Hilltops and Thunder battle for top spot
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| Johnathon Stevens (#57) has three sacks this season. |
The provincial rivals take 5-1 records into their head-to-head clash set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Hilltops and Thunder are rated third and fourth respectively in the latest CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings released on Thursday. Saturday’s game is the second last regular season contest for both teams, who are guaranteed to finish first and second in the PFC and will respectively host PFC semifinal playoff matches.
Currently, the Hilltops hold the standings tiebreaker between the two sides having posted an 18-15 victory in the lone head-to-head meeting with the Thunder back on September 6 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. If the Hilltops straight out win in the upcoming game on Saturday, they will lock up first place in the PFC.
If the Thunder win by four or more points on Saturday, they will lock up first place in the PFC. If the Thunder win by three or fewer points, they will still need to down the visiting Edmonton Wildcats on Sunday, October 12 a 1 p.m. at Leibel Field to clinch first place.
The team that finishes first in the PFC will have home field advantage through the entire CJFL playoffs, because the PFC champion will host the CJFL championship game – The Canadian Bowl.
“It is always a good match whenever we play each other, obviously,” said Stevens, who is the Hilltops star fifth-year defensive tackle. “There is quite a bit on the line there.
“We’re just going to go out there and do the best we can. We respect them. They are a great team.
“We believe in ourselves as well, and you have to, if you’re going to try to win. I would love to win against them. Every win is a good one.”
The Hilltops head into Saturday’s encounter having won their last five straight. Last Sunday, they downed the host Edmonton Wildcats 52-26 at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta. Saskatoon led that contest 52-9 before Edmonton scored 17 straight points late in the fourth quarter to make the final outcome look more respectable.
The Thunder have won their last two straight. Last Sunday at Maple Grove Rugby Park in Winnipeg, Man., the Thunder escaped with a 41-40 victory over the host Rifles. The Rifles scored a touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to pull within 41-40 and were unsuccessful in going for a two-point convert to claim the win.
“Obviously, we got pretty good momentum and pretty good energy,” said legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “As a head football coach, things that are sort of bothering me are our discipline seems to crop up here and there and doesn’t put us in great spots.
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| Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant stands for the national anthem on Aug. 24. |
“My line to the team right now is do better longer, stay with us longer and be more committed longer. We live in such a different age, but you know when you get between these lines you should just be talking football and that is it and that is all.”
The first encounter of the season between the Hilltops and Thunder saw both teams play the contest with a game management style of approach. Saskatoon ultimately claimed victory on a one-yard touchdown run by running back David Collins with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Stevens believes Saturday’s encounter will be a game where both teams could potentially open up their playbooks a little more.
“That was a few weeks ago, and obviously we’ve got film on them, and they have film on us,” said Stevens, who has three quarterback sacks and 13 total tackles so far this season for the Hilltops. “We’re just going to watch the film, and we’ve got to be ready in any game if they’re going to try to take risks or if they’re going to do anything that is an attack there.
“I know they had good plays during that game, and I know we had good plays during that game. It could change any given Sunday, in this case Saturday.”
Sargeant believes all parts of his Hilltops club will look much better on Saturday compared to the first encounter with the Thunder.
“I guarantee you we’re going to coach better than what we did the first game against them,” said Sargeant. “I guarantee you my players are going to be playing better than how they played last time.
“It just comes down to what is Regina going to bring? What are they going to do different? How will they look?
“We haven’t seen them in three weeks. We’ve all played different teams, and as I said, we’re excited to get them at our place Saturday night and get under the lights and son of a gun, that is going to be a lot of fun.”
Sargeant said he believes the rivalry between the Hilltops and Thunder is still as heated as it has ever been. The sideline boss said it comes from the fact a lot of the players see each other at events like the Senior Bowl, which is the high school football all-star game put on by Football Saskatchewan for Grade 12 players right before they graduate from high school.
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| David Collins has been a key player for the Hilltops this season. |
“It is no different than with Huskies and Rams anytime proximity is a big part of a rivalry,” said Sargeant. “That is what we have.
“They (the Thunder) are the team that is closest to us. Every year they line up, they want to beat us, and every year we line up we want to beat them. We know if we do that it has a tendency to lead us to bigger and better games.
“That is what is at stake this weekend. We’re hungry for the opportunity. I just want my team to play better and show up and handle all the excitement and all the adversity and see if we’re ready for prime time.”
Thrilling game results in PFC players of the
week nods
Last Sunday at Maple Grove Rugby Park in Winnipeg, Man., the Thunder and Rifles engaged in a shootout, which saw Regina emerge with a 41-40 victory. Players from this contest claimed the awards for the PFC’s offensive player of the week and the PFC’s special teams player of the week.
The offensive player of the week nod went to Rifles receiver Jarome Penner. Penner hauled in 15 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown in the heartbreaking setback. His 15 catches are the second most ever for a PFC regular season contest and are tied for the second most for a CJFL regular season game.
Saskatoon Hilltops all-time great Andrew Busby holds the record for most catches in a CJFL regular season contest and by extension PFC regular season clash. He hauled in 19 passes for the Hilltops on August 20, 2006.
Thunder kick returner and defensive back Jackson Ashman claimed honours as the PFC’s special teams player of the week. In the heart pounding win over the Rifles, Ashman returned the opening kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown.
He returned two kickoffs for 123 yards and ran a punt back for 12 yards. Ashman emulated his father and Thunder assistant coach Chris Ashman, who was a dangerous returner for the Regina Rams in the late 1990s and early 2000s including play in both the CJFL and U Sports as the University of Regina Rams.
Calgary Colts defensive back Quinn Feodoroff was tabbed as the PFC’s defensive player of the week for his efforts in his squad’s 41-30 setback to the visiting Edmonton Huskies last Sunday at Shouldice Athletic Park. Feodoroff recorded seven solo defensive tackles, three defensive tackle assists, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Big upcoming Sunday in PFC
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| Riley Element sets to throw a pass for the Rifles. |
The Winnipeg Rifles, Edmonton Wildcats, Calgary Colts and Edmonton Huskies all have identical 2-4 records and are tied for third through sixth in the conference. The top four teams in the PFC qualify for the post-season, so only two of those four squads will be left standing when the regular season concludes.
On Sunday, the Rifles host the Wildcats at 2 p.m. local time at Maple Grove Rugby Park, while the Huskies host the Colts at 1 p.m. local time at Jasper Place Bowl.
The final week of the PFC regular season sees all six of the conference’s teams go at it on Sunday, October 12. The Huskies will host the Rifles at Jasper Place Bowl at 1 p.m. local time. The Saskatoon Hilltops host the Colts at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, and the Regina Thunder host the Wildcats at 1 p.m. at Leibel Field.
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