Hilltops end up topping PFC

Saskatoon finishes first while Calgary Colts stumble

The Hilltops defence swarm in on a Rifles ball carrier.

    The stars lined up for the Saskatoon Hilltops to allow the venerable Canadian Junior Football League team to once again finish on top of the Prairie Football Conference standings.

    Heading into the final weekend of regular season play, the Hilltops needed some help when it came to finishing first in the PFC. Saskatoon needed to win its final game, while the Calgary Colts, who were holding on to top spot, needed to fall in their final outing.

    On Saturday, the Colts traveled to Edmonton and fell to the red hot Edmonton Huskies 51-35. The loss dropped the Colts to 7-2, while the Huskies improved to 6-3 riding a five-game winning streak. The Huskies last loss came back on Sept. 3, when they were thumped 43-4 by the Colts in Calgary.

    That opened the door for the Hilltops, who seized their opportunity to lock up home field advantage through the PFC portion of the post-season. On Sunday in Winnipeg at Charlie Krupp Stadium, the Hilltops thumped the Rifles 44-14. The win allowed the Hilltops, who have won six straight, to improve to 8-1 to finish on top of the PFC standings.

Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk stays cool under pressure.

    Saskatoon will host a PFC semifinal match this coming Sunday against their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Thunder, who have won two straight, thrashed the Wildcats in Edmonton 69-18 to finish fourth in the PFC.

    Against the Rifles, the Hilltops went ahead 7-0 on their first offensive drive that was capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by star running back Logan Fischer.

    The Rifles tied things up at 7-7, when their star running back Michael Ritchott ran in a major score from 44 yards out.

    The Hilltops then proceeded to quickly put an end to the competitive part of the game at that point. Before the first quarter ended, they surged ahead 21-7. First, quarterback Jared Andreychuk connected with receiver Jason Price on a 22-yard touchdown strike, and then Fischer ran in a major from a yard out for his second touchdown of the day.

    In the second quarter, Andreychuk found receiver Ryan Turple for a 27-yard touchdown toss, and fullback Colin Stumborg ran in a score from five yards out to put the visitors up 35-7. The Hilltops began to liberally substitute in all their backup players from that point.

Jason Price (#83) had a 22-yard TD catch for the Hilltops.

    Saskatoon’s scoring was rounded out in the second half by a pair of field goals from James Vause, a punt single from Des Vessey and a conceded safety by the Rifles. Ritchott ran in a major score from 16 yards out to complete the Rifles scoring.

    Andreychuk completed 6-of-9 passes for 121 yards and two touchdown passes. He surpassed the 2,000 yard mark in passing for the season before being relieved by backup quarterback Jordan Walls late in the second quarter.

    Fischer piled up 57 yards rushing on eight carries in the win. Rookie Joshua Ewanchyna led the Hilltops with 104 yards rushing on 12 carries.
    Price had 134 yards receiving on four catches for Saskatoon.

    The Hilltops enter the post-season trying to win the Canadian Bowl for a third year in a row and also become the first team in history to win six CJFL titles in seven years.

Logan Fischer (#21) ran in a pair of touchdowns for the Hilltops.

    They won both their head-to-head meetings with the Thunder this season, but both encounters were tight. On Sept. 10 in Saskatoon, the Hilltops slipped past the Thunder 20-18. On Oct. 1 at old Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Hilltops trailed the Thunder 26-16 with 2:21 to play in the fourth quarter but rallied for a 30-26 victory.

    This coming Sunday, the second place Colts host the other PFC semifinal against the third place Huskies. The Rifles missed the playoffs finishing fifth in the PFC at 2-7, while the Wildcats finished last with an 0-9 mark.

Back in the Express with the Benkics

Adam Benkic (#40) celebrates returning a fumble for a touchdown.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this past week with a story on brothers Adam and Cole Benkic of the Saskatoon Hilltops.

    The story focused more on Adam, who went from playing quarterback in high school to outside linebacker with the Hilltops. Adam is in his third year with the Hilltops and has seen his role with the club increase in starting most of the team’s games.

    Cole is in his fifth and final season with the Hilltops. Last year, he was named the CJFL’s defensive player of the year, and coming into this season, he was rated number one in a promotion that listed the league’s top 50 players.

    Unfortunately for Cole, he injured his leg in a pedal bike crash in the off-season, and hasn’t suited up for any of the Hilltops regular season games. He is close to returning, but is still officially week-to-week.

Cole Benkic in action for the Hilltops last season.

    Cole has been at all the Hilltops practices and games helping the rest of the team’s linebackers with coaching tips. In his absence, middle linebacker Cameron Schnitzler and outside linebackers Cody Peters, Bobby Ehman and Adam Benkic have all improved greatly.

    Schnitzler and Peters have both had stellar seasons. Peters had really become a beast on the outside.
    When Cole returns, the Hilltops linebackers will become that much stronger.

    The story on the Benkic brothers can be found right here.

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

Hilltops Alumni Game a hit on many levels

Hilltops RB Des Vessey (#27) runs against the alumni team defence.

    The old Transformers slogan of “More than Meets the Eye” is a fitting way to describe the Saskatoon Hilltops Alumni Game.

    For decades, the venerable Canadian Junior Football League franchise has hosted a clash with its alumni as part of the team’s training camp. It is used as key evaluator for Hilltops coaches to grade current players. The contest has some modified guidelines, but it is played mostly under CJFL rules.

    The game gives the current players a chance to interact and meet the former players that have come before them. The match also allows the Hilltops grads to renew bonds with their old club and see old teammates and friends they normally don’t get to see on a regular basis due to real life circumstances relating to work and family.

    In recent years, the game has kind of branched out to include various other members of the Saskatoon football community that have never played with the Toppers. It has become common place for the recent alumni squads to contain ringers that played for teams from the Canadian Interuniversity Sport ranks and the CJFL.

QB Jordan Walls fires a pass downfield for the current Hilltops.

    This is done to increase the toughness of the alumni team to give the current Hilltops a tougher challenge. When it comes down to it, the alumni game might be the most difficult game the current Toppers play all year.

    The old players have enjoyed the game so much that word has gotten out, and more volunteers are turning out for the alumni team in terms of both former Hilltops players and players from other post-secondary teams.

    When the 2016 alumni game was held on Thursday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, a very powerful and deep alumni squad turned out to face a Hilltops squad that lost 16 players due to graduation from last year’s CJFL championship team and a small handful of other players to the CIS ranks.

    With the current Hilltops fielding squad that contained a number of recent 18-year-old high school grads against a squad of well-conditioned men, the alumni rolled to a 41-10 victory.

    Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant and his staff definitely received a lot of film they can use for evaluations and corrections. The veteran coaching staff realizes there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to get the current team playing at the very high standard the Hilltops program is used to performing in 70 years of existence. Saskatoon opens its regular season hosting the Winnipeg Rifles on Aug. 14 at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

Two Hilltops defenders up end an alumni team receiver.

    With that said, Thursday’s game wasn’t all bad for the current Hilltops. A number of individuals put in good outings.

    Backup quarterback Jordan Walls threw the ball well all over the field. The alumni team defensive backs, who have tonnes of experience, said the third year signal caller was doing a great job moving defensive players around with his eyes creating openings for his receivers.

    It took a great play by Joel Lipinski, who is a former member of the University of Regina Rams and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, to get an interception off Walls.

    Receiver Jason Price looks ready to be a playmaker. He had some nice catches and the only touchdown the current Hilltops scored in the game. The Walter Murray Collegiate graduate was buried on the depth chart his first two seasons behind five standout pass catchers the Hilltops graduated a year ago.

Receiver Ryan Turple zips up field for the Hilltops.

    Possession receiver Ryan Turple also made some nice catches and wasn’t afraid to mix things up in traffic despite standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 160 pounds.

    On defence, Adam Benkic was flowed to the ball well and looks like he is going to take step another step forward after a strong campaign in 2015. Rookie cornerback Leif Larson from Lloydminster showed that he has lots of promise.

    The current Hilltops sat out a number of their veterans for the alumni game in order to spend more time evaluating others on the roster. Those that didn’t dress included star quarterback Jared Andreychuk, last year’s CJFL defensive player of the year and linebacker Cole Benkic and beast running back Logan Fischer.

    On the alumni side of things, Hilltops grads like quarterback Steve Bilan, linebacker Warren Muzika and receivers Kit Hillis and John Trumpy showed they can still have game. Current Hilltops vice-president Rod Janzen showed he could still boot the ball as both a punter and place kicker. Way back in 1997 as the Hilltops punter, Janzen averaged 53.6 yards a punt, which is still a CJFL regular season record.

    After the game, the former players retreated to a social function the Hilltops held on the patio and lounge of the new clubhouse complex at SMF Field. That provided a chance to visit with, reminisce and tell some old tales with various members of the team’s staff including legendary executive Don McDonald, who will be part of the 2016 class inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Alumni team punter Rod Janzen gets set to boom the ball downfield.

    The former players - both Hilltops alumni and players from other programs - come away feeling they had a good time and were treated in a first-rate manner. While the former Toppers reconnect with their old club, the former players from other teams get an increased sense of belonging to a city they have made their working careers in. 

    As a spinoff, those players will be back to watch games, donate to things like the Hilltops scholarship program or convince the companies they work for to become team sponsors.

    When all is said in done, everyone wins when it comes to the Hilltops Alumni Game no matter what the result was on the scoreboard.

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