 |
| After a 2-0 start, the Rifles have dropped two straight to fall to 2-2. |
During the early part of the CJFL regular season, the Rifles were the darlings of the circuit jumping out to a 2-0 start. The excitement over that start was strengthened by the fact the Rifles hammered the visiting Saskatoon Hilltops 31-11 on August 10 at Maple Grove Rugby Park in the Manitoba capital city.
The encounter was the first regular season contest for both squads in the 2025 campaign, but seeing the powerhouse and storied Hilltops lose big to someone other than the Regina Thunder was surprising. All of a sudden, there were visions the Rifles could be the first team to win the Prairie Football Conference title outside of the Hilltops and Thunder since the Edmonton Wildcats took the conference title in 2009.
The Rifles suffered their first loss of the campaign on August 24 dropping a 42-15 decision to the Hilltops at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. At first, an optimist would view that contest as a learning experience in knowing how much you need to raise your level of play when you beat an all-time great club like the Hilltops badly and face them again just a couple of weeks later.
Returning home to host at the Calgary Colts, who were 1-2 at the time, at Maple Grove Rugby Park this past Sunday, it looked like for at least 30 minutes the Rifles had got back on course. At halftime, they led the Colts 21-0 and held a 235-to-109 edge in total yards.
All of a sudden, the wheels fell off for the Winnipeg side.
Calgary scored 10 unanswered points to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 21-10 in the third quarter. After the Rifles got a punt single and the Colts put up a touchdown with 7:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, Winnipeg’s lead sat at 22-17.
With 78 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Rifles kicker Gabriel Yaipen hit a 23-yard field goal to push his club’s lead out to 25-17. The Colts responded with quarterback Noah Makkreel hitting receiver Kione Roberson with a 75-yard touchdown strike with 63 seconds remaining in the frame. Calgary wasn’t able to add the two-point convert allowing the Rifles lead to hold at 25-23.
The Colts would get another possession, and with 21 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, kicker Lucas Hyrniuk hit a 52-yard field goal to put the Colts up 26-25. That outcome would hold up as the game’s final score allowing the Colts to improve to 2-2, while the Rifles fell to 2-2.
For the Rifles, the way that loss to the Colts played out could be a turning point that sees the Winnipeg side venture in the wrong direction. The Rifles last made the CJFL Playoffs posting a 4-4 mark in 2022 to finish fourth in the PFC’s regular season standings and fell in the post-season to the Thunder, who would win the conference title.
In 2023, the Rifles missed the post-season with a 2-6 mark, and they finished last in the PFC in 2024 with a 1-7 record.
On Sunday, the Rifles travel to Regina to take on the Thunder at 1 p.m. at Leibel Field. The Thunder fell to 3-1 after falling 18-15 to the visiting Hilltops at Mosaic Stadium last Saturday. Regina is rated fifth in the CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings, and the Rifles are rated 10th.
It is always a tough task to take on the Thunder after a loss, especially when they are playing at home. The Rifles will have their backs to the wall.
If the favoured Thunder win that contest, the Rifles losing streak will be extended to three games, and one has to wonder if the tailspin is on. If the Rifles pull out an upset, it would cement a notion that the PFC is still very much wide open, and the conference is in the midst of arguably one of its most exciting seasons.
We will soon find out how much resilience the Rifles actually have.
Rifles/Colts clash pulls in all PFC player
of the week nods
 |
| Kyler Banfield was named the PFC’s defensive player of the week. |
Last Sunday, the Rifles jumped ahead 21-0 over the visiting Colts at halftime in a CJFL regular season contest at Maple Grove Rugby Park. The Colts rallied to pull out a 26-25 victory. Colts kicker Lucas Hyrniuk nailed the winning field goal from 52-yards out with 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put Calgary ahead for good.
Thanks to that amazing effort, Hyrniuk took home honours on Wednesday as the PFC’s special teams player of the week. The 52-yard winner was the only field goal Hyrniuk hit going one-for-two in that department in the contest.
Hyrniuk made both of his one-point conversion attempts. He punted the ball six times for 251 yards for an average of 41.8 yards per kick. Hyrniuk kicked off five times for 285 yards for an average of 57 yards per kick.
Colts running back Zion Brown-Dogbe claimed honours as the PFC’s offensive player of the week carrying the ball 20 times for 181 yards and one touchdown. His rushing major came from a 75-yard romp.
Rifles outside linebacker Kyler Banfield claimed honours as the defensive player of the week. Banfield recorded seven total defensive tackles, one quarterback sack, one pass knockdown, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Hilltops quarterback situation appears set
 |
| Brexton Elias is healthy and is the Hilltops starting QB. |
The Hilltops started the 2025 CJFL campaign with fifth-year signal caller Brexton Elias on the shelf due to injury. Elias had been slotted in as the Hilltops starter in the pre-season.
Saskatoon proceeded to lose second-year pivot Charlie Molder to injury in their first regular season contest that was a 31-11 loss to the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 10.
As a result of those developments, the Hilltops added Clark Snider before their second regular season game. Snider, who is in his final season of CJFL eligibility, played the 2024 campaign with the Kamloops Broncos.
Before their third regular season game, the Hilltops brought Griffin Sander on board. Sander had been a reserve quarterback with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team and is in his fourth campaign of CJFL eligibility.
Elias dressed as the Hilltops fourth-stringer for their 42-15 victory over the Rifles on August 24 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. He started in their 18-15 victory over their provincial rivals in the host Regina Thunder last Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.
At the moment, the Hilltops are carrying five quarterbacks. Elias is the starter. The club’s active roster includes reserve signal callers Jace Martins, who is in his rookie season in the CJFL after graduating high school in Sylvan Lake, Alta., and Sander.
Rookie pivot Kyren Houmphanh, who is a graduate of Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints football team, is on the practice roster. Molder is still out with injury, but he is listed on the practice roster.
Hayden McMahon is no longer on the Hilltops roster. He had been in his third year with the club and was the starting quarterback for the squad’s first two regular season victories of the 2025 campaign. Snider is also no longer on the roster.
Elias gave the Hilltops their most solid quarterbacking effort of the campaign in their road win over the Thunder. Unless the injury bug comes biting again, it appears the offence will be Elias’s to lead.
The Hilltops (3-1) are in Calgary on Sunday to face the Colts (2-2) at Shouldice Athletic Park at 1 p.m. Saskatoon is rated third in the CJFL’s Top 10 Power Rankings, while the Colts are listed in the ninth position.
Johnson to speak at End Zone Dinner, other
notes
 |
| Evan Johnson in action for the Roughriders on July 15, 2023. |
Evan Johnson, who played seven CFL seasons from 2017 to 2024, will be the guest speaker for the annual event that raises money for the Hilltops scholarships and bursaries. The End Zone Dinner is slated for Saturday, September 27, at the main hall in the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building located on the south end zone of Saskatoon Minor Football Field on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.
The doors open at 4:15 p.m. and the dinner follows at 5 p.m. A ticket to the End Zone Dinner includes a ticket to that night’s regular season contest against the Hilltops provincial rivals the Regina Thunder. That game is slated for 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
Johnson graduated high school from Regina’s Campbell Collegiate and moved on to play football in the U Sports ranks from 2012 to 2016 with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He would be selected in the first round and ninth overall by the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2017 CFL Draft.
From 2017 to 2019, Johnson played 52 regular season games with the Redblacks making starts at left guard, right tackle and left tackle. He suited up for the Redblacks in their 27-16 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the 2018 Grey Cup played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alta.
From 2021 to 2023, Johnson played 48 regular season contests with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He moved on from the Roughriders to appear in 10 games with the Hamilton Tigers-Cats in 2024.
Johnson, who is 31-years-old, is married to Dallis (Aiken) Johnson, who is a former defensive back with the powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL. They reside in Saskatoon where Evan Johnson works for an engineering firm.
Tickets for the Hilltops End Zone Dinner can be purchased by clicking right here.
- Winnipeg Rifles outside linebacker Kyler Banfield leads the PFC with 78 defensive points. Banfield hit that point total by piling up 26 solo defensive tackles, 12 defensive tackle assists, two quarterback sacks, one pass knockdown, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
- Regina Thunder running back Peter Boersch leads the PFC in carries (100) and rushing yards (786) in what has been a breakout season. He also has three rushing touchdowns on the campaign.
- On Tuesday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on Saskatoon football lifer Jeff Yausie. Yausie is the current CEO of Football Saskatchewan and the defensive coordinator for the Saskatoon Hilltops. The piece on Yausie can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images from the fun that can be had at the FSIN Adult Fastball Championships, which were held August 29 to 31 on the Complex’s grounds. The photo roundup also contains photos from baseball, football and softball. 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.
-------
If you like what you
see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like
this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the
DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for
stopping in.
