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| Tyler Hermann has found his comfort zone as the Hilltops starting QB. |
The 22-year-old collected four CJFL championship rings as a backup quarterback with the Hilltops. Now in his final season of CJFL
eligibility, Hermann is doing his best to make good on his first and only
campaign as the Hilltops starting quarterback in his fifth year with the team.
Hermann has quarterbacked the Hilltops, who are the five time
defending CJFL champions, to a 6-0 record, which included engineering a pair of
fourth-quarter comebacks.
Because of that start, the Hilltops have locked up first
place in the Prairie Football Conference for a seventh straight year. They will
face the Winnipeg Rifles (1-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football
Field in the second last CJFL regular season game for both sides in the 2019
campaign.
After six games as the Hilltops starter, Hermann, who was a
star quarterback with Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football
team, has found his groove holding the top spot on the CJFL powerhouse’s signal
calling depth chart.
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| Tyler Hermann has throw for 1,290 yards in six games. |
“We’re all
kind of jelling together at the right time here. We’re still working on
consistency throughout four quarters, but I believe as a whole we are playing
better.”
So far this season, Hermann has completed 93-of-147 passes
for 1,290 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Looking back over his
first six starts, Hermann admitted he might have been pressing a little too
hard early on trying to fill the shoes of Jared Andreychuk and Jordan Walls.
Andreychuk was the Hilltops starting quarterback during
Hermann’s first two seasons with the club. Andreychuk was the starting
quarterback for the first three victories of the Hilltops active string of
winning five straight CJFL titles.
Walls was the Hilltops starter the over the past two seasons
that finished with CJFL championship wins.
“Those guys
had phenomenal careers with this program,” said Hermann, who stands 6-foot-4
and weighs 205 pounds. “With that being said, I think they taught me a lot and
kind of in a sense brought me to where I am here both on and off the field.
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| Tyler Hermann has lead two fourth quarter comebacks. |
Last Sunday, Hermann completed 12-of-18 passes for 210
yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as the Hilltops downed the Wildcats
38-10 in Edmonton.
Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said Hermann is performing
as well as the team’s sideline bosses expected him to perform.
“I felt on
Sunday against the Edmonton Wildcats he (Hermann) played his best game of the
year,” said Sargeant. “He was poised.
“He had
polish and put the ball where the receiver wanted it. He is leading the league
with his pass completion percentage. I don’t care how many starts he has he is
a high end player for the Hilltops.”
Sargeant said the Hilltops are Hermann’s team to lead now
and the veteran signal caller is doing just that.
“He is
moving our offence the way we need to move it,” said Sargeant. “He is leading
us, and he is playing good football.
“That is
all I care about. He is doing everything we expect him to do and doing better.
He is only going to get better, and we’re going to coach him better.”
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| Tyler Hermann wants to ensure the Hilltops stay balanced offensively. |
After the Huskies extended their lead to 22-17, Hermann led
the Hilltops on a late fourth quarter drive that resulted in a touchdown run
from running back Ben Abrook with 1:47 remaining on the clock that ultimately
gave Saskatoon a 24-22 victory.
On Sept. 7 at SMF Field, the Hilltops entered the fourth
quarter trailing the visiting Regina Thunder 18-17. After the two sides traded
field goals to see the Thunder hold a 21-20 advantage, the Hilltops had 1:24
remaining on the fourth quarter clock to engineer a winning score.
Hermann drove the Hilltops 65 yards on a series that was
capped by another winning touchdown run by Abrook with 33.4 seconds remaining
on the clock. Saskatoon added a two-point conversion for a 28-21 victory.
Sargeant said Hermann came up with a clutch effort in those
spots.
“It just
shows his mental toughness and his character and all of that,” said Sargeant. “Those
were outstanding situations for our team.
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| Tyler Hermann plans to enjoy the 2019 campaign. |
“He has
earned that. He has shown us that he can handle the heat in tough conditions,
and he has come out with flying colours so far. As I said, I’m very happy and
pleased with his performance, but I’m not surprised.”
Going
forward, Hermann wants to ensure he does his part to keep the Hilltops
offensive attack balanced.
Abrook is
closing in on the 1,000-yard barrier for rushing carrying the ball 162 times
for 908 yards and five touchdowns.
Due to
Abrook’s performance, Hermann is expecting teams will pay even more attention
to the star power running back, which will create opportunities for the passing
game to keep the opposition honest.
“The
strength of our team has always been our O-line and our run game,” said
Hermann. “We know teams focus around that, and that really does open up our
passing for us quite a bit.
“‘Sarge’ always
mentions we want to be a 50/50 team, and we’re going to continue to try and do
that.”
Kleiter repeats as PFC special teams player
of the week
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| Rylan Kleiter (#7) took PFC player of the week honours again. |
On
Wednesday, Kleiter, who is the Saskatoon Hilltops reliable receiver/kicker, was
named the special teams play of the week for the Prairie Football Conference of
the CJFL for a second straight week.
The 21-year-old
hit all three of his field goal attempts and piled up 299 yards on six kickoffs
last Sunday in Edmonton, when the Hilltops thumped the host Wildcats 38-10.
Kleiter
made 3-of-4 conversion attempts with the one unsuccessful attempt resulting
from a blocked kick.
Kleiter is
in his fourth season with the Hilltops, and when he is not dressed for the blue
and gold, he can be found on a curling sheet as he is a standout skip on his
own curling team.
Running
back Brandt Burzuk of the Edmonton Huskies was the PFC’s offensive player of the
week. Defensive back Matt Zarowny of the Wildcats was the PFC’s defensive
player of the week.
Hilltops could knock Rifles out of playoff
race
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| The Hilltops and Rifles battle in the 2018 CJFL playoffs. |
The two
sides collide Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in a CJFL
regular season contest. The Hilltops enter the game having locked up first in
the Prairie Football Conference with a 6-0 record.
The Rifles
sit fifth in the PFC with a 1-5 mark. If the Rifles lose on Sunday, they will
be eliminated from playoff contention.
The
Hilltops and Rifles have met in the post-season four times over the last five
years, with each encounter coming in a PFC semifinal clash. Saskatoon claimed
victory in each of those encounters in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
“Winnipeg
is always a physical and aggressive team,” said Sargeant. “That is how (head) coach
(Geordie) Wilson and his staff coach.
“They’ve
always caused us some concern. For whatever the reason, they are 1-5. We’re
6-0, and we’re at home this weekend.
“We want to
keep building what we are doing. They’re coming as a very desperate team. Those
are dangerous teams, so they’re going to pull out all the stops.”
The
Hilltops and Rifles met in Winnipeg, Man., on Aug. 18, and Saskatoon came away
with a 34-20 victory. That contest was the regular season opener for both
sides.
The Rifles
won in their next outing on Aug. 25, when they traveled to Calgary, Alta., and
bombed the Colts 47-8. Following that contest, the Rifles proceeded to lose
their next four straight.
Despite the
fact Winnipeg is on a skid, Sargeant said the Hilltops plan to keep their focus
at a high level.
“We have to
be ready and understand what is in front of us,” said Sargeant. “As I said,
hopefully, our players come out and play their best game of the year, because
that is how we are approaching it, and that is how we are going to coach it.”
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