Hilltops will give Sawi chance to be X-Factor

Tailback adds dynamic touch to storied CJFL club at age 17

Charles Sawi breaks downfield for the Hilltops.

The Saskatoon Hilltops are finding out “the kid” at age 17 is alright.

During the off-season, the Hilltops made a major splash recruiting running back Charles Sawi, who burst on to the Saskatoon football scene last season on a meteoric rise as a Grade 12 senior with the Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team. The big plays kept coming with the Hilltops as the team held its main training camp this past week concluding with an Alumni Game played at Ron Atchison Field on Thursday night.

“He (Sawi) has come as advertised,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, whose 218 career wins are most for Canadian post-secondary football in the amateur ranks. “Number one, he has a great personality.

“The kids really like him. He’s got an electric skill set. The coaches coach (Shane) Reider and the staff are working hard to try and get him into the fray of things, get him opportunities and touches.

“We have a pretty good baseline with our offence, but I think Charles (Sawi) can come in and really given us a different look at times.”

Sawi is still a relative newcomer to the sport of football taking up the game in Grade 10 joining the Crusaders junior program in the fall of 2019 and was brought up to the senior squad near the end of that campaign. Before suiting up for football, Sawi’s main sport for the majority of his life had been soccer, and he established himself as a high-level player in that game.

After the 2020 high school football season was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, Sawi continued to train with the players on the Crusaders senior team during his Grade 11 year. Almost immediately in his Grade 12 year, Sawi began ripping off big runs for the Crusaders and helped them qualify for the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) 6A provincial final against Regina’s Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School Marauders.

Charles Sawi was a star for the Crusaders in 2021.

On November 13, 2021 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Marauders prevailed 28-24 over the Crusaders in an all-time classic that saw Sawi score two majors for the Holy Cross side.

On May 29 of this year, Sawi again turned heads rolling off some big runs helping Team North get past Team South 28-17 at SMF Field in Football Saskatchewan’s Ed Henick Senior Bowl, which is the annual high school all-star game in Saskatchewan for graduating seniors. A couple of those runs were called back due to behind the play penalties. 

While he was wrapping up high school, Sawi took part in off-season training sessions with the Hilltops since January. He was named the MVP of the team’s spring camp held in early May.

During Thursday’s Alumni Game, Sawi make some big splash plays as the Alumni Team downed the current squad 19-10.

“We have to get him (Sawi) on the field,” said Sargeant. “He’s going to get in on special teams.

“We’re creating an offensive package for him. He’s going to get his plays and the better he does the more he is going to get. That is just who we are and what we are going to do.

“It gets real next week, so we’ll see if he is in that scenario where he keeps growing and keeps understanding the playbook and growing and then boom - then he gets out here and makes plays for us.”

While he is a newcomer, Sawi has dived head first into fitting in with his new teammates. He said his experience with the team has been real positive.

Charles Sawi is breaking off big plays in camp with the Hilltops.

“It has gone very good for me,” said Sawi. “I’ve made a lot of friends and just been playing very well, just playing my best and getting to know others better.”

Sawi said the level of play at Hilltops camp has been a step up from what he has experienced in high school.

“It has kind of been different from Holy Cross,” said Sawi, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds. “It is like more intense and more fast paced.

“We just have to move quicker.”

On the field, Sawi said one of the things he needs to work on is improving his blocking. Due to being the focal point of the offence with the Crusaders, Sawi said he didn’t have to block a lot in high school, and when he did, the players he faced in high school were a lot smaller in size compared the players he has to block with the Hilltops.

Besides blocking, Sawi aims to keep progressing and improving his overall game as the season goes on.

“I have to work better on my screens,” said Sawi. “I have to work better on my run plays.

“I have to figure it out better.”

Sawi knows he will get his chance to make plays in the early going for the Hilltops. He wants to cash in on the confidence the Hilltops coaches have in him coming out of the gate.

“It is just an opportunity that I have to take,” said Sawi. “I have to take advantage of it.

Charles Sawi runs the ball at the Ed Henick Senior Bowl.

“I need to take advantage of that opportunity, so I can get into more future games and play well and show other coaches what I have and showcase my skills.”

The explosive ball carrier is looking forward to the Hilltops first game. After having Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, the Hilltops return to practice on Monday and open the regular season hosting the Winnipeg Rifles on Sunday, August 14 at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

As that game nears, Sawi said he doesn’t have any nerves and believes he is going into that contest with the same businesslike approach the veterans have.

“It is nothing different,” said Sawi. “I just have to play good.

“I just have to play at my best and take advantage of that team and hopefully catch that ‘W’ and get a win.”

While Sawi is going to get his chance to make plays, Sargeant said the Hilltops coaches are still cognizant about how young the Holy Cross graduate is. Sawi will be 17-years-old throughout the 2022 CJFL campaign due to the fact his birthday isn’t until December.

In the CJFL, it is relatively uncommon for 17-year-olds to play a whole bunch. Newcomers coming out of high school don’t normally get a chance to make an impact with the Hilltops right out of the gate, and they spent their first season usually focusing on development.

Even with Sawi in the fold, the Hilltops are expecting to hit the field with a veteran offensive unit that includes veteran star running back in 22-year-old Carter McLean and 21-year-old Boston Davidsen, who is a tough inside power back runner.

Sargeant said the Hilltops have a sizable contingent of players playing out their final CJFL campaigns in 2022 who will provide great leadership for the team.

Charles Sawi looks to break off lots of big plays in 2022.

“Charles (Sawi) is going to have to learn from them,” said Sargeant. “He knows his place, so right now he’s just trying to fit in and be humble and work hard and when he does that, he’ll get more opportunities to make more plays for us.”

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