Hilltops rally with fourth quarter magic

Evan Turkington cradles in the winning TD for the Hilltops.

    REGINA – Jared Andreychuk had the moment all quarterbacks dream about.

    With under three minutes to play and his Saskatoon Hilltops trailing the host Regina Thunder 25-19 on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium, the fourth-year signal caller took the field to lead a two-minute drill type drive to win the Canadian Junior Football League contest. Andreychuk engineered a 75-yard march that ended with him hooking up with receiver Evan Turkington on a 13-yard scoring toss. Turkington made a twisting circus catch in the Regina end zone to give the Toppers a 26-25 lead with 75 seconds to play before 825 spectators.

    That score held up as the final result. On the ensuing Regina series, Hilltops linebacker Cole Benkic intercepted Thunder quarterback Jaeden Marwick to seal the outcome that allowed the Hilltops to improve to 5-0 to remain first in the Prairie Football Conference. The Thunder, who held an 18-7 lead at halftime, fell to 3-2 with the loss to remain second in the PFC.

    “It is just a lot of fun,” said Andreychuk. “Even at halftime, we were down. We are not having the best game, but we are having fun.

    “It is a great competition with the Regina Thunder. You are always nervous coming in here, but that is why you play football is for games like this. It was just great to come away with a win today.”

    Saturday’s clash looked like it would be a back-and-forth game until a key turning point occurred late in the first half. With Regina holding an 11-7 edge, the Hilltops ran a play-action pass on a short yardage situation near midfield, but Andreychuk was intercepted thanks to a stellar defensive play by Thunder linebacker Paul Toth.

    Regina drove down to the Saskatoon two, and Marwick muscled in for a score on a running play from two yards out to put the Thunder up 18-7 going into halftime.

    The Hilltops opened the second half cutting the gap to 18-10, when kicker Brett Thorarinsson booted a 23-yard field goal on a series that was set up by an interception from defensive back Luke Melnyk.

    The Thunder responded with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter, when Marwick hit Thomas Bresciani on a scoring toss from nine yards out to put the hosts up 25-10.

    Going into the fourth quarter, the Hilltops cued the comeback. Just 1:38 into the final frame, Andreychuk connected with receiver Davis Mitchell on a seven-yard scoring toss to cut the Thunder edge 25-17.

Cole Benkic returns an interception for the Hilltops.

    With 5:26 to play in the fourth, the Thunder conceded a safety after being pinned deep in their own end, which cut their lead to 25-19. That set the scene for the Toppers late game-winning drive.

    “I think just the way we came out of the locker room in the second half was huge,” said Andreychuk. “It is easy to have your head down, when you’re down a couple of touchdowns at half, and we came out hot.

    “We scored a field goal right off the bat. We got shut down a little bit on that drive, but just kept it rolling throughout that second half. We are second half team. That is what we do.”

    Saskatoon swept the season series with Regina 2-0 having downed the Thunder 35-17 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Sept. 5. Thanks to the sweep, the Hilltops won Shrine Bowl, which is given to the team that wins the regular season series between the two clubs. The Thunder won both encounters with the Hilltops last season to take the Shrine Bowl.

    Andreychuk completed 21 of 40 passes for 336 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions for the Hilltops on Saturday, while Marwick completed 24 of 41 passes for 420 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Thunder.

    While the two teams piled up the offensive yards with Regina outgaining Saskatoon 517 to 447, the defences on both sides made big plays as well. There were also some obvious blown calls by the officials, but the mistakes evened out both ways.

Jared Andreychuk fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops.

    Mitchell had a TD catch in the second quarter to account for Saskatoon’s first score. Tailback Victor St. Pierre Laviolette had a 27 yard scoring catch, while Kristopher Calcutt kicked a field goal and a rouge from a missed field goal to account for the Thunder’s first 11 points.

    Entering the 2015 regular season, the Thunder had won their four previous encounters against the Hilltops including action in the regular season and playoffs. Andreychuk was pleased his club could turn the tables on their provincial rivals winning both regular season head-to-head matches in the current campaign.

    “It is just a great feeling beating Regina,” said Andreychuk. “Every year you circle this on your calendar. It is just an unreal day.”

    The Hilltops return to action on Sept. 20, when they host the Edmonton Huskies (1-3) at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    If you have any comments to pass along about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out more game photos on Twitter @StanksSports.

Hilltops' Fischer goes beast mode on Thunder

The Hilltops' Logan Fischer was too much for the Thunder to handle.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops unleashed “The Beast” in Logan Fischer on the Regina Thunder.

    The third-year tailback had a career night rushing for 293 yards on 32 carries to help the Toppers down their provincial rivals 35-17 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Saturday night. Fischer ran around, past and through the Thunder defenders, and he also caught a pair of passes for 26 yards in the Canadian Junior Football League battle. His efforts grew in importance as the night progressed.

    The two clubs began Saturday’s clash playing in cool but fairly pleasant conditions. A mist began to fall during the second quarter, and it turned into a monsoon for the entire second half.

    The heavier rainy weather worked out in favour of the Hilltops, who were locked in a 14-14 tie with the Thunder at halftime, but rolled to victory as the conditions worsened.

    The Thunder, who have a strong passing game and like to favour it, saw their aerial show get grounded.

    The Hilltops pounded their way to victory thanks to Fischer’s numerous gritty runs. He also benefited from the fact the Toppers offensive line blocked well, and the receivers did their part to seal off Regina’s defensive backs.

Logan Fischer piled up 293 yards rushing for the Hilltops.

    When the two teams began their fight for top spot in the Prairie Football Conference, it appeared the game would be a tight affair.

    Regina controlled the contest for much of the first quarter and took a 7-0 edge, when quarterback Jaeden Marwick slipped a nine-yard outlet pass to an uncovered Colton Klassen. The scoring drive was aided by the fact Marwick connected with receiver Kasim Ocaya on a 49-yard bomb.

    Momentum changed early in the second quarter, when Marwick was intercepted near midfield by Hilltops cornerback Arnold Osam. Osam ran the ball back to the Regina 22, and on the ensuing play, Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk hit wide receiver Chad Braun in the end zone to tie the contest up 7-7.

    A short time later, the Thunder appeared to wrestle momentum back in their favour blocking a Saskatoon punt and recovering the ball on the Hilltops five. Two plays later, Marwick hit Thomas Bresciani on a short four-yard TD toss to put the visitors up 14-7.

    Saskatoon tied things up shortly before the first half came to an end. After a short Regina punt, the Hilltops started a drive on the Thunder’s side of midfield and tied the contest up 14-14 on a three yard run by Fischer with 49.7 seconds to play.

    When the downpour of rain came at the start of the second half, the Hilltops jumped ahead 28-14. First, Andreychuk hit Evan Kopchynski on an 18-yard strike, and the signal caller later ran in for a major from nine yards out.

    Kristopher Calcutt kicked a short 12-yard field goal for the Thunder before the third quarter ended to cut the Saskatoon lead to 28-17.

Jared Andreychuk (#5) celebrates a TD run with his teammates in a monsoon.

    The Hilltops iced the game just past the midway point of the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by starting right guard Drayke Unger, who went as a fullback for the short yardage situation.

    While Fischer was the game’s star, Andreychuk completed 9-of-18 passes for 158 yards including his two touchdown tosses. He managed to avoid throwing an interception in the adverse conditions.

Marwick completed 15-of-25 passes for 184 yards, two touchdown strikes and two picks. Klassen was the top ground gainer for the Thunder running for 83 yards on 17 carries.

    With the win, the Hilltops improve to 4-0, while the Thunder fall to 3-1. The two rivals meet again this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

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