focused on the next drive.

“It wasn’t really until after the game that I found out. I didn’t think it was close to 390 just because of the pace of the game. I was dialled in and when I found out, I couldn’t really believe that number.”

Both the number of carries and the yardage total are PFC and Canadian Junior Football League records for a playoff game, excluding the Canadian Bowl national championship game.

Ben Abrook of the PFC’s Saskatoon Hilltops held the previous record for carries in a playoff game with 44 on Oct. 27, 2019. Andrew Harris of the BCFC’s Vancouver Island Raiders held the record for most rushing yards in a playoff game, having gained 370 yards on Oct. 26, 2008.

Harris, now a member of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, holds the all-time Canadian junior record of 410 yards. He set that mark in the 2008 Canadian Bowl.

“Just to be in that company, it means a lot,” Leichert said. “It’s just truly kind of mind-blowing.

“It didn’t really kick in for a couple of days after. I was like, ‘Holy smokes, that’s real.’ It’s really cool. It’s something you can take along with you for the rest of my life.

“I’m happy I put in the work to be there and my teammates, they’re a big reason that that (record) happened too.”

So was the weather.

Regina was in the grips of a winter storm Sunday that featured high winds, relatively low temperatures and snow. The game was delayed by more than an hour and a half as volunteers shovelled the snow off the field.

Nye asked Leichert if he woke up Sunday, looked outside and thought he was going to get the ball 52 times.

“I wasn’t thinking exactly 52, but I was excited, that’s for sure,” Leichert said with a chuckle. “I know snow games mean running backs (are) a big part of the game. Obviously with the wind and the slick conditions, you can’t really pass, so I was ready to get a big load — but I wasn’t quite expecting 52 carries.”

Leichert rushed for 724 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season, meaning he had more than half of his season’s rushing total in the semifinal.

He praised the Thunder receivers and offensive linemen for their blocking during the contest — and now he has to find a way to pay them back.

“I’ve been thinking about what I can do for them,” Leichert said. “I’m really tight with all those guys, we’re in constant communication, and they know how much I thank them (and) how much I’m appreciative.

“They just said, ‘Leichert, the only thing we want is for you to do it next game so we can get this national championship.’ I said, ‘Hey, we can do that for sure.’ ”

That next game is Sunday’s PFC final against the Hilltops. Game time at Mosaic Stadium is 1 p.m.

In 2021, the Thunder went 8-0-0 in the regular season, with two victories over Saskatoon. But the Hilltops got their revenge in the conference final, winning 29-9.

This season, Regina again beat Saskatoon twice in the regular season en route to another 8-0-0 record. Now, the Thunder has a shot at redemption.

“This is where we want to be; we want to face the Hilltops at home,” Leichert said. “We want to get that revenge game. This is something that we’ve been waiting for, really, all off-season.

“My mentality every game has been to do my job to get to this step and I’m not really changing that. I’ve gone into every game with the mentality that we’re going to win, we’re going to move on to the next one and I’m going to prepare the same, do everything the same, and this is going to be another step in the road to get to the national championship.”