Hilltops seek redemption as Rifles come to town

Winnipeg romped to 31-11 win over Saskatoon in PFC Week 1

The Hilltops huddle up during game action last Sunday.

The score 31-11 is burned into the minds of the Saskatoon Hilltops.

That was tally the Hilltops were on the losing end of when they faced the host Rifles at Maple Grove Rugby Park in Winnipeg on August 10. The contest was the regular season opener for both teams.

It is believed that since the start of the 2006 season the only other time the storied Hilltops lost to the Rifles came back on August 28, 2022, when the Rifles claimed a 19-16 victory in Winnipeg. The fact the Hilltops lost on August 10 to the Rifles in convincing fashion turned heads across the CJFL.

With the Hilltops having won 23 CJFL championships in their history, legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said the convincing setback to open the season in Winnipeg was a reminder his squad is gunned for by the rest of the teams in the entire CJFL.

“People want to come out and play their best and do their best against us, because we’re the measuring stick,” said Sargeant. “That is the reality.

“At the end of the day, we know that. We got to prepare better, coach better, they got to play better and the rest of the stuff just don’t matter.”

Injuries have made Hayden McMahon (#15) the Hilltops starting QB

Last Sunday, the Hilltops rebounded and romped over the visiting Edmonton Huskies 46-6 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Also on that day, the Rifles traveled to Sherwood Park, Alta., and downed the host Edmonton Wildcats 43-24.

Rifles quarterback Riley Element completed 15-of-26 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in that contest. He was named the offensive player of the week for the Prairie Football Conference on Wednesday for his performance against the Wildcats.

The Hilltops (1-1) host the Rifles (2-0) this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. 

In the CJFL Power Rankings that were released on Thursday, the Rifles are rated fifth, while the Hilltops are rated seventh.

After what happened between these two sides on August 10, there will be a lot of intrigue around the CJFL to see how the second clash between these two teams in three weeks will play out.

The Hilltops head into Sunday’s game battling the injury bug especially at quarterback. Brexton Elias, a fifth-year veteran who was pegged as the starter in pre-season, and Charlie Molder, a second-year player who was pegged as the backup, are both out with longer term injuries. 

Isaac Michayluk steadies the Hilltops defence at MLB.

Hayden McMahon, who is in his third year with the team, was penciled in at third on the Hilltops depth chart in pre-season and is now the starter for the foreseeable future.

McMahon actually played the majority of the first encounter with the Rifles as Molder went down due to injury very early in that contest. 

Going into the upcoming battle with the Rifles, McMahon said the intensity would be dialed up to a higher level at Hilltops practice in anticipation for this next meeting.

“I know the coaches will make the adjustments, and we’ll have a really good game plan,” said McMahon. “If we’ve got to adjust that game plan throughout the game, we will.

“I’ve got full faith in our team and our coaching staff that we’ll put a great game plan together and play those Rifles hard, because they’re a really good team.”

On May 17 at St. Vital Mustangs Field in Winnipeg, the Rifles played an exhibition game against the Saint John’s University Johnnies, who are an NCAA Division III team based out of Collegeville, Minnesota. The Johnnies hammered the Rifles 51-3.

Rifles head coach Geordie Wilson was quoted on the Rifles Instagram account that his club’s clash with the Johnnies was a necessary process that will aid his team’s readiness to play the Hilltops in the season opener.

Kaiden Banfield (#34) charges downfield on Sept. 15, 2024.

Hilltops star fourth-year middle linebacker Isaac Michayluk said the Rifles are legit.

“They’re a good team,” said Michayluk. “They are physical.

“They want it. They have a really good running back in Kaiden Banfield. He is a stud.”

Michayluk said you could tell the Rifles worked hard in the off-season to get ready for the 2025 campaign during that season opening tilt.

“They had a really good off-season it seemed like,” said Michayluk. “They were prepared.

“A lot of respect goes to them. We’ve just got to prepare. We’ve just got to work hard and prepare for them.”

Sargeant said his Hilltops know the challenge that waits for them this coming Sunday.

He said it is up to his venerable squad to bring the battle in this encounter, and he doesn’t expect his team to receive much sympathy if they don’t beat the Rifles in this contest and fall to 1-2.

“No one is going to feel sorry for the Saskatoon Hilltops for all we’ve accomplished, all we’ve done and so we know that,” said Sargeant. “Hey, we’re in the chase, we’re in the hunt, and we’re just going to keep battling.

David Collins charges downfield for the Hilltops.

“I think this team is going through a lot of adversity right now, and hey, I’m creating a lot of that adversity for them too. As I said, we’re not going to take a backseat to no one, and we’re just going to keep grinding. That is the team I got.”

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Hilltops defence rules opening day game at SMF Field

Saskatoon downs Rifles 19-10 to start regular season

Konner Johnson reacts after making an interception for the Hilltops.

A sideline meeting helped the Saskatoon Hilltops defence hit another gear to play at a lights out level.

On Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Hilltops hosted the Winnipeg Rifles in the CJFL regular season opener for both sides. Saskatoon was opening a campaign on home turf for the first time since August 14, 2016, when they romped over the Rifles 40-13.

During Sunday’s clash to start the 2022 campaign, the Hilltops held a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. At the 6:06 mark of the second quarter, Rifles quarterback Bryson McNeil hit receiver Eric Adams on a 35-yard touchdown strike to even the score at 10-10.

Rifles QB Bryson McNeil is about to be sacked by the Hilltops.

McNeil connected with Adams on a deep post pattern, where Adams was double covered on the play. Adams battled for the ball with two Hilltops defensive backs and the ball bounced in the air off of various sets of hands for a couple of seconds before Adams snatched it away and came down in the end zone.

Following that score, the Hilltops defensive unit met on the sideline with long time defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie. After that talk, the Hilltops defensive pitched a shutout and allow the host side to grind out a 19-10 victory.

“It is a fifth-year team, and the end of the day these coaches are always going to be after it,” said legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “They are always going to have high expectations.

Riece Kack had a big fourth quarter sack for the Hilltops.

“When we don’t see what we see, we’re going to let them know very quickly what needs to change. That has always been our way. It is nice to see the player adapt and rise up to the challenges that coaches put forth.

“Hey, defence is the reason we won today – bottom line. Hey when your defence is playing like that, that is why you can make aggressive offensive play calls when your defence is playing like that.”

Usually when the Hilltops and Rifles meet, the encounter concludes with a lopsided score in favour of the ’Toppers. The Rifles under the guidance of long time head coach Geordie Wilson came out ready for a battle.

The Hilltops gang up on a special teams tackle.

Early in the first quarter, the Rifles took a 3-0, when kicker Donavon Downing nailed a field goal from 39 yards out. The Hilltops would even things up at 3-3 just over six minutes later when kicker Connor Green, who is in his first year with the Hilltops, connected on a field goal from 46 yards out.

At the 2:17 mark of the second quarter, the Hilltops broke through with a major on a three-yard run from power back Boston Davidsen. That set the stage for the Rifles to tie the contest with Adams touchdown reception causing the Hilltops defence to hold their sideline meeting.

Hilltops star outside linebacker Konner Johnson said the defensive meeting consisted of talk about rallying together, to keep up the effort on plays, reminders about assignments and that game plan was sound but needed better execution.

Simon Winsnes (#27) knocks down a pass for the Rifles.

Johnson said the Rifles went to work with the intermediate passing game after electing to give up on the run. The Rifles carried the ball 12 times as a team for 38 yards.

Hilltops defensive focused more on the intermediate passing game from the second quarter onwards.

“They (the Rifles) always play us tough,” said Johnson. “They’re well coached.

“They have a lot of tough O-linemen. We knew they would give up on the run once we stopped it. We were pretty confident we could stop the run.

“Then, that level two pass was what we had to stop next, so we just have to work on breaking on the check down pass, and we can’t give them eight yards at a time.”

Connor Green made 4-of-5 field goals for the Hilltops.

The Hilltops closed out the second quarter taking a 16-10 lead after Green hit field goals from 20 and 45 yards out. At the 6:12 mark of the third quarter, Green hit a field goal from 37 yards out to push the Hilltops advantage to the game’s final score of 19-10.

Green went 4-for-5 on field goals, while Downing connected on just 1-of-4 field goal attempts for the Rifles. In the hidden yardage part of the game, Hilltops rookie running back Charles Sawi piled up 114 yards on missed field goal returns running back Downing’s three misses.

Johnson had a big game for the Hilltops collecting 4.5 total tackles, two pass knockdowns, one sack and one interception. Defensive end Riece Kack came through with a clutch time sack late in the fourth quarter to hamper any Rifles comeback hopes.

Boston Davidsen piled up 162 yards rushing for the Hilltops.

“Any time we are on the field we know number 42 (Johnson) is going to be one of the best players on the field, and he proved that once again today,” said Sargeant. “He was just electric.

“He was on point. He energized the whole team and the stands with how played. Riece Kack at the end (of the game) once again situation he did a phenomenal job of getting off the block and making that big sack that basically ended the football game today.

“We’re happy with a lot of what we saw, and we’re also unhappy with some things. The good thing about this coaching staff is you know they are going to rally and make sure the product we put out here next Sunday is going to be better than what we saw today.”

Defensive end Daylen Hartz had a pair of sacks for the Hilltops, while veteran defensive back Wade Keating had seven total tackles and an interception. Veteran defensive back Joe Yausie led the Hilltops with eight total tackles.

Damon Dutton fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops.

Defensive back Kyle Chorney topped the Rifles with 11 total tackles, while defensive lineman Spenser Pilon had a sack for the visitors.

Offensively, both sides still piled up some yards moving the ball between the 20 yard lines.

Hilltops quarterback Damon Dutton completed 17-of-27 passes for 185 yards. Davidsen carried the ball 27 times for 162 yards to go with his rushing touchdown, and he caught one pass for 14 yards.

Dillan Heintz topped all Hilltops receivers with six catches for 69 yards.

Charles Sawi returned three missed field goals for 114 yards.

McNeil completed 26-of-40 passes for 307 yards and one touchdown, while throwing two interceptions. Receiver Adam Fast led the Rifles with nine catches for 105 yards.

“We’re happy to win, but we obviously have a lot of work to do,” said Dutton. “We’re happy with the ‘W,’ but we’re not happy with the score.

“We have to get back in the room and figure some things out. We have to finish these drives. We can’t be settling for field goals every time.

“We have to punch that ball in the end zone. That is what we are going to work on. We’ll be better next game.”

The Hilltops will face another big test when they return to action this coming Sunday hosting the Edmonton Huskies (1 p.m., SMF Field). 

The Hilltops faithful check out the action at SMF Field.

While the Hilltops were getting past the Rifles, the Huskies traveled to Calgary on Sunday and downed the Colts 37-17 in the season opener for both those clubs.

The Huskies have traditionally played the Hilltops tough, but Saskatoon has always found ways to win those contests. At this early point in the season, Sargeant said his Hilltops have to focus on what they can do to play better as a team.

“I’m worried about us right now,” said Sargeant. “This team has to play better, so I could care less who we’re playing.

The Rifles and Hilltops shake hands after the final play on Sunday.

“I got to care about us and how we perform and how we play.”

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Hermann finds groove as Hilltops starting QB

Tyler Hermann has found his comfort zone as the Hilltops starting QB.

    Patience has finally paid off for Tyler Hermann, and he is starting to enjoy his brightest days with the Saskatoon Hilltops.

    The 22-year-old collected four CJFL championship rings as a backup quarterback with the Hilltops. Now in his final season of CJFL eligibility, Hermann is doing his best to make good on his first and only campaign as the Hilltops starting quarterback in his fifth year with the team.

    Hermann has quarterbacked the Hilltops, who are the five time defending CJFL champions, to a 6-0 record, which included engineering a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks.

    Because of that start, the Hilltops have locked up first place in the Prairie Football Conference for a seventh straight year. They will face the Winnipeg Rifles (1-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in the second last CJFL regular season game for both sides in the 2019 campaign.

    After six games as the Hilltops starter, Hermann, who was a star quarterback with Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team, has found his groove holding the top spot on the CJFL powerhouse’s signal calling depth chart.

Tyler Hermann has throw for 1,290 yards in six games.

    “The game has kind of slowed down for me a bit better,” said Hermann. “I think it is a product of the whole offence kind of getting in a groove as well.

    “We’re all kind of jelling together at the right time here. We’re still working on consistency throughout four quarters, but I believe as a whole we are playing better.”

    So far this season, Hermann has completed 93-of-147 passes for 1,290 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Looking back over his first six starts, Hermann admitted he might have been pressing a little too hard early on trying to fill the shoes of Jared Andreychuk and Jordan Walls.

    Andreychuk was the Hilltops starting quarterback during Hermann’s first two seasons with the club. Andreychuk was the starting quarterback for the first three victories of the Hilltops active string of winning five straight CJFL titles.

    Walls was the Hilltops starter the over the past two seasons that finished with CJFL championship wins.

    “Those guys had phenomenal careers with this program,” said Hermann, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “With that being said, I think they taught me a lot and kind of in a sense brought me to where I am here both on and off the field.

Tyler Hermann has lead two fourth quarter comebacks.

    “They really taught me how to be a winner. I’m pretty proud of what I have been able to do this year to this point. I know those guys would be saying the same for me, if they were here as well.”

    Last Sunday, Hermann completed 12-of-18 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as the Hilltops downed the Wildcats 38-10 in Edmonton.

    Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said Hermann is performing as well as the team’s sideline bosses expected him to perform.

    “I felt on Sunday against the Edmonton Wildcats he (Hermann) played his best game of the year,” said Sargeant. “He was poised.

    “He had polish and put the ball where the receiver wanted it. He is leading the league with his pass completion percentage. I don’t care how many starts he has he is a high end player for the Hilltops.”

Sargeant said the Hilltops are Hermann’s team to lead now and the veteran signal caller is doing just that.

    “He is moving our offence the way we need to move it,” said Sargeant. “He is leading us, and he is playing good football.

    “That is all I care about. He is doing everything we expect him to do and doing better. He is only going to get better, and we’re going to coach him better.”

Tyler Hermann wants to ensure the Hilltops stay balanced offensively.

    Sargeant was impressed with how well Hermann battled through adversity to lead the Hilltops to two fourth quarter comebacks this season. On Sept. 1 in Edmonton, the Hilltops trailed the host Huskies 14-0 after the first quarter and entered fourth quarter trailing 19-17.

    After the Huskies extended their lead to 22-17, Hermann led the Hilltops on a late fourth quarter drive that resulted in a touchdown run from running back Ben Abrook with 1:47 remaining on the clock that ultimately gave Saskatoon a 24-22 victory.

    On Sept. 7 at SMF Field, the Hilltops entered the fourth quarter trailing the visiting Regina Thunder 18-17. After the two sides traded field goals to see the Thunder hold a 21-20 advantage, the Hilltops had 1:24 remaining on the fourth quarter clock to engineer a winning score.

    Hermann drove the Hilltops 65 yards on a series that was capped by another winning touchdown run by Abrook with 33.4 seconds remaining on the clock. Saskatoon added a two-point conversion for a 28-21 victory.

    Sargeant said Hermann came up with a clutch effort in those spots.

    “It just shows his mental toughness and his character and all of that,” said Sargeant. “Those were outstanding situations for our team.

Tyler Hermann plans to enjoy the 2019 campaign.

    “We don’t win those games without him. It is that simple. He is the guy that moved the ball down the field, and so that built a lot of capacity and confidence within the coaching staff and the players.

    “He has earned that. He has shown us that he can handle the heat in tough conditions, and he has come out with flying colours so far. As I said, I’m very happy and pleased with his performance, but I’m not surprised.”

    Going forward, Hermann wants to ensure he does his part to keep the Hilltops offensive attack balanced.

    Abrook is closing in on the 1,000-yard barrier for rushing carrying the ball 162 times for 908 yards and five touchdowns.

    Due to Abrook’s performance, Hermann is expecting teams will pay even more attention to the star power running back, which will create opportunities for the passing game to keep the opposition honest.

    “The strength of our team has always been our O-line and our run game,” said Hermann. “We know teams focus around that, and that really does open up our passing for us quite a bit.

    “‘Sarge’ always mentions we want to be a 50/50 team, and we’re going to continue to try and do that.”

Kleiter repeats as PFC special teams player of the week

Rylan Kleiter (#7) took PFC player of the week honours again.

    Rylan Kleiter was back in the spotlight, when it came to handing out player of the week honours.

    On Wednesday, Kleiter, who is the Saskatoon Hilltops reliable receiver/kicker, was named the special teams play of the week for the Prairie Football Conference of the CJFL for a second straight week.

    The 21-year-old hit all three of his field goal attempts and piled up 299 yards on six kickoffs last Sunday in Edmonton, when the Hilltops thumped the host Wildcats 38-10.

    Kleiter made 3-of-4 conversion attempts with the one unsuccessful attempt resulting from a blocked kick.

    Kleiter is in his fourth season with the Hilltops, and when he is not dressed for the blue and gold, he can be found on a curling sheet as he is a standout skip on his own curling team.

    Running back Brandt Burzuk of the Edmonton Huskies was the PFC’s offensive player of the week. Defensive back Matt Zarowny of the Wildcats was the PFC’s defensive player of the week.

Hilltops could knock Rifles out of playoff race

The Hilltops and Rifles battle in the 2018 CJFL playoffs.

    Tom Sargeant doesn’t want to see the Winnipeg Rifles have the chance to hang around and come back to haunt his Saskatoon Hilltops.

    The two sides collide Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in a CJFL regular season contest. The Hilltops enter the game having locked up first in the Prairie Football Conference with a 6-0 record.

    The Rifles sit fifth in the PFC with a 1-5 mark. If the Rifles lose on Sunday, they will be eliminated from playoff contention.

    The Hilltops and Rifles have met in the post-season four times over the last five years, with each encounter coming in a PFC semifinal clash. Saskatoon claimed victory in each of those encounters in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.

    “Winnipeg is always a physical and aggressive team,” said Sargeant. “That is how (head) coach (Geordie) Wilson and his staff coach.

    “They’ve always caused us some concern. For whatever the reason, they are 1-5. We’re 6-0, and we’re at home this weekend.

    “We want to keep building what we are doing. They’re coming as a very desperate team. Those are dangerous teams, so they’re going to pull out all the stops.”

    The Hilltops and Rifles met in Winnipeg, Man., on Aug. 18, and Saskatoon came away with a 34-20 victory. That contest was the regular season opener for both sides.

    The Rifles won in their next outing on Aug. 25, when they traveled to Calgary, Alta., and bombed the Colts 47-8. Following that contest, the Rifles proceeded to lose their next four straight.

    Despite the fact Winnipeg is on a skid, Sargeant said the Hilltops plan to keep their focus at a high level.

    “We have to be ready and understand what is in front of us,” said Sargeant. “As I said, hopefully, our players come out and play their best game of the year, because that is how we are approaching it, and that is how we are going to coach it.”

    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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    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.