Funk solidifies middle of Hilltops defensive line

Jaxon Funk has been a rock at DT for the Hilltops.

Jaxon Funk is in the middle of the action when it comes to keeping the Saskatoon Hilltops defensive line strong.

The 22-year-old product of Hague, Sask., is in his fourth full season with the team and his first full campaign as a starter at defensive tackle. During his first full three seasons with the team from 2017 to 2019, Funk said he learned from his veteran teammates, who have since graduated from the program.

When it came time for Funk to start, he was ready to play full time.

“I had great leadership in front of me,” said Funk, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 280 pounds. “It started with Tom Schnitzler.

“He was a great captain and a great guy to learn from. My next biggest influence was obviously Jesse McNabb. He was a great inside player, and he taught me a lot.

“Obviously, all our coaches have been around for a long time. They know exactly what they are doing. They put me in great spots and taught me everything I know.”

Schnitzler was a star defensive end for the Hilltops who graduated following the 2017 season, and McNabb was a star defensive tackle with the Hilltops, who graduated after the 2019 campaign.

Funk has followed in their footsteps continuing the lineage of stellar players the Hilltops have had along their defensive line. Playing on a defensive tackle spot, Funk doesn’t receive a lot of glory.

His job is often to take on double teams in order to allow his teammates to tackle running backs or sack quarterbacks.

Jaxon Funk (#77) storms on to the field with the Hilltops.

Even with that unglamourous role, Funk collected 27 solo tackles 12 assisted tackles, two fumble recoveries and a half sack helping the Hilltops post a 6-2 record during the regular season. Funk personally finished 16^th overall in the CJFL’s Prairie Football Conference in defensive points.

“Jaxon Funk has had an unbelievable year for us,” said legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “He has been a rock on our defence.

“He is probably the most consistent player we have. He does his job. He doesn’t get a lot of pats on the back.

“To have a noseguard in the top 16 in defensive points is absolutely incredible. He is a captain. He is a great leader.”

During the 2019 campaign, Funk was often rotated on to the defensive line for suspected running situations and kept off the field in obvious pass situations. The coaches worked that rotation to keep players fresh and playing to their strengths.

Now, Funk rarely leaves the field being a full-time starter. The Hague High School Panthers six-man football team graduate said he has had a tonne of help making plays from his teammates on the Hilltops defensive line.

Funk has formed a formidable duo inside with fellow defensive tackle Dylan McNutt, while defensive ends Daylen Hartz and Riece Kack have applied consistent pressure from the outside.

Jaxon Funk (#77) paired with his DT partner in Dylan McNutt (#51).

“We lost a lot of guys, but there have been a lot of guys who have stepped up and did their job,” said Funk. “It has been great.

“Obviously, the coaches are putting everyone in the right spots. It has been a good time.”

If he runs into situations where he is taking on constant double teams, Funk said the Hilltops linebackers coming in behind him have been outstanding making plays.

“I love knowing that if I take on a double team then we got guys behind me that are going to fill their roles,” said Funk. “Wisty (middle linebacker Matt Wist) has been doing a great job this year of filling in gaps.

“If I can get that double and if I end up on a single team, I just have to take advantage of that and try to make a play and do the best I can off that.”

Sargeant said Funk has a number of attributes that allow him to have success.

“Number one, he has worked real hard over the last couple of years to make himself bigger and strong,” said Sargeant. “He has got football IQ.

“He understands leverage and how to work against the O-line and the double teams. He is a player that gets double teamed a lot. He just had a knack for getting off blocks and staying alive and working towards the ball.

Jaxon Funk (#77) passes on kind words to a teammate.

“He is just always around the play. He makes us so much better.”

Before joining the Hilltops, Funk enjoyed playing the six-man game with the Panthers and then head coach Clay Kirby. The Hague Panthers six-man high school team gained notoriety being one of the feature teams in the 2007 “Season of Dreams” documentary about football in Saskatchewan.

Funk said a trio of Hilltops alums from Hague including Richard Zacharias and brothers Tyler and Shayne Dueck were big influences who convinced him to try out for the storied CJFL club.

“Richard Zacharias, who was a linebacker with the team and has helped out coaching recently, really showed me what the team was about,” said Funk. “(Zacharias) helped me get prepared for my rookie season and has been a great mentor ever since.”

Funk’s family became a football family after he first took up the sport in Grade 8. His older sister, Alyssa, has been a star at left tackle for the Saskatoon Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League since 2015.

Younger brother, Jeremy, is in his first year with the Hilltops on the team’s practice roster.

Jaxon credits his parents in father, Lyle, and mother, Katrina, for being the biggest influences for helping him along in football.

“My parents are huge on sports,” said Jaxon Funk. “My dad never really played football, but he always wanted to, but Hague didn’t have a team at that point.

Jaxon Funk finished 16th in the PFC in defensive points.

“When I started, he learned everything about it and supported me as much as he could. I kind of started it in our family. My sister played with Valkyries and my younger brother is on the team now. It just turned into a really big football family.”

With the PFC having completed its regular season schedule, the Hilltops earned a bye to host a PFC semifinal contest due to finishing second in the conference standings. The Hilltops are scheduled to host that contest on Sunday, November 7 at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

They will play the team that has the best record that advances out of the two PFC quarter-final games that will be held on Sunday.

Due to the fact the 2020 CJFL campaign was lost due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, Funk said there is extra excitement within his team as that first post-season contest draws near.

He said the businesslike approach to that contest mirrors what the Hilltops do in the regular season.

“It is just the same kind of atmosphere,” said Funk, who helped the Hilltops win CJFL titles in each of his first three seasons with the team. “You have to put your time in and practise hard.

“That will reflect how we play on the field. Obviously, we were all pretty excited to back into playoffs after last year not being able to play. You really appreciate the time we can have out here.

Jaxon Funk (#77) and the Hilltops have enjoyed playing after a year off.

“Everyone knows that they’ve got to step it up and have their best game of the year next Sunday and just keep it going.”

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