Hilltops hammer Raiders 48-0, return to the Canadian Bowl

Raiders quarterback Jake Laberge was sacked seven times by the Hilltops.

    It was easy to see the Saskatoon Hilltops had a great day just by the way head coach Tom Sargeant was rocking and rolling during his post-game media scrum.

    Moments after the Hilltops hammered the Nanaimo, B.C., based Vancouver Island Raiders 48-0 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Sargeant was still all fired up about how his team performed on Sunday afternoon to win the Canadian Junior Football League national semifinal contest.

    “It feels great, because you know what, we played our best game of the year,” said Sargeant. “We were physical. We were on point.

    “When you look at the score 48-0, we did what we were supposed to do. A lot of belief, a lot of trust and all the kids came out and played great. It is exactly what we want to see.

Joshua Ewanchyna darts home on a 20-yard TD run.

    “The coaches did a great job in preparing. The players executed the game plan. You win 48-0, and I was pretty excited about that.”

    The win allows the Hilltops (10-1) to advance to the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl – for a fourth straight year. The Toppers will be in search for a fourth straight CJFL title, when they travel to Windsor, Ont., on November 11 to face the AKO Fratmen. The AKO Fratmen (9-1) advanced to the Canadian Bowl winning Ontario Football Conference title 34-20 in Windsor on Sunday against the Hamilton Hurricanes (6-4).

    On Sunday at SMF Field, the Hilltops, who are the champions of the Prairie Football Conference, seemed intent on delivering an early knockout blow to the Raiders, who are the champions of the British Columbia Football Conference. The Raiders would finish the 2017 campaign with an 8-4-1 mark after falling to the Hilltops.

    Saskatoon elected to take the wind for the opening quarter, and safety/kicker James Vause booted the opening kickoff into the end zone for a single.

Quarterback Jordan Walls threw a pair of TD passes for the Hilltops.

    After the Raiders were forced to punt away the ball, the Hilltops quickly drove downfield and running back Joshua Ewanchyna ran the ball in from two yards out for a major score to put the hosts up 8-0.

    With 61 seconds to play in the opening quarter, Hilltops starting quarterback Jordan Walls hooked up with receiver Ryan Turple on a 10-yard touchdown toss to put Saskatoon up 15-0. Vause put the ensuing kickoff into the end zone for another single point to increase Saskatoon’s edge to 16-0.

    It seemed the only thing that went wrong for the Hilltops in the first quarter was Vause hitting the right upright on a 40-yard field goal attempt during a time when the wind was blowing the posts all over the place.

    “Our guys are just hungry right now,” said Sargeant, whose team has won 12 straight CJFL playoff games. “They are playing fast and playing aggressive with a lot of trust.

The Hilltops kick coverage unit hammered Raiders returners.

    “It is certainly a different team than maybe what it was a month ago. As coaches, we’re starting to get out of their way, because they are playing at such a high level.”

    In the second quarter, the Hilltops turned out to be more prolific driving into the wind. Fifth-year fullback Colin Stumborg found paydirt twice.

    He scored first on a one-yard plunge and put up a second major on a 15-yard swing pass to give the hosts a 30-0 lead. Stumborg believes his two touchdowns in one game were a personal career high.

    “We came out, and we just played our game,” said Stumborg. “The weather was not cooperating that much, but we just rallied together

    Things didn’t get any better for the Raiders. Hilltops fifth-year defensive back Luke Melnyk intercepted Raiders quarterback Jake Laberge to set up another short Saskatoon scoring drive. Ewanchyna capped that march scoring a major on a right sweep from 20 yards out to give the Hilltops a 37-0 advantage at halftime.

FB Colin Stumborg scores a 15-yard receiving touchdown for the Hilltops.

    “I didn’t want this to be my last game,” said Melnyk. “I wanted to keep playing. I want to play two weeks from now (in the Canadian Bowl).

    “This is my last game on this field and the last chance for all my friends to come and watch me, so I want to play for them too.”

    Saskatoon proceeded to get fifth-year star running back Logan Fischer into the game in the third quarter. He didn’t dress for the Hilltops 36-24 PFC final victory over the Regina Thunder on Oct. 22 in Saskatoon due to nagging leg injury.

    In his short appearance against the Raiders, Fischer ran the ball nine times for 57 yards and caught two passes for 44 yards. He scored a touchdown on a one-yard run with 9:12 to play in the third quarter to give the Hilltops a 44-0 lead.

The Hilltops defence takes down Raiders receiver Brycen Mayoh.

    The Hilltops rounded out the game’s scoring in the fourth quarter with a 52-yard punt single from John Brown and 42-yard field goal from Vause.

    Both Stumborg and Melnyk were pumped they would get the chance to play for a fourth straight CJFL championship with the Hilltops before exhausting their junior eligibility.

    “It feels unbelievable,” said Stumborg. “As a fifth-year, you can’t match that feeling.”

    “It is crazy,” said Melnyk. “I just feel honoured just being a part of the Hilltops and just getting the opportunity to do that.”

    Walls completed 9-of-13 passes for 153 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Hilltops romp.

    Saskatoon put up 247 yards rushing as a team thanks to big contributions from four different running backs. Besides Fischer’s big day, Adam Machart started the contest and led the Hilltops with 84 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Hilltops running back Liam Murphy jets through a big hole.

    Ewanchyna had 62 yards rushing on eight carries to go with his two touchdowns. Fifth-year running back Liam Murphy, who missed much of the season to injury before returning to full health for the playoffs, ran the ball nine times for 45 yards.

    On defence, defensive linemen Tom Schnitzler and Riley Pickett and defensive back Logan Bitz each had two sacks for the Hilltops. Defensive tackle Tristan Hering added one sack to the impressive effort from the home side.

    Laberge completed 14-of-25 passes for 125 yards and was intercepted once for the Raiders. Defensive back Josh Paisley had an interception for the visitors.

    Now, the Hilltops will try to be the first team in the history of the CJFL, which dates back to 1908, to win four straight league championships, when they head to Windsor for the Canadian Bowl.

The Hilltops raise a trophy for their CJFL national semifinal win.

    Sargeant has some preliminary information on the AKO Fratmen, and he is looking forward to what is to come over the next two weeks.

    “They are big, athletic and they are good,” said Sargeant. “At the end of the day, we will have to figure it out and get in the lab and make sure we come out and try and play another inspired effort as we did today.”

    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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