Hilltops will be back

Venerable CJFL club will continue positive impact in Saskatoon

Austin Thorarinson raises the Canadian Bowl for the Hilltops in 2015.

     The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic became a tough more real for the followers and all those involved with the Saskatoon Hilltops.
    While the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the North American sports scene since March 11, the reality of it hits teams and leagues to a more elevated degree when normal events of an entire season stop happening. That includes missing training camp activities and games.

    On Thursday, the CJFL announced the cancellation of the entire 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of regulations regarding travel and large gatherings that needed to be eased for football activities were just a couple of factors that were too much for the CJFL to overcome.

Tom Sargeant gets the ice bucket shower after the 2015 CJFL title win.

    Many other leagues in Canada are dealing with similar hoops the CJFL is trying to overcome. On Friday, the Prince Albert Minor Football Association cancelled all its fall programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On the CJFL front, the Hilltops have won the last six straight league title and nine out of the 10 CJFL championships. The Canadian Bowl trophy has comfortably resided in the trophy display located at the entrance way of the Hilltops clubhouse.

    For the Hilltops, Thursday’s announcement would have been the latest shoe drop for this week. For those involved with the team, events that were missed in annual timelines had to be running through everyone’s minds.

Justin Filteau in action for the Hilltops in 2014.

    Monday would have normally be the start of Hilltops training camp. Thursday would have been the usual time for the team’s Alumni Game.

    The Alumni Game is an annual event alums look forward to, because it is often the one time every year the old players get to come back and see each other again. The alums often take part in some social gatherings after the game.

    There were likely a few times this week where those involved with the Hilltops thought, “Wow, we actually aren’t doing this for this year.”

    At this point in time, it is apparent the whole sports scene in Canada is going to go through a reset due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No one can predict what that reset will look like outside of the fact things will look a lot different than they did on March 10, which was seemingly the last normal sports calendar day in North America.

    The Hilltops will be there when the pandemic ends and the reset runs its course. In a current world that has very few certainties, this is one you can bank on.

Jordan Walls fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops in 2018.

    The current modern day version of the Hilltops first hit the field in 1947 and won the provincial title that year. They made it to the CJFL title game in 1948 falling 23-10 to the Hamilton Wildcats.

    In 1953, the Hilltops won their first CJFL championship hammering the Windsor AKO Fratmen 34-6 in front of 7,200 spectators at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon on the golden arm of quarterback Ron Adam, who completed 12-of-20 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Adam’s throwing was complimented by powerful and tough rushing attack.

    Since that first CJFL championship win, the Hilltops have gone on to win a total of 22 CJFL titles hoisting three different league championship trophies in the Leader-Post Trophy, the Armadale Cup and the Canadian Bowl in the process.

Jadyn Pingue in action for the Hilltops in 2019.

    Since 1998, the Hilltops have been guided Tom Sargeant as head coach and have won 13 CJFL championships under his direction. Sargeant also experience CJFL title wins one as a player and twice as an assistant coach with the Hilltops.

    He holds the record for most career post-secondary head coaching football wins in Canada posting a 210-30-2 mark in the CJFL regular season and post-season. Sargeant is cemented on the Mount Rushmore of amateur football coaching greats in Saskatchewan.
    Tonnes of his former players credit him for being one of their biggest life influences.

    Besides “Sarge,” the Hilltops have a legacy of stellar people hold executive and coaching roles with the team who have had big impacts in the community. The list includes people like Ed Henick, Len Richardson, Don McDonald, Bob Arn, Al Ledingham and Dave Hardy.

Rylan Kleiter makes a tough catch for the Hilltops.

    Due to the great leadership the club has had over the years, the Hilltops have build a vast network of alums and people that identify with the team in the community.

    If Saskatoon is having a year where seemingly everything is going on in the world is bad, the Hilltops inevitably seem to be the one thing that rises up and shows you can still do great things by doing things the right way.
    Any time the Hilltops go on a CJFL championship run, people in Saskatoon can recall warm memories the team produced in the past and relive those memories in the present.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the Canadian Bowl in 2018.

    The memories include players like Ron Atchison, Steve Molnar, Wayne Shaw, Gord Barwell, Ted Dushinski, Warren Muzika, Sheldon Ball, Brian Guebert, Jorgen Hus, Andre Lalonde, Justin Filteau, Jordan Walls and Jadyn Pingue leaving everything on the field for the team.

    The amount of people that have positive emotional investment in the Hilltops seems endless. You can bet the Hilltops will continue to leave a positive and inspirational mark on Saskatoon sports scene when North America and the world gets rolling after the tough part of these current pandemic times end.

Huskies’ Vance, Drever to coach one day female goalie camp

Information on Solid Goaltending’s all-girls one day camp.

    If you are a young female goaltender that is looking to get out of the house, Solid Goaltending has an offer that is too good to pass up.

    On Sunday, Aug. 16, Solid Goaltending will be running a one day girls’ only camp featuring Jessica Vance and Camryn Drever as instructors at the Jemini Arena. Vance and Drever make up the dynamic goaltending tandem for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Solid Goaltending is run by Sheldon Goertzen, who is the goaltending coach for the Huskies women’s team.

    The camp has six spots open for goalies in the under-18 age group and six sports for the under-15 age category.

    For young female netminders, this camp will be well worth their time. Vance and Drever are outstanding goalies and are both personable and approachable.

Jessica Vance in action for the Huskies.

    Odds are quite high those attending the camp will come away feeling they had a great experience.

Vance just finished her fourth season of U Sports eligibility and third campaign with the Huskies. The Prince Albert, Sask., product has appeared in 59 career regular season games with the Huskies posting a 38-14-6 record, a 1.17 goals against average, a .947 save percentage and 20 shutouts.

    In the 2017-18 U Sports campaign, Vance was the most valuable player of the Canada West Conference and a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. She starred for five seasons with the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 AAA team from 2010 to 2015.

    Drever just finished her second U Sports campaign with the Huskies. She has appeared in 14 career regular season games posting an 8-5-1 record, a 1.56 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and four shutouts.

Camryn Drever makes a stop for the Huskies.

    The Edmonton product backstopped the Alberta based St. Alberta Slash to Canadian female Under-18 AAA championships capture the Esso Cup in 2017 and 2018.

    Together, Vance and Drever bring a vast amount of experience that they can pass on to a younger generation and give the camp attendees an upbeat break from the stress of the current COVID-19 pandemic world.

    Those interested in registering for the camp can call (306) 371-6008 or email solid.goaltendingsk@gmail.com.

    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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