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| The Hilltops celebrate Wayndel Lewis's rushing major. |
The Saskatoon Hilltops savoured the
fact that this one didn’t get away.
The powerhouse Canadian Junior
Football League franchise locked up first place in the Prairie Football
Conference with an exciting 28-23 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats on Sunday
at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Wildcats were desperate needing a win to
make the playoffs, and they gave the hosts a battle.
Victory wasn’t sealed until the
final play of the game, when Hilltops defensive back Arnold Osam knocked down a
Hail Mary throw from Wildcats quarterback Jordan Olson. Olson had driven the
Wildcats to the Saskatoon 34 yard line before launching his final heave.
The victory, which improved the
Hilltops to 6-2, was big on a number of fronts. First, the Toppers were
reminded about how challenging it can be to play a team fighting for its
playoff life. The Wildcats missed the post-season with a 3-5 mark.
Saskatoon opens the post-season
hosting the Winnipeg Rifles (3-5) this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at SMF. The
Rifles edged out the Wildcats for the PFC’s final playoff berth on the strength
of a head-to-head win in the lone regular season meeting between the two teams.
While the Rifles enter the playoffs
on a four-game losing skid, the Hilltops will have to bring their intensity up
one more notch, because the winner moves on and the loser goes home from here
on out.
The other big thing the Hilltops
have to love about their win over the Wildcats is they were able to make the
plays to seal out the contest. The end zone knock down at the end of the
contest supplies proof the Hilltops players can make big plays, when everything
is on the line.
Saskatoon had developed a habit of
letting close games slip away, especially when they play the defending CJFL champion
Regina Thunder. Anyone associated with the Hilltops still remembers the team
building a 25-3 lead at home against the Thunder on Sept. 6 only to fall 26-25.
Regina’s scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes of that game to cause
a surprising rally.
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| Wayndel Lewis dives in for a score. |
Another big highlight in the win was
watching Hilltops running back Wayndel Lewis break the 1000- mark in rushing
for the season. The Warman product piled up 140 yards on 23 carries, and he
scored a spectacular touchdown diving into the end zone in the fourth quarter
to put the Toppers up 28-16.
Lewis finished the regular season rushing
for 1,063 yards on 130 carries, while reaching pay dirt nine times.
During the post-season, the Hilltops
will likely have to make a few more big plays in the clutch, as they search for
their 16th CJFL title. When any player grows up, they dream of
making a big play to win a post-season game. Each step along the playoff
journey creates another opportunity to do just that.
Blades slam gorilla to the ice
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| The Saskatoon Blades celebrate Saturday's win. |
It is likely a big understatement to
say the Saskatoon Blades were pretty elated to get their first win of the
season.
On Saturday at the Sasktel Centre,
the Blades rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat their arch rivals the Prince
Albert Raiders 3-2. The Blades opened the season losing their first six
straight games, which marked the first time in franchise history that had ever occurred.
The win came after the Blades watch
leads of 2-0 and 3-1 disappear on Thursday at the Sasktel Centre in a 5-3
setback to the Tri-City Americans. Saskatoon put up a good effort in that loss,
which added to the disappointment of the end result on that night.
In the win over the Raiders (3-4),
the Blades put together their most complete effort of the season holding a
37-23 edge in the shots on goal department. They also had more offensive zone
time than the visitors and were strong in the puck possession department.
With all that said, the Blades are
still rebuilding from hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013 and loading up to try
and make a long run in the 2011 post-season. They will be flat out outmatched
in outings against the WHL’s league leading teams. If they can keep repeating
Saturday’s effort, they will at least have a chance, when the going gets
tougher.
I also think they have ownership
group in the Priestner family that wants to do the right thing. With that in
mind, the reality is a powerhouse team won’t be built overnight.
Soccer Huskies lock up first
The University of Saskatchewan
Huskies men’s soccer team will be home for the playoffs.
The Huskies locked up first in the
Prairies Division of the Canada West Conference sweeping the University of
Winnipeg Wesmen in a two-game series at PotashCorp Park. The Huskies downed the
Wesmen 8-0 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.
Riding a five-game winning streak,
the Huskies improved to 9-0-1. They close the regular season by traveling to
Calgary to play the Mount Royal University Cougars this coming Saturday and
Sunday.
No matter what happened in those
contests, the Huskies will host a quarter-final single-elimination playoff game
on Oct. 26. If they win that match, they would host the Canada West Final Four tournament,
which is set for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Currently, the Huskies have never
hosted the Canada West Final Four tournament for men’s soccer.
Adversity bites hockey Huskies
The U of S Huskies men’s hockey team
received its first taste of adversity this season dropping a pair of games to
the University of Manitoba Bisons on the weekend at the ancient Rutherford
Rink.
The Bisons downed the Huskies 4-1 on
Friday night and prevailed 5-2 on Saturday night.
In Friday’s loss, the Huskies seemed
to be their own worst enemies. Giveaways and defensive zone breakdowns saw
veteran U of S goaltender Ryan Holfeld get put into some no-win situations.
In Saturday’s loss, the Huskies
inability to convert on the power play turned out to be a big difference. U of
S was 1-for-10 with the man advantage, while the Bisons were 2-for-5. The Dogs
also failed to score on two five-on-three opportunities.
With those results in the books, the
Huskies and Bisons both have 4-2 records.
After playing five of their first
six games at home, the Huskies head on the road for four tough games. They
travel to Edmonton to face the University of Alberta Golden Bears (5-1) on Oct.
17 and 18 and to Calgary to battle the University of Calgary Dinos (4-2) on
Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
If you have any feedback on this
blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.
