The current modern version of the Hilltops are best known for their rivalries with squads from Saskatchewan’s capital city in Regina. They had a big rivalry with the Rams before they joined the U Sports ranks in 1999, and Hilltops rivalry with the Rams’s CJFL successors in the Thunder followed, starting with the birth of the Thunder in 2000.
When the Hilltops began play in 1947 and following through to 1961, their biggest rival was the Winnipeg Rods. That rivalry occurred in an era where there were a lot more teams in the CJFL across Canada than the 20 that exist in the current day. The Rods junior team disbanded before the start of the 1990 CJFL campaign.
Way back in 1947, the Hilltops were playing their inaugural campaign in what was then known as the Saskatchewan Junior Rugby Football Union. They topped the league regular season standings with a 5-1 record and slipped past the Regina Bombers 12-11 in the Saskatchewan championship final.
Following that win, the Hilltop advanced on to a Western Canada Semifinal series to take on the already established Rods, who won the Winnipeg Junior Rugby Football League. The Rods swept a two-game total points series by scores of 22-18 and 34-10. That set the grounds for numerous big games that would follow between the two sides.
A year later, the two sides again met in a Western Canada Semifinal two-game total points series. This time the Hilltops swept the series by scores of 21-7 and 12-6. The Hilltops would advance to their first appearance in the CJFL championship game falling to the Hamilton Wildcats.
In 1949, Saskatoon would eliminate the Rods from the CJFL post-season in another Western Canada Semifinal.
The rivalry between the Hilltops and Rods would take a new form in 1953 when they played out of the same conference in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League. Over a nine-year period starting in 1953, the Hilltops and Rods would combine to win six CJFL titles and one of those two clubs was at least in the CJFL championship game over the stretch.
Saskatoon claimed the CJFL crown in 1953, 1958 and 1959, while the Rods reached the CJFL mountaintop in 1955, 1956 and 1961. Also during that nine-year period, the Hilltops fell in the 1960 CJFL title game, while the Rods came up short in the CJFL championships games in 1954 and 1957.
In 1956, the Rods downed the Hilltops 21-7 in Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League semifinal on their way to claiming a second straight CJFL title. In 1957, the two sides went at it in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final that was contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the series by scores of 40-34 and 32-6.
Rods moved to what was then known as the City of St. James in 1959. St. James would be eventually officially amalgamated into the City of Winnipeg on January 1, 1972.
The St. James Rods and the Hilltops went at it in the 1961 Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final that was contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the series by scores of 22-20 and 29-7 to end Saskatoon’s three-year reign as conference champions.
In 1962, the two sides wrote an epilogue to their rivalry meeting again in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final again contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the set by scores of 34-11 and 29-0. Those would be the final post-season meetings between the Hilltops and Rods.
The Rods had one last great season in 1963 topping the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League regular season standings with an 8-0 record and would fall in the Western Canada Championship game 14-10 to the defending and eventual CJFL champion Edmonton Huskies.
Starting in 1964, the Rods often finished in the basement of whatever conference they were in be it the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League or starting in 1976 the Manitoba Junior Football League until the folding of their junior team.
The Rams, who were formed in 1954, began their rise and won their first Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League title in 1964 getting past the Hilltops in the conference final. The legendary Gord Currie became the Rams head coach in 1965, and rivalry between the Rams and Hilltops took full flight from that point onward to really usher in the traditional Regina versus Saskatoon rivalry at the junior level.
In 2025, the storied Hilltops opened the current CJFL campaign dropping a surprising 31-11 regular season decision to the host Rifles at Maple Grove Rugby Park in Winnipeg on August 10. The Hilltops (1-1) and Rifles (2-0) are set to battle on Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Depending what happens in that contest, it could potentially start the rise of a new true rivalry between Saskatoon and Winnipeg in junior football.
Of course, any potential true rivalry between the Hilltops and Rifles has a long way to go before it hits the heights of the one the Hilltops had with the Rods. Unfortunately, the rivalry the Hilltops and Rods had from 1947 to 1961 is fading into just being part of Canada’s recorded history as about only nine per cent of the country’s current population was alive to have a recollection of that period of time.
In the history of the CJFL, it can’t be understated how special the rivalry between the Hilltops and Rods between 1947 and 1961 truly was.
Thunder rumble on the ground
On August 10, the Thunder opened their CJFL regular season schedule downing the host Huskies 31-16 at Jasper Place Bowl in Edmonton. In that contest, the Thunder piled up 501 yards of total offence including 371 yards along the ground.
Last Sunday, the Thunder hammered the Colts 46-21 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary. Regina had 475 yards of total offence in that game including 308 yards rushing.
Thunder 20-year-old running back Peter Boersch leads the Prairie Football Conference in rushing yards piling up 530 yards on 55 carries and scoring two touchdowns in Regina’s two contests. He has a huge lead over Saskatoon Hilltops running back David Collins, who sits second in the PFC with 218 yards rushing.
At the end of last season, the Thunder started to form the identity of their road grader style offence. In winning their final regular season game against the Calgary Colts, a PFC semifinal against the Colts and the PFC final against the Saskatoon Hilltops, the Thunder rushed for a staggering 1,072 yards as a team. They didn’t finish below 300 yards rushing in any of those contests.
In a CJFL semifinal played at Leibel Field in Regina, the Thunder saw their 2024 campaign come to an end falling 28-14 to the Okanagan Sun, who are based out of Kelowna, B.C. The Regina side still collected 204 yards rushing as a team in that contest.
For a lot of their history beginning with their birth in 2000, the Thunder’s offence tried to mimic the style of their U Sports counterparts in the University of Regina Rams, who were the Thunder’s CJFL predecessors in the Saskatchewan capital. While the Thunder still ran the ball, they often preferred to attack through the air.
At the moment, it appears the Thunder’s “ground and pound era” isn’t just a passing fad. It looks like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Fans will be fans
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| There are CJFL fans out there who love to hate the Hilltops. |
On August 10, the storied Saskatoon Hilltops, who have won 23 CJFL championships, opened their regular season dropping a 31-11 decision to the host Rifles at Maple Grove Rugby Park. Comments appeared on a couple of independent Instagram accounts that posted the score of that contest sharing glee that the Hilltops had lost and congratulated the Rifles winning.
On the main CJFL Instagram account, there were still 18 comments listed in the post that showed the score of that clash between the Rifles and Hilltops as of Friday night. Most of the comments congratulated the Rifles on the win, and there were a number of video memes that showed shock. One comment stated, “Dang about time!!!”
It should be noted that when the CJFL posts scores on its Instagram account there usually might be just one comment made here in the early part of the campaign.
As for what was written regarding the Rifles win over the Hilltops, any comments that showed happiness in the fact the Hilltops lost didn’t go over the line and were tasteful. The comments also show the fans are engaged with the circuit, and that is a huge good thing.
During my travels in Saskatchewan and Alberta over the past year, I have encountered a growing number of folks that say the CFL, CJFL and football in U Sports suck and the NCAA is where it is at as far as football goes. A lot of those folks admitted they took trips last season to see NCAA Division I games featuring various powerhouse teams like the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, the Ohio State University Buckeyes, the University of Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
On top of seeing games, people making journeys to those contests want to take part in various fan traditions that happen around those contests like the Yellow Jackets “Enter Sandman” entrance or Crimson Tide fans reveling in “Dixieland Delight.” Those various traditions are things you don’t see at football contests in Canada.
The folks that prefer the NCAA game are still by far in the minority of the people that I know, but it is a trend that I think should be concerning that I am finding a growing number of people like NCAA football over the CFL, CJFL and U Sports football.
Since the end of the 2024 NCAA football season, the politics between Canada and the United States has changed with Donald Trump officially taking on the role of President of the United States sparking a trade war between the United States and Canada. A large number of Canadians are nixing trips to the United States, and it will be interesting to see if those cancelled trips include voyages to NCAA football games.
Back to the social media comments regarding the Hilltops, any social media dislike that has come the Hilltops way has been in good taste, and you have to love it when fans get passionate about the CJFL. No matter what sports league it is, fans are always going to be fans.
PFC player of the week nods spread out,
other notes
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| Shawn Green (#7) is the PFC’s special teams player of the week. |
In the honours that were announced on Wednesday, Winnipeg Rifles quarterback Riley Element was named the PFC’s offensive player of the week. Last Sunday, Element completed 15-of-26 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions powering the Rifles to a 43-24 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta.
Edmonton Huskies middle linebacker Kaige Houle was dubbed the PFC’s defensive player of the week for his efforts in his squads 46-6 loss to the host Saskatoon Hilltops last Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Houle had 8.5 total tackles and one interception.
Regina Thunder kicker Shawn Green claimed honours as the PFC’s special teams player of the week helping his squad down the host Colts 46-21 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary. Green connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts and all three of his one-point converts.
He also punted the ball five times for 184 yards for an average of 36.8 yards per kick. He also scored one point off a rouge.
Green also kicked off five times for 277 yards for an average of 55.4 yards per kick.
- Zion Brown of the Calgary Colts leads the PFC in receiving yards. He has caught nine passes for 167 yards and one touchdown.
- Winnipeg Rifles quarterback Riley Element tops the PFC in passing yards. He has completed 31-of-55 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions.
- Last Saturday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a story on the Carnduff Southeast Steelers winning a third straight Canadian women’s softball championship. The latest win came at Bob Van Impe Stadium. The piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images from the Saskatoon Cubs winning their seventh 18U AAA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League title in team history with the latest championship coming at Cairns Field. The photo roundup also contains photos from baseball, football, softball and track and field. That post can be found by clicking right here.
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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