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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