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| Evan Kopchynski hauls in a TD catch for the Hilltops. |
A pre-kickoff wait only delayed the inevitable.
Thanks to the stadium staff being a bit fast with pre-game
cues, the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops and the visiting Winnipeg Rifles had to
wait about 10 minutes before hitting the turf at Saskatoon Minor Football Field
for their Canadian Junior Football League clash. The team introductions and the
national anthem performed by country singer Lisa Moen were run with lightning
fast speed. The Toppers mirrored that quick execution, when they hit the field.
Bryant Sackney ran the opening kickoff back 100 yards to
give the hosts a 7-0 lead. The speed and elusiveness displayed by Sackney on
the run back was matched by the excitement Hilltops special teams coordinator
Matt Yausie showed over the fact all his players on the wedge nailed their
blocking assignments perfectly.
The Hilltops proceeded to roll from there going up 21-0
shortly before the halfway point of the first quarter, 49-7 at halftime and
cruised to a 65-9 romp in their regular season home opener.
Just five minutes into the third quarter, Saskatoon started
cycling in their backups. They entered the game eager to make plays as well
like rookie running back Adam Machart, who scored a Barry Sanders like 46-yard
touchdown run to account for the final major score put up by the home side.
When the dust settled, the Hilltops put up exactly 400 yards
of offence in a performance where they didn’t have either a 100-yard rusher or
receiver. They only committed one turnover and gave up two quarterback sacks.
Saskatoon’s defence held Winnipeg to 304 total yards, forced
four turnovers and piled up eight sacks. Blake Hermann was a monster on a
star-laden veteran defensive line hauling down Winnipeg signal callers on three
different occasions.
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| Bryant Sackney returns the opening kickoff for a Hilltops major. |
The Hilltops were firing on all cylinders. Their offensive
line blocked solidly and offensive coordinator Sheldon Ball mixed up the play
calling extremely well as the football was distributed all over the field to
different playmakers.
Running back Logan Fischer, who had two impressive high hurdle
jumps in the outing, ran in a three yard major and hauled in a 15-yard pass for
another score. Receiver Evan Kopchynski snagged a 35-yard TD grab on a streak
play catching a beautifully thrown ball by quarterback Jared Andreychuk. Tailback
Des Vessey also contributed a scoring plunge from a yard out.
Saskatoon’s defensive line was successful in getting
pressure with a four-man rush, which also included crushing Winnipeg’s running
game. As a result, defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie could have the linebackers
and secondary doing all sorts of different things, which caused the Rifles to
cough up the ball.
Linebacker Cole Benkic returned an interception six yards
for a major score, while rush end Tom Schnitzler returned a fumble nine yards
for another defensive score. Both of those scores were punctuated by excited
celebrations.
The Hilltops special teams have been clicking on a higher
level than they did a season ago now under the guidance of Matt Yausie, who is
the club’s rookie special teams coordinator. In building a 3-0 record, the
Toppers have been good for one big special teams play a game this season, and
they have racked up a whole bunch of hidden yardage in the return game.
Head coach Tom Sargeant has been the manager that has
challenged his talented coaches to elevate their performances, which has
resulted in the team executing at a higher and higher level each week.
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| Rush end Tom Schnitzler returns a fumble recovery for a Hilltops TD. |
Rifles starting quarterback Jamie Ybarra hit receiver Ian
Lee for a nine-yard scoring strike in the first quarter, but the Winnipeg
signal caller was knocked out of the game due to injury in the second quarter
after that lone highlight. The visitors fell to 0-3.
Now the Hilltops head off to their biggest challenge to date
with two much anticipated clashes against their provincial rivals the Regina
Thunder, who also improved to 3-0 by bombing the Huskies in Edmonton 76-9.
While the Hilltops won the CJFL title last year, they
dropped both of their encounters with the Thunder.
With first place in the Prairie Football Conference on the
line, the two clubs meet this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor
Football Field and at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 at Mosaic Stadium.
Both of those matches have a high likelihood of becoming
classic encounters.
Shirley a step closer to U-18 worlds
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| Sophie Shirley in action with the Saskatoon Stars. |
Sophie Shirley’s special summer might foreshadow an unforgettable
winter.
The 16-year-old Saskatoon product made Canada’s under-18
women’s hockey team which played in a three-game series against an under-18
squad from the United States from Aug. 20-23. Canada claimed two of those three
contests, and Shirley had a goal in the red and white’s 5-2 victory that closed
the three-game set on Aug. 23.
Shirley was a third youngest player on the 23-member
Canadian team. She has a strong chance of being on Canada’s roster for the
under-18 worlds that will be held in St. Catharines, Ont., starting on Jan. 8
in the new year. It is common to have almost all the players from Canada’s
under-18 team summer roster make the under-18 roster for worlds.
As a 15-year-old sophomore last season with the Saskatoon
Stars, Shirley had a spectacular campaign. She netted 22 goals and 17 assists
helping the Stars post a 25-3 regular season record to allow Saskatoon to
finish first in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.
Shirley was named the most valuable player of the SFMAAAHL
and proceeded to pick up 12 goals and 12 assists in nine games, as the Stars
won their first league title. At the Esso Cup national championship tournament
held in April in Red Deer, Shirley was named the event’s MVP, and she led the
tourney in scoring potting nine goals and seven assists.
You have to anticipate she will be making highlights for
years to come.
If you have any
comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check Twitter
for more Hilltops game photos @Stankssports.
