Competitive greatness on a different level

Hilltops run of six straight CJFL title wins a spectacular era

The Hilltops celebrate their Canadian Bowl win in 2015.

From 2014 to 2019, the Saskatoon Hilltops had a run that even the most optimistic person involved with the storied CJFL club wouldn’t have thought possible.

Since the modern version of the team hit the field in 1947, the Hilltops have become one of the most fabled teams in all of Canadian sport having won 22 CJFL championships. With all the accolades the Hilltops have collected over the past 75 years, the most impressive high point might have been the team’s run at winning six straight CJFL titles from 2014 to 2019.

The run was capped with the Hilltops posting two straight perfect seasons going 11-0 in 2018 and 12-0 in 2019.

“It was amazing,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, whose 218 career wins entering this season are the most in Canada’s amateur post-secondary football ranks. “I guess you remember the championship teams a little bit different than the other teams, and it is too bad.

“I’m not saying that is right, but you have that tendency to do that. It was just a great energy and a great confidence. These guys knew when they showed up in big games they were going to play their best football, and that is what championship caliber football is all about is playing your best when your best is needed.”

From left, Justin Filteau, Tom Sargeant and Jeff Yausie in 2014.

While the Hilltops strive to hit new levels of competitive greatness which they did during the run of six straight CJFL title wins, the run actually had an auspicious start.

Going into the 2014 season, the Hilltops were looking to bounce back after falling 21-16 in the PFC final against the Regina Thunder at Griffiths Stadium. The Thunder went on to win the Canadian Bowl to become CJFL champions for the first time in team history.

The Hilltops and Thunder opened the 2014 campaign playing each other at Taylor Field in Regina, and the Thunder prevailed in that contest 19-16 in overtime. After rebounding with a 19-13 victory over the Edmonton Huskies in Week 2 at Griffiths Stadium, the Hilltops hit a low point that seemingly came out of nowhere.

On Sept. 6, 2014, the Hilltops were set to play at their long time home park, which was newly renovated and rechristened Saskatoon Minor Football Field, against the Thunder. A lot of extra functions took place around that contest to commemorate the improvements at the park.

It appeared it was going to be a great day for the Hilltops as they held a 25-3 lead at one point in the contest and were up 25-6 going into the final two minutes of the game. Before those final two minutes elapsed, the Thunder scored three touchdowns to pull out a shocking 26-25 victory.

Justin Filteau sets to make a tackle in the PFC final in 2014.

Sitting with a 1-2 record, the Hilltops were in a soul searching position, and they were looking to just win a game.

“We had lost at Griffiths to Regina at the end of the year (in 2013),” said Sargeant. “They kicked the door down, and they were rocking and rolling.

“The next year they showed up with a lot of confidence, and they took us down. I wasn’t worried about them. I was just worried about us.

“I remember meeting with our leadership group, and I said, ‘Guys, you keep playing like this at the end of the day I’m going to have to play young guys, and we’re going to have to move forward.’ I said, ‘If this isn’t ground zero then we are in trouble.’”

The Hilltops in 2014 were a younger team with only five fifth-year players. One of those was linebacker Justin Filteau, who got a read on what needed to be done.

Filteau, who passed away in a plane crash on June 1, 2019, called a players’ only meeting in the basement of the Hilltops old clubhouse building. He spoke to the team about coming together as a family and working on the brotherhood within the squad.

Wayndel Lewis, right, takes a handoff in 2014.

In unique Filteau fashion, he was able to pull on the heartstrings of his teammates.

“That is one of the things we ended up writing on our rings was the brotherhood,” said Hilltops safety James Vause, who was in his rookie year in 2014. “I think it probably stemmed from that players’ only meeting that we had downstairs after we were 1-2 there.

“He (Filteau) definitely did bring the guys together. We had a good chat and the leaders all spoke. It was mostly Filteau speaking, but it was good to have something without the coaches around.”

Jordan Walls, who was a first-year quarterback with the Hilltops in 2014, said it was perfectly accurate to say that the players’ only meeting Filteau called was the point the team that season truly came together.

“It was a bunch of strangers that came in the first couple of weeks and then kind of after that meeting we all bought in,” said Walls. “We started doing things a lot more together as a team and going out as a group and making sure everyone was feeling included.

“As a first year guy, I definitely felt that way.”

After an intense week of practice, the Hilltops traveled to Edmonton and crushed the Huskies 68-17, which started a run where they closed the campaign with eight straight wins. The 2014 season culminated on November 8 with a 39-14 victory over the Rams in Langley, B.C. in the Canadian Bowl to become CJFL champions.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the PFC final in 2014.

Hilltops fifth-year star running back Wayndel Lewis, whose season came to an end with a left ankle injury in the team’s first playoff game, was named the CJFL’s offensive player of the year. Filteau took home individual honours as a CJFL all-Canadian all-star. Vause said you couldn’t overstate the impact Filteau had on the team.

“He was super important,” said Vause. “He definitely led by example.

“Being a young guy and kind of seeing his stature for a linebacker and how many plays he made and how much heart he showed on the field, he really put his heart and soul into every single practice and game. As a young guy seeing that, it was something that I definitely wanted to try and emulate as well. There wasn’t too many fifth years on the team, but they were definitely great leaders and players that we looked up to.

“A huge mantra on the Hilltops is to always try to help our fifth years leave as champions. With only having a few of them on our team, we really wanted to do it for them. Being a young guy, you really played for them, so they could leave the program as national champions.”

The Hilltops returned most of their roster in 2015, which in a lot of ways made it feel like a continuation of the 2014 season. A total of 16 players were playing out their final campaign of junior eligibility.

Jared Andreychuk, right, throw a pass in the 2015 Canadian Bowl.

It could be argued the Hilltops in 2015 were the most talented group out of the teams that won six straight CJFL titles from 2014 to 2019.

Jared Andreychuk was the cool and calm leader at quarterback. Logan Fischer was the star all-purpose running back, who could run hard through the tackles or make catches and big plays in space in the passing game. Des Vessey started at fullback, but he could carry the load at tailback if needed.

At receiver, Andreychuk seemingly had five or six number one receivers to throw to in Chad Braun, Evan Kopchynski, Davis Mitchell, Preston Njaa, Tyson Sawatzky and Evan Turkington.

On defence, outside linebacker Cole Benkic would be named the CJFL’s defensive player of the year, and he was joined by a highly talented duo in middle linebacker Cam Schnitzler and outside linebacker Quinn Pierce. The secondary was loaded with playmakers in Vause, Dylan Larson, Arnold Osam, Austin Thorarinson and Derek Sadownick.

The most remembered part of the 2015 Hilltops team were the starting offensive and defensive lines, which were arguably the best the team ever had. The starting offensive line featured Jordan Hydomako at centre, Tyler Hoath at right tackle, Terry Thesen at left tackle, Drayke Unger at right guard and Nathan Heide at left guard. The defensive line benefited from the stellar play of Blake Adams and Matt Kozun at the inside tackle spots and Tom Schnitzler and Blake Hermann at the defensive end positions.

Cole Benkic, right, sets to make a hit in the 2015 Canadian Bowl.

“(Matt) Kozun and (Blake) Adams were probably two of the best interior D-linemen that I’ve ever played with,” said Vause. “They were a force.

“Of course, you add the athleticism of (Tom) Schnitzler and (Blake) Hermann on the side, it was really fun to watch. You sit back and watch them play.”

The Hilltops rolled to a 7-0 start before having a hiccup and dropping their last regular season game to the Calgary Colts 34-4 at SMF Field. Saskatoon quickly reset for the post-season holding homefield advantage through the entire CJFL playoffs.

The “Blue and Gold” downed the Winnipeg Rifles 49-21 in the PFC semifinal and rocked the Colts in the PFC final 38-16. In the Canadian Bowl on November 7, 2015, the Hilltops battled the Okanagan Sun in a tightly contested game.

The 38-24 victory was only sealed when Andreychuk hit Turkington with a 33-yard touchdown pass with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter to give the Hilltops their 14-point lead. Fischer ran the ball 23 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught seven passes for 107 yards.

“Probably, my greatest memories as a Hilltop were that season,” said Vause, who became the Hilltops starting safety late in the regular season after Thorarinson went down to injury. “Winning at home in front of that crowd, it was an incredible experience.

Blade Adams kisses the Canadian Bowl in 2015.

“I still sort of think that 2015 team is one of the most dominant teams ever to play, which is a huge credit to Okanagan as well, because they gave us a really good game in that final. That 2015 team from top to bottom had a loaded roster. When I sort of think about Hilltop football, it was that season.”

After a mass amount of graduations, the Hilltops looked to be in a reloading phase in 2016, but one of their key fifth-year players was Andreychuk. While Andreychuk was throwing to a younger group of receivers outside of Sawatzky, who was also in his fifth year, the signal caller’s leadership showed through as the younger Hilltops grew.

 The Hilltops took it on the chin in an early season loss to the Colts but pulled out a number of close games to again finish first in the PFC with an 8-1 mark.

With Andreychuk calling the signals, the Hilltops got past the Colts 43-31 in the PFC final and advanced to the Canadian Bowl to play the Westshore Rebels in Langford, B.C. In the Canadian Bowl played on November 12, 2016, the Hilltops trailed the Rebels 19-16 late in the third quarter before hitting high gear to pull out a 37-25 victory.

Tom Sargeant eyes up the action in the 2015 Canadian Bowl.

Andreychuk finished his CJFL career posting a 9-0 record as a starting quarterback in the post-season and became just the third starting quarterback in CJFL history to lead his team to three straight CJFL championships.

“It was very eye-opening about how you need to play,” said Walls, who backed up Andreychuk from 2014 to 2016. “He (Andreychuk) was so good, so dialed in with everything he did.

“I really fed off of him. We did a lot of things together during the season. We always sat together at films and roomed together on the road.

“Every rep he took in practice I was watching and just trying to soak everything in from him, because he is one of the all-time great quarterbacks for the Hilltops. (It was big) getting the front row seat to see how he performed and how he acted and prepared and just ultimately on game day went out and performed at a very high level every single game. I can’t remember a game where he was ever bad.”

Walls took over the starter’s role at quarterback in 2017, and the Hilltops machine kept rolling. Their only loss came on September 9 of that year, when they dropped a 29-26 decision to the Thunder at SMF Field. That ultimately would be the last game the Hilltops would lose until 2021.

The Hilltops finished first in the PFC with a 7-1 record in the regular season. In the PFC final, a one-yard touchdown plunge from defensive tackle Garth Knittig with 96 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter sealed a 36-24 victory over the Thunder. Saskatoon proceeded to host the Nanaimo, B.C., based Vancouver Island Raiders in a CJFL semifinal contest and romped to a 48-0 victory.

Logan Fischer runs the ball in the 2016 PFC final.

On November 11, 2017, the Hilltops became the first club to win four straight CJFL championships overwhelming the host Windsor AKO Fratmen 56-11 in the Canadian Bowl. For Vause, the Canadian Bowl win over the Fratmen marked an end to his playing career with the Hilltops.

“I would have done anything to have another year with the Hilltops,” said Vause. “I still think that those years playing football were some of the best years of my life.

“(There were) so many memories during those times. Aside from even the football aspect, it is just the relationships you build. It is the brotherhood that really makes you love the program.”

The 2018 campaign might have been one of the most dominant statistical seasons the Hilltops ever had. They opened the regular season on August 18 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina and thumped the host Thunder 41-7. The Hilltops took off and never looked back.

They went 8-0 in the regular season outscoring their opponents 402-70. Between the regular season and playoffs, the Hilltops trailed on the scoreboard for a combined 81 seconds. The Thunder held a 17-16 lead for an 81-second span in the second quarter in a regular season game against the “Blue and Gold” at SMF Field September 22, which the Hilltops took by a 48-24 final score.

“We played a lot as rookies, because the old guys would get up so much,” said Hilltops linebacker Konner Johnson, who was a rookie in 2018. “I think every home game we got the rookies in for at least the fourth quarter and some of the third quarter sometimes.

Rylan Kleiter holds up the PFC Championship Trophy in 2016.

“That is huge in getting the young guys developed. It has definitely paid dividends for us.”

Saskatoon’s closest margin of victory came in the PFC final with a 28-9 triumph over the Edmonton Huskies. In the Canadian Bowl played on November 17 at SMF Field, the Hilltops stormed out to a 28-0 lead and cruised to a 58-21 victory over the Langley Rams.

“Reflecting back on that season, I think we all just had the most fun not necessarily because we were winning, but because we were such a developed team at that point,” said receiver Jason Price, who was a CJFL all-Canadian all-star in 2018. “We were such a brotherhood.

“We always talk about the Hilltops brotherhood. It was just like that was our family. We just had the most fun with our family kind of thing.”

With the Hilltops becoming the first team to ever win five straight CJFL titles, Sargeant had the team’s eight fifth-year players take the field for the final knee down snap of the Canadian Bowl. The group included Walls, Price, receiver Adam Ewanchyna, right tackle Kirk Simonsen, defensive end Connor Guillet and linebackers Cody Peters, who was the CJFL’s defensive player of the year in 2018, Bobby Ehman and Adam Benkic.

All eight players played their entire CJFL careers from 2014 to 2018 with the Hilltops.

Garth Knittig scores a touchdown in the 2017 PFC final.

“That was probably one of my fondest memories as a Hilltop just being out there with the guys that you had been through it all with from year one to year five,” said Walls. “It was a nice gesture of ‘Sarge’ to do that and put us out there and make sure that we were all bonded over that thing and we were kind of remembered for that.”

The Hilltops returned a veteran roster in 2019 that would see 15 players graduate at the end of the campaign. The club had a different dynamic as a number of fifth-year players were starting for the first time due to how deep the team was in previous seasons.

Some of the Hilltops first time fifth-year starters who had stellar campaigns included quarterback Tyler Hermann, receiver Connor Graham, and linebackers Jadyn Pingue and Riley Keating. Pingue was named the CJFL’s defensive player of the year for the 2019 campaign, and he said winning that award, which is named after Hilltops all-time great Larry Wruck, was life changing in opening doors in the sport.

Going into the 2019 campaign, Pingue said he wasn’t on anyone’s radar when it came to staying in football after his time with the Hilltops was complete, because he had been a backup. He just wanted to have a good season in his final campaign with the Hilltops to show he could be at a league best level as a player.

“I didn’t just want to be an all-star,” said Pingue, who is still playing football with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds with aspirations to make the professional ranks. “I wanted to be the best.

James Vause runs back and interception in the 2017 PFC final.

“I knew I was going to be doubted a lot, because not a lot of people have seen me play, and it was my first year as a starter. I put my heart into that season to be the impact player and a leader immediately. I knew that they needed to count on me to make it in the defence and to help our team win.

“I spent the off-season working, training, watching film of NFL players that I knew, and I took time to manifest on how I could be the best player possible and a national champion again. That award and season were really special for me, because it set a new standard for me that I knew how to achieve.”

The Hilltops were in tight battles in the first four weeks of the season. In Week 3, they downed the Huskies in Edmonton 24-22, and in Week 4, they outlasted the Thunder 28-21 at SMF Field. 

In both those games, the Hilltops needed rushing touchdowns from star power running back Ben Abrook to erase deficits inside the final two minutes of play.

“Those games were down in the final two minutes, and it took a drive to kind of come back and win,” said Hermann. “To me, that showed a lot of character in the team including myself.

Jordan Walls throws a pass in 2018.

“That gave me the kind of confidence that you know what it is not always sunshine and roses in the Hilltop world. There is adversity, and it is nice to know that when were facing that we can rise above it and rally around each other.”

Saskatoon proceeded to roll from there. In the PFC final, the Hilltops downed the Huskies 30-14 at SMF Field and bombed the Beefeaters on London, Ont., 51-1 in a CJFL semifinal contest.

In the Canadian Bowl played on November 16, 2019, the Hilltops took on the Rams for a second straight year with this clash taking place McLeod Stadium in Langley, B.C. 

Saskatoon claimed the defensive slugfest 11-6 thanks to three field goals coming from receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter.

“I hadn’t cried like that in five years before or five years after,” said Hermann. “That was the most special moment being able to enjoy it with my parents and those coaches and specifically with one of my best friends Connor (Graham), and we able to do this whole thing together.

“I just remember hugging him on the field after and just crying. All that hard work and all those times when we were like questioning if it was worth it, we were just putting in so much time. We were just kind of buried in the depth chart.

“At the end of the day, feeling that moment at the end of the game, and it wasn’t the most beautiful game from an offensive standpoint, but I didn’t even care at the time. I was just so happy to climb that mountain and done it with my brothers and all the people that believed in me and really supported me throughout.”

Jason Price runs downfield after a catch in 2018.

Johnson hopes he can help the Hilltops defence emulate this year what they did in 2019, when he was a sophomore with the team.

“It was unreal, and that is what we are trying to get back to this year,” said Johnson. “Close games like that where it is low scoring and defences are kind of ruling the field both ways, it is super exciting as a defensive player.

“You’re kind of the star of the show out there and what everyone is watching. Hopefully our defence can stand up like that again this year.”

The 2019 season had extra special meaning for Pingue due to Filteau’s passing before that CJFL campaign began. Pingue was wearing the same #45 number that Filteau wore, and he was aware of the impact Filteau had on the program.

Pingue said the Hilltops played that season to honour Filteau, and one of his best memories was Sargeant being lifted on the shoulders of the Hilltops players while raising the Canadian Bowl to the sky to Filteau after the CJFL title win in Langley.

Jadyn Pingue in action for the Hilltops in 2019.

“Wearing the #45 that season had a new meaning for me,” said Pingue. “I had that number since my rookie season right after Filteau graduated from the program.

“After Justin’s passing, it turned into a number that meant more than my own, and it became one that I needed to honour as it had another legacy that needed to be respected. Back in that season, I went to ‘Sarge’ and the coaches in their office before the season kicked off to offer his number up for retirement, and I was open to changing my number. In my head at that time, it was the right thing to do, and I was open to changing my number.

“‘Sarge’ had a better idea and said that it would be better to honour it by wearing it for him, not by retiring it at that time. We added the JF45 decal on the back of our helmets to keep the memory alive of our Hilltop brother. We wanted to win not only for ourselves but for him too.”

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world caused the cancellation of the 2020 CJFL season.

In 2021, the Hilltops finished second in the PFC with a 6-2 regular season record, but traveled to Regina and downed the Thunder 29-9 in the PFC final at Mosaic Stadium. 

Saskatoon proceeded to fall in a CJFL semifinal contest 17-14 to the Rams in Langley, B.C., on November 20 to end the quest to win a CJFL title for the seventh straight year.

Tyler Hermann throws a pass in 2019.

During the run of winning six straight CJFL championships, the Hilltops won a CJFL record 22 straight post-season games. 

The 2021 season saw an overall winning streak of 33 games and a road winning streak of 31 contests including play in the regular season and post-season come to an end for the Hilltops. It is believed both of those streaks are CJFL records.

For many of the team’s followers, the Hilltops run of winning six straight CJFL titles is arguably the most memorable era of the modern version of the club that first took the field in 1947. 

Walls said he was humbled by any type of praise that comes the way of the Hilltops teams of that era.

“You’re honoured to be a part of it,” said Walls. “You’re honoured to be involved with the entire team.

“For the guys that had been around for the majority of the years and they’ve seen a lot of football, for them to say that six year stretch out of the all years they’ve been there is the one of the most memorable, that means a lot. You just start to think about all the teams and all the guys you’ve played with.

The Hilltops celebrate their Canadian Bowl win in 2018.

“We’ve all kind of gone our separate ways now, but when you get together for things outside of football or you see them at the field and you are coaching against them, that is one thing you always think back to. There were just so many guys that were involved with it. It was a good time for sure a good time.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. This piece originally ran in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program for their home game on August 14, 2022. A huge thanks goes out to Louis Christ for supplying a large number of photos for this feature.

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Hermann will always cherish year as Hilltops starter

Club celebrates 2019 CJFL title season with ring day

Tyler Hermann, left, shows his championship ring to his father, Craig. 

    Tyler Hermann’s one campaign as the Saskatoon Hilltops starting quarterback turned into a dream season.
    After being a reserve quarterback for four years, Hermann was tabbed with taking the controls of the Hilltops offence for his fifth and final campaign with the club. While there were growing pains in the first four weeks of the season, Hermann signal called the Hilltops to a perfect 12-0 record to capture the Canadian Bowl and become CJFL champions for a sixth straight year.

    The Hilltops downed the host Langley Rams 11-6 last November in the CJFL title game to win a 22^nd national title.

    Hermann had a good personal campaign too in 2019 completing 123-of-192 passes for 1,908 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions appearing in all of his club’s eight regular season games.

Tyler Hermann, left, receives his championship ring.

    “It was awesome,” said Hermann, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “That is something I will have for the rest of my life.

    “It is one of those priceless memories that I will look back, and I will just cherish every moment of it. I remember at the end of the season I was almost sad thinking back. I should have been happy.

    “I remembered that this was the end of something that was such a big part of my life and all friendships I made along the way. This was a spectacular year.”

    On Saturday on the practice field outside the Hilltops clubhouse, Hermann received his championship ring at the team’s ring ceremony.

Tyler Hermann, left, and Jesse McNabb show off their rings.

    Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Hilltops ring ceremony was a modified one.

    Usually, the Hilltops ring ceremony is a social event that brings together their CJFL championship team from the previous season as part of a reunion night.

    With government regulations currently in place to combat COVID-19, the Hilltops ultimately did a ring ceremony to give a nod to their 2019 season with a group of six players, who were in their final campaign with the team in 2019.

    The graduating players that made it out included Hermann, Connor Graham, Tristan Hering, Logan Kelsey-Stern, Ryder Klisowsky and Jesse McNabb.

    Team officials will distribute the rest of the championship rings to the 2019 title winning team.

    With that noted, Hermann was happy with the reunion that did happen considering the circumstances that surround the current day.

Jesse McNabb, left, gets his championship ring.

    “We usually do it right after May camp too, so there is a little buzz around the new season,” said Hermann, who recently turned 23-years-old. “Everyone is kind of chatting.

    “It is definitely different. I like the way they did it having the fifth year guys here. Those are the guys we traveled our whole five years together with, and we shared such similar experiences kind of starting as that rookie and then finishing the way we did.

    “That is good enough for me. That is really all you can expect in times like this is something like that.”

Jesse McNabb checks out his championship ring.

    McNabb’s eyes got really big, when he opened his ring box and saw his championship ring. The star defensive tackle, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 245 pounds, said a big part of the 2019 campaign was gutting out a 4-0 start.

    The Hilltops had a huge turnover in their starting ranks, and many players were adjusting to new roles.

    The venerable CJFL club opened the season with three straight road victories. The Hilltops took their home opener 28-21 over their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder thanks to a touchdown with under a minute to play.

    The home win over the Thunder and a 24-22 win in Week 3 over the Huskies in Edmonton required fourth-quarter comebacks.

    “It was big, because it really showed the character of the team,” said McNabb, who recorded 26.5 total tackles and three sacks for the Hilltops in the 2019 regular season. “We weren’t just rolling through everyone like some teams in the past have.

Jesse McNabb shows off his championship rings.

    “It was more hard fought games. It was really good for the group morale to see that we could get through the tough times together. As the season went on, things developed better, and it was good.”

    On Aug. 25, 2019 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Hilltops legendary head coach Tom Sargeant picked up his 200^th career victory in a 34-16 win over the host Thunder.

    Sargeant later moved past retired Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal to become the all-time leader in head coaching victories in Canada’s amateur post-secondary football ranks.

    After the Hilltops won their sixth straight CJFL championship, Sargeant’s career record sat a 210-30-2 including action in the CJFL regular season and post-season.

Ryder Klisowsky shows off his five championship rings.

    McCrystal had a 208-104-2 record in the regular season and post-season in both the CJFL and U Sports. He was the head coach of the Regina Rams from 1984 to 2014, and they played 15 seasons in the CJFL and 16 campaigns in U Sports over that time as the University of Regina Rams.

    McNabb said helping Sargeant get those milestones was a sweet part of the campaign.

    “It was great just to be able to do that for him and get things done right and then be able to lift him up in B.C. at the end of the year and give him the trophy,” said the 22-year-old McNabb.

    Hilltops linebacker Jadyn Pingue was named the CJFL defensive player of the year for his efforts during the 2019 season.
    The Hilltops have also captured the Canadian Bowl in nine out of the last 10 seasons to become CJFL champions.

Ryder Klisowsky, left, and Logan Kelsey-Stern enjoy ring day.

    The 12-0 campaign in 2019 followed up the Hilltops posting an 11-0 overall mark in their 2018 CJFL title winning season.

    The Hilltops 2019 CJFL championship rings have the initials “J.F.” written on the side to honour late former star Hilltops linebacker Justin Filteau. Filteau, who played for the Hilltops from 2010 to 2014, passed away in a plane crash on June 1, 2019.

    The 2019 rings, which were designed by the Hilltops graduating players, contain 22 sapphires symbolizing the club’s 22 CJFL championships. The word “trust” is written on the underside of the ring to recognize the trust the Hilltops players had in their teammates over the course of the season.

    There are six Canadian Bowl trophies on the side and six sapphires on the top of the ring to symbolize the Hilltops sixth consecutive Canadian Bowl championship win.

    “Obviously, it is beautiful, and it is something to be proud of,” said Hermann. “When I look at it, I just kind of think of the comradery of the team.”

Soyko takes her talents to the Pandas, other notes

@PandasHockey is proud to announce that @abbysoyko_10 has committed and will be wearing green and gold in 2020/21. Welcome to the PHamily Abby! pic.twitter.com/1IP4dlwTTe

— UofA Pandas Hockey (@PandasHockey) May 28, 2020

    Abby Soyko has found a new hockey home with the most storied women’s program in the history of U Sports.

    On Thursday, the University of Alberta Pandas, who have won the most U Sports national women’s hockey championships at eight, announced Soyko has committed to joining the Edmonton-based squad for the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
    The Prince Albert, Sask., product originally committed to joining the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s hockey team in January along with her sister Alli. Abby and Alli are two parts of triplet siblings.

Abby Soyko in action with the Bears in October of 2018.

    On April 20, the University of Lethbridge cut both the men’s and women’s Pronghorns hockey teams citing a lack of provincial government funding.

    Due to that development, the two 18-year-olds became free agents with the ability to join any other post-secondary team of their choosing.

    On Thursday, it became official that Abby was going to be a member of the Pandas.

Alli found a new hockey home too. On Thursday, the Red Deer College Queens women’s hockey team, who play out of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association ranks, announced Alli had committed to joining their program.

    Both Abby and Alli played major roles in helping the Prince Albert Northern Bears win the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League championship in 2016-17 and win a Western Regional playdown series to advance to the Esso Cup national championship tournament.

    Abby would be viewed as the big catch due to her scoring prowess. She is the quintessential power forward.

    She played for the Bears for five seasons from 2014 to 2019 appearing in 136 regular season games piling up 65 goals and 63 assists for 128 points. She is the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFU18AAAHL and the Bears all-time leader in goals and points.

    Abby is tied for the Bears all-time regular season record in career assists with Kaitlin Willoughby, who went on to star and become the second all-time leading scorer for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.

    Abby was also the Bears captain in her final season with that team.

Queens Hockey is proud to introduce our newest member: @allisoykoo of @NAXHockey. Alli joins us from Prince Albert, Sask. We are excited to see you wear the Crown to start your college hockey career! Welcome to the family @rdcathletics! #mykingsmyqueens

— 🏒 RDC Queens Hockey (@rdcqueenshockey) May 29, 2020

    Last season, Abby and Alli played for the Northern Alberta Xtreme Female Prep team in Devon, Alta.

    Due to their late October birthday, they had exhausted their under-18 AAA eligibility, but still needed to finish their Grade 12 studies in high school.

    Abby was the leading scorer for the Xtreme this past season posting 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 23 games.

Alli Soyko in action for the Bears in November of 2018.

    She will be a big addition to the Pandas, who won the Canada West title last season. The Pandas didn’t get a chance to play a game at the U Sports national championship tournament in Charlottetown, P.E.I., which was called off after two games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Alli will be a strong addition to a team at the Canadian college level, and she also has all the physical tools to play at the university level possibly one day.

    In her final season with the Bears in 2018-19, Alli recorded career highs in all offensive categories with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 26 regular season games.

    She had another solid campaign this past season with the Xtreme posting five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 23 games.

    Last season, the Queens fell 3-2 in double overtime in a series deciding Game 3 to the NAIT Ooks in an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference semifinal series.

    Both Abby and Alli will be great additions to their respective teams.

• On Thursday, the Boston Marathon, which was scheduled for Sept. 14, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has originally been slated for April 20 before being pushed back to Sept. 14. This will mark the first time in history the Boston Marathon has been cancelled after running for 124 consecutive years.
• On Friday, the DUBNetwork, which is a website platform dedicated to covering the WHL, announced it was taking a step back and stopping coverage due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Run by chief executive officer Paul Figler, the DUBNetwork has been in operation since 2015.
• On Friday, long time Medicine Hat, Alta., radio broadcaster Jim Duce announced he will be retiring. Duce has been on the radio waves for 47 years. He currently works for CHAT 94.5, and his final day on air will be Friday, June 26.

    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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Hilltops show it is possible to do things in the right way

Hilltops’ Jesse McNabb shares the Canadian Bowl at the Santa Claus Parade. 

    For people of Saskatoon, the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops provide a security blanket.

    No matter how messed up things seem to get in the world – all you have to do is check social media feeds on Twitter or Facebook to see that – the Hilltops are still that one local institution that has the image where good things can come to good people when they do things right.

    On Saturday at McLeod Stadium in Langley, B.C., the Hilltops claimed an 11-6 victory in a defensive slugfest over the host Rams in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl. For the Rams, that was their only loss of the 2019 campaign as they finished with a 12-1 overall mark.

    For the Hilltops, that marked the sixth straight time they have won the CJFL title, and they claimed the league crown for the ninth time in the last 10 years.

    This run of title wins is the byproduct of the Hilltops always doing things right. The same goes with the other impressive feats that this team has on the go.

Tyler Hermann (#12) have a big final campaign for the Hilltops.

    Those feats include winning an impressive 22 CJFL championships in team history, winning 31 straight games in a row, winning 29 straight games in a row on the road and claiming victory in a CJFL record 20 straight post-season games.

    It is highly likely the Hilltops current overall and road winning streaks are CJFL records too.

    The Hilltops finished the 2019 campaign with a 12-0 overall record and have posted perfect seasons in back-to-back campaigns.

    The perfect season in 2019 is particularly impressive on the coaching front, as the Hilltops dealt with a high turnover in starters from the previous season. They had contests where they looked vulnerable over their first four regular season games, but they still found a way to win.

    That included downing the Huskies in Edmonton 24-22 on Sept. 1 and getting past the Regina Thunder 28-21 on Sept. 7 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Hilltops entered the fourth quarter trailing on the scoreboard in both contests before pulling out victory.

Riley Keating led the Hilltops in tackles.

    Legendary head coach Tom Sargeant added a pair of incredible milestones. He picked up his 200^th career win and has compiled a 210-30-2 career record in the CJFL’s regular season and post-season to become the all-time leader in head coaching victories in Canada’s amateur post-secondary football ranks.

    He surpassed retired Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal for that distinction.

    McCrystal had a 208-104-2 record in the regular season and post-season in both the CJFL and U Sports. He was the head coach of the Rams from 1984 to 2014, and they played 15 seasons in the CJFL and 16 campaigns in U Sports over that time as the University of Regina Rams.

    On why the Hilltops succeed, you earn your spot on the field through hard work and respect is given to the veterans that have put in their time. As a result, the Hilltops under Sargeant always talk about playing for their fifth-year players and helping them graduate from the CJFL as league champions.

    The fifth-year veterans also go out of their way to make the newcomers feel like part of the team/family and pass down lessons they learned.

    The Hilltops know that how they act on and off the field is important, and they always do their best to carry themselves with dignity, humility and respect. The individual discipline in the world away from football always seems to carry itself on the field.

    The team and individual players set goals and work their hardest to achieve those goals. The coaches always seem to provide a great road map to help the team and individual players get to their goals.

Hilltops HC Tom Sargeant upped his career wins total to 210.

    The Hilltops have always lived up to all these intangibles.

    That is why it becomes extra sweet when someone like fifth-year quarterback Tyler Hermann takes over the starting role in his final year with the team and has a solid campaign. He had to work off some rust when it came to being a regular since his Grade 12 year with Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football program.

    After the Hilltops eight regular season games, Hermann posted solid numbers completing 123-of-192 passes for 1,908 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He graduates from the Hilltops sporting a 12-0 overall record as the team’s starting quarterback, with all of those starts coming in 2019.

    The same goes for middle linebacker Jadyn Pingue and outside linebacker Riley Keating, who both played out their respective fifth years of eligibility. Both played special teams and substituted in on defence during their first four seasons with the club.

    They both had incredible fifth years in their only full campaigns as starters. Pingue was the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player and Keating topped the Hilltops with 46 total tackles during the regular season.

Jadyn Pingue was named the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player.

    The Hilltops are conscious when it comes to passing on their tradition. When former linebacker Justin Filteau passed away tragically in a plane crash in early June, the coaches ensured they would teach the current team why Filteau was the quintessential Hilltops player.

    Filteau’s final season with the Hilltops was in the CJFL championship campaign in 2014 that started the current run is six straight title wins. He was a CJFL all-Canadian all-star that year.

    Since none of the current Hilltops ever played with Filteau, the coaches had to explain to the current generation of players how much Filteau, who played with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team as well, meant to the provincial football scene and how much time he put in giving back to it.

    Noting how the enthusiastically and loudly the current Hilltops did Filteau’s Ric Flair cheer after their final home practice before going to the Canadian Bowl, it was obvious the lessons about Filteau’s impact were successfully passed on.

    While the Hilltops have been who they are for decades, it is reassuring in today’s world to see how their great traits haven’t changed.

Rylan Kleiter (#7) made a number of clutch kicks for the Hilltops.

    In today’s world, it is easy to be dragged down by the bad. To note, the Hilltops completed their perfect season during a time when a very toxic federal election campaign went down that created the term #Wexit and arguments that Western Canada - specifically Alberta and Saskatchewan - needs to form its own independent state and separate from the country.

    In the last 10 days, you had the fallout from Hockey Night In Canada’s split with Don Cherry, and the messages that hit social media or any type of media were arguably way more toxic than those that came from the federal election.

    When it comes time for the Hilltops to get to work on football, Sargeant refers to any outside distraction like that as “noise.”

    Still, society as a whole seems to get dragged into these stories like the federal election and Cherry. It is naïve to think these things don’t affect young men in their late teens and early 20s who play football and are starting out in the working world.

    If things like this are really affecting the players, the coaches often fill the role of one-on-one sounding board, when that time comes.

Ben Abrook piled up the rushing yards as a workhorse power back.

    In today’s world, the biggest lessons the Hilltops program can pass on to the current players are perseverance and learning how to figure things out as you go.

    Hilltops offensive line coach Donnie Davidsen might be the best at figuring things out as you go. He can host seminars on why you need to teach the 6-foot tall offensive lineman different techniques than the 6-foot-5 offensive lineman in order to allow both to be successful.

    If you talk to Davidsen on that front, you can tell he self-learned from a lot of different areas and put together a course of action to make his players better.

    When the current Hilltops players graduate, they will face a working world or real life world in the current day where it seems honour no longer exists and you could be fired on any day for actually doing your job. You saw that right. In today’s world, you could be fired on any day for actually doing your job.

    If you think about that point, you can see why there are so many breakdowns in the current world on a work or personal front.
    It is common in today’s world to do everything right on a work and personal front and still fail. Those are moments where the lessons of perseverance come through.

The Hilltops are celebrated in Saskatoon for doing things the right way.

    That is why in Saskatoon it always feels reassuring when the Hilltops once again go on a run to win another CJFL title, because you know they are doing things the right way.

    Even if you don’t follow the team in an ultra-passionate way, it still feels good knowing they had another successful season that resulted in a league title.

    It is also way more fun to have messages and pictures of those moments fill our social media feed.

    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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Defence, Kleiter deliver sixth straight CJFL title to Hilltops

The Hilltops won the Canadian Bowl for a sixth straight year.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops lived the old cliché “defence wins championships.”

    On Saturday in Langley, B.C., the Hilltops relied on their unsung heroes on their defensive unit and receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter. Thanks to clutch performances on both fronts, the Hilltops downed the host Langley Rams 11-6 at McLeod Stadium to win an unprecedented sixth straight CJFL and keep possession of the league’s championship trophy – the Canadian Bowl.

    The Hilltops have won the Canadian Bowl an incredible nine times in the last 10 years. They have faced the Rams four times in the last eight years in the CJFL title game and have claimed victory in all of their encounters.

    Out of the current run of six straight victories, Saturday’s 11-6 triumph was the Hilltops closest margin of victory in their current run of six straight titles. It was their closest Canadian Bowl victory since downing the Rams in Langley 23-21 in 2012.

    The Hilltops were trying to live up to memory of their late alum linebacker Justin Filteau, who tragically passed away in a plane crash in June. Filteau was an all-Canadian all-star, so it might have been fitting the overshadowed aspects of the Hilltops defensive unit and Kleiter’s kicking took over the spotlight.

Rylan Kleiter hit three critical field goals on Saturday.

    Against the Rams on Saturday, the Hilltops showed they can win in different ways, and legendary head coach Tom Sargeant showed faith in his team that they could win in different ways.

    Sargeant is a big fan of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, and his Hilltops put on a performance that flashed back to efforts put on by the Steelers in their Super Bowl winning dynasty of the 1970s under stoic late Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll.

    The Hilltops have always had a great defence under defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie. With that said, the Hilltops defensive is traditionally known under Yausie as the ultimate bend don’t break unit.

    The Hilltops defence will give up yards, create a huge number of turnovers and allow the opposition to score very few points.

    Playing under overcast, damp and off and on rainy conditions on Saturday, the Hilltops defensive cranked things up to another gear. The ’Toppers played tough, aggressive and physical defence that grudgingly gave up yards.

    It was the type of performance you rarely see in today’s era of pass happy football. The Hilltops finished with 230 yards of total net offence, while the Rams had 209 yards of total net offence.

Jesse McNabb had 1.5 sacks for the Hilltops on Saturday.

    While often overshadowed by the Hilltops offensive unit, the 112^th CJFL title game was the Hilltops defence’s day.

    Defensive end Tristan Hering and defensive tackle Jesse McNabb, who are both in their fifth years of eligibility, arguably had their finest hours with all the sacks and tackles they made. Hering finished with 2.5 sacks and McNabb had 1.5 sacks.

    The linebacking corps of Riley Keating, CJFL defensive player of the year Jadyn Pingue and Brady Fossen delivered countless big plays. Keating and Pingue are both in their final years of CJFL eligibility. Pingue had nine total tackles and a fumble recovery.

    In the secondary, safety Brant Morrow came up with key plays and defensive back Colton Holmes returned from injury to have one last final big moment in his final contest with the Hilltops. Holmes missed four regular season games and the Hilltops three previous post-season games before dressing for the Canadian Bowl.

    Another often overlooked part of the Hilltops team is the kicking game. Kleiter was named a CJFL all-Canadian all-star as a place kicker on Thursday after a stellar campaign.

    In the Hilltops eight regular season games, Kleiter connected on 18-of-22 field goal attempts for an 81.8 per cent success rate with a long of 42 yards.

Jadyn Pingue came up with late big third and one stop.

    On top of the success in the field goal department, Kleiter kicked 33 conversion attempts, recorded one rouge and hauled in two touchdown receptions as a receiver to lead the Prairie Football Conference in regular season scoring with 100 points.

    While Kleiter had a great season as a place kicker, it seemed like the Hilltops would never need to rely on him to win a game. On a day when the Hilltops didn’t find the end zone for a major score, Kleiter, who is a star skip on his own curling team, made 3-of-4 field goals, and his kicks were crucial in allowing Saskatoon to win on Saturday.

    The defence and Kleiter had their biggest shining moments late in the fourth quarter, with the Hilltops holding an 8-6 advantage.

    The Rams had the ball and were gambling on a third-and-one at their own 31 yard line with less than 3:34 to play in the fourth quarter. Rams backup quarterback Colby Peters tried to gain a first down on a quarterback sneak, but he was stopped by Pingue forcing a turnover on downs.

    The Hilltops were only able to drive the ball seven yards to the Rams 24 yard line. The Saskatoon coaches were thinking about gambling on a third and three, but Sargeant elected allow Kleiter to extend the lead and leave the issue in the hands of his defence.

    Kleiter connected on a clutch 31-yard field goal to put the Hilltops up 11-6 with 2:15 to play.

View this post on Instagram

For the SIXTH consecutive year, your Saskatoon Hilltops are @cjflfootball Canadian Bowl Champions!! The Toppers defeated the Langley Rams 11-6 to take home the cup. . . . ‪ Congratulations to DL Tristan Hering and RB Ben Abrook for being named the Canadian Bowl Defensive and Offensive Players of the Game! ‬

A post shared by Saskatoon Hilltops (@saskatoon_hilltops) on Nov 16, 2019 at 4:05pm PST

    The Rams needing a touchdown to win elected to take the ball on their own 35 yard line. They got down to the Hilltops 38 yard line and faced a third-and-11 situation.

    The hosts called their second and final timeout, and with 40 seconds remaining on the clock, needed to make a first down. Peters tried to hit receiver Jarryd Taylor at the Hilltops 15 yard line, but Holmes defended the play to cause an incompletion to give the ball to the Hilltops.

Ben Abrook, left, ran the ball 27 times for 130 yards.

    Hilltops fifth-year starting quarterback Tyler Hermann was able to then run out the clock with knee down plays.

    Saturday’s game was such a defensive slugfest that the Hilltops posted 166 yards of net offence in the first half, while the Rams had 43 yards of net offence.

    After a scoreless first quarter, the Hilltops took an 8-0 lead at halftime. Kleiter hit a 21-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, Rams punter Kyle Clarot conceded a safety and Kleiter completed the first half scoring with a 23-yard field goal.

    After the Hilltops went up 8-0, the Rams pulled starting quarterback Tristen Secord-Yanciw in favour of Peters. Rams starting quarterback wasn’t able to play due to a knee injury suffered in a regular season game on Oct. 5.

    Around the midpoint of the third quarter, the Rams put together their best offensive series of the contest that concluded with a one-yard touchdown run by backup running back Maximilian Joseph on an option toss from Peters.

    The Rams tried to go for a two-point conversion, but Peters was sacked by Hering to allow the Hilltops to still hold an 8-6 lead.

    That set stage for the dramatics late in the fourth quarter.

Tristan Hering had 2.5 sacks on Saturday.

    Hering was named the defensive player of the game, while Hilltops star power running back Ben Abrook was named the offensive player of the game. Abrook carried the ball 27 times for 130 yards.

Rams star running back Andrew Pocrnic ran the ball 16 times for 74 yards.

    In last year’s CJFL title tilt held in Saskatoon, the Hilltops hammered the visiting Rams 58-21 in frigid conditions at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    The Hilltops won in a totally different style on Saturday to claim their 22^nd CJFL championship in team history.

    On top of that, the Hilltops rolled off their 31^st overall win in a row with including action in the CJFL’s regular season and playoffs.

    The Hilltops have won their last 29 straight games on the road including action in the CJFL regular season and post-season. Due to their current run of six consecutive CJFL championships, the Hilltops extended their CJFL record of consecutive post-season wins to 20.

    It is highly likely the Hilltops current overall and road winning streaks are also CJFL records.

    Sargeant has a 210-30-2 career record in CJFL regular season and post-season action since becoming the Hilltops head coach before the start of the 1998 campaign. He has the record for all-time head coaching victories in Canada’s amateur post-secondary football ranks.

    “Sarge” has won 13 CJFL titles as a head coach, two as an assistant coach with the team and one as a player. His first championship as a player was earned way back in 1985.

Tom Sargeant has guided the Hilltops to 13 CJFL titles as head coach.

    After Saturday’s game, the Hilltops players raised Sargeant on top of their shoulders as he lifted the Canadian Bowl.

    The Hilltops completed their second straight perfect season posting a 12-0 record in the 2019 campaign. It was their fifth perfect season in team history. They were 11-0 in last year’s perfect season.

    Saskatoon’s first perfect season came in 1958 at 11-0, the second in 1978 at 12-0 and the third in 2003 at 12-0.

    With the turnover the Hilltops had amongst their starters, this year’s perfect season was arguably the most unexpected one of the five. They graduate 15 players this season who were part of the back-to-back perfect campaigns in 2018 and 2019.

    The Rams were in pursuit of perfection in 2019 and settled with a 12-1 overall mark.

    For Sargeant, this was season where he won his 200^th career game and earned his 209^th career win to become Canada’s all-time leader amateur post-secondary football head coaching wins.

    He always says those numbers don’t mean much to him, but winning the championship trophies to allow his fifth-year players to leave on the ultimate high does.

    As a head coach, Sargeant has watched that moment unfold 13 times.

    This year, it was the Hilltops often overlooked defensive unit and Kleiter’s clutch kicking that made an ultimate sixth straight CJFL championship moment happen.

This feeling never gets old 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/TLEKWshWVC

— Saskatoon Hilltops (@SaskHilltops) November 16, 2019

    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.