Hilltops right guard Elderkin becomes Internet star

This photo of Taylon Elderkin has gone viral on the Internet.

    Taylon Elderkin seems to constantly chuckle when he thinks about seeing an off day surprise.

    The standout right guard on the Saskatoon Hilltops offensive line was on his way to work on Monday, when he found out he was tagged in a picture running the football in a CJFL regular season game one day earlier.

    Last Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Hilltops thumped the visiting Winnipeg Rifles 49-22, and Elderkin carried the ball early in the third quarter for 13 yards.

    A photo taken by myself of that run has gone viral on the Internet over various social media lines.

    “It definitely wasn’t expected,” said Elderkin with a chuckle. “I don’t know.

    “One of our guys sent it in to that lineman page, and yeah. It definitely took off a lot more than what I thought.”

    Elderkin said Luciano Jolly, who is a backup centre on the Hilltops offensive line, sent the picture of Elderkin running with the football to a site called Linemanprobs.com, which sells clothing and accessories geared toward offensive linemen.

The Taylon Elderkin run on Instagram.

    The site circulated the picture on its social media platforms with the caption, “Coach just hear me out.”

    Elderkin kept hearing about the photo from his Hilltops teammates throughout the day on Monday, which is an off-day for the team.

    “In our group chat, they just kept sending messages,” said Elderkin, who stands 6-feet and weighs 290 pounds. “(Hilltops left tackle) Mason (Ochs) was like, ‘It is rising and rising.’

    “I think eventually it got to like 20,000 likes or something.”

    On Instagram, the photo has surpassed 20,500 likes. On Twitter, it has attracted over 1,200 likes. On Facebook, the photo has drawn over 750 reactions and has been shared over 540 times.

    All of those numbers were current as of Thursday night.

The Taylon Elderkin photo on Twitter.

    “For a 13-yard run, it is something else,” said Elderkin. “I guess I’d rather see more publicity on (Hilltops running back) Ben (Abrook) making 1,000 yards.

    “I’m getting bugged a lot, so it is kind of different and fun at the same time.”

    In the romp over the Rifles, Elderkin and the Hilltops offensive line opened huge holes to allow Abrook to pile up 206 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

    Abrook blew past the 1,000-yard mark in rushing. 
   After that contest concluded, Abrook had carried the ball 180 times for 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns helping the Hilltops, who are the five-time defending CJFL champions, improve to 7-0.

    In the aftermath, Elderkin came away from that contest with the fame. 
    Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said the team’s coaching staff has a few chuckles over the photo.
    Sargeant first saw the photo on Monday, when his wife, Kris, showed it to him over a social media line.

The Taylon Elderkin photo on Facebook.

    “I’m not a Facebook or a Snapchat or whatever it is, but I’m happy for him (Elderkin) and happy for the program and happy for the offensive linemen,” said Tom Sargeant. “You always want to give those guys some love.
    “To celebrate having a 1,000-yard rusher in Ben Abrook, that is certainly one way to recognize that. That has just been a tradition of the Hilltops. We’ve been doing this for about the last eight or 10 years, where we honour a fifth-year player, and they get to handle a ball, and we see what we can do.

    “I think he (Elderkin) is in second place. Nathan Heide is still in first with 19 yards, and Tay is now in second place with 13 yards. It is good to see the O-line always get some recognition.”

    Elderkin, who will turn 22-years-old in December, joined the Hilltops on a full-time basis in 2016, and Sargeant said the North Battleford, Sask., product has been a joy to coach.

    “What a super kid,” said Sargeant. “He started slow, but by the middle of his first year, he was a starter.

    “No one has played more football on this team than Taylon Elderkin. He is a very unassuming guy. He is just a great teammate.
    “He is loyal. Whatever you need, he is going to give you everything he has got. He is one of the reasons we’ve had a lot of success running the ball and protecting our quarterback, because Taylon loves and is great at playing the game of football.”

Another photo of Taylon Elderkin’s 13-yard rumble down the field.

    Elderkin said he has taken some good-natured jabs the last few days including ones from graduated teammate like former Hilltops offensive lineman Cord Ivanco, who is the equipment manager for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    As the years go on, Elderkin said the picture of his carry going viral will always be a discussion point to have a few laughs over.
    “It will definitely be in there,” said Elderkin. “It is something you will look back on your last season.

    “Being able to do that, it could have been (left guard) Ryder (Klisowsky), because at the beginning of the year, we rock, paper, scissors for it. I came out on the lucky side of that.”

Hilltops RG Taylon Elderkin (#67) assists in pass blocking in the trenches.

    Elderkin is ready to experience another memorable moment in his final season. This coming Sunday, the Hilltops close their regular season schedule hosting the Edmonton Wildcats (2-5) at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

    As a team tradition, the Hilltops players, who are playing out their final campaigns of CJFL eligibility, will be introduced one by one and walk on to the field with their parents. Elderkin will be taking that final walk out of the tunnel with his mother, Melissa, and he is looking forward to that moment in time.

    “The season has definitely gone by pretty quick,” said Elderkin. “Being able to do that with my mom, she supported me throughout my entire football career.

    “Doing that with her, I think that is going to be real special for me and for her too.”

Abrook takes PFC offensive player of the week honours

Ben Abrook jets home on a 52-yard touchdown run.

    A monster outing allowed Saskatoon Hilltops star power running back Ben Abrook to take offensive player of the week honours for the Prairie Football Conference for the second time this season.

    Last Sunday, the 21-year-old carried the ball 18 times for 206 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Hilltops hammered the Winnipeg Rifles 49-22 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. On Wednesday, Abrook was named the PFC offensive player of the week.

    The huge outing allowed Abrook, who is in his third year with the Hilltops, to blow past the 1000-yard mark in rushing. In helping the Hilltops post a 7-0 record, Abrook has carried the ball 180 times for 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns.

    The Hilltops close their regular season schedule this coming Sunday taking on the Edmonton Wildcats at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

    It is unlikely Abrook will catch the Hilltops record for most yards gained rushing in one regular season.

    That mark is held by current Hilltops running backs coach Andre Lalonde. In his final campaign as a Hilltops running back in 2013, Lalonde ran the ball 182 times for 1,367 yards and seven touchdowns in eight regular season games.

    Lalonde was the CJFL’s offensive player of the year and an all-Canadian all-star that season.

    Earlier this season, Abrook took PFC offensive player of the week honours for his performance when the Hilltops downed the Regina Thunder 28-21 on Sept. 7 at SMF Field.

Kleiter three-peats for PFC special teams player of the week

Rylan Kleiter (#7) is a three-peat player of the week for the PFC.

    Another week means another Prairie Football Conference special teams player of the week award has come the way of Saskatoon Hilltops receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter.

    On Wednesday, Kleiter was named the PFC’s special teams player of the week for a third straight week. He received his third player of the week honours for his efforts last Sunday, when the Hilltops dumped the Winnipeg Rifles 49-22 at SMF Field.

    Kleiter connected on 4-of-5 field goal attempts hitting from 12, 27, 40 and 15 yards out. He scored a single off a 40 yard missed field goal.

    Kleiter kicked off six times for 340 yards averaging 56.7 yards per kick. He took on the Hilltops punting duties punting the ball four times for 144 yards for a 36 yard average.

    The fourth-year player connected on all five of his conversion attempts.

    Going into the final week of the PFC’s regular season, Kleiter leads the conference in scoring with 88 points coming off 16 field goals, 27 one-point converts, one single and two touchdowns.

Sargeant’s pride shows through for Hilltops fifth years

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has a lot of pride in his fifth years.

    Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant admits that his team’s final home game of the regular season always pulls at his heartstrings.

    The Hilltops close their regular season schedule this coming Sunday, when they host the Edmonton Wildcats at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

    The ’Toppers always honour their players, who are playing out their final campaigns of CJFL eligibility, before the final home game. Most of those players have usually played five full seasons with the team.

    The graduating players will be introduced one by one, and they will walk out to the field with their parents. The Hilltops have been holding this tradition for a large number of years.

    The Hilltops have 15 players who will exhaust their eligibility after this season including Patrick Arno, John Brown, Taylon Elderkin, Connor Graham, Caleb Haight, Tristan Hering, Tyler Hermann, Colton Holmes, Riley Keating, Logan Kelsey-Stern, Ryder Klisowsky, Jesse McNabb, Kirk Morrow, Jadyn Pingue and Tanner Rhode.

    “A lot of emotions are going to come through me and just make me realize how proud and how fortunate I am to be a part of these young men’s lives,” said Sargeant. “To see their parents who we spend a lot of time with over the last five years, it is now.

    “We have to make sure that we represent those families. We always talking about coaching and playing for our fifth-year players and their families and make sure we put them in good spots so that they can keep climbing this mountain. There is nothing better than to be a fifth-year player with the Saskatoon Hilltops and leaving as a champion.

    “We believe they are going to do that whether or not, because they are part of this process. We’re going to work darn hard to make sure good things happen for them all the way to the end.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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