Hilltops focus on taking another step forward

Saskatoon departs to Edmonton to face Wildcats

The Hilltop leveled the Wildcats with big hits in their 2021 meeting.

The Saskatoon Hilltops put the skids on their skid, but they know they have to take a few more steps to get out of the wilderness.

Last Sunday, the Hilltops downed the Colts in Calgary 35-17 to end an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak, which was something the club hadn’t experienced at least in over three decades. The win evened the Hilltops regular season record at 3-3 to sit third in the PFC.

This coming Sunday, the Hilltops travel to Edmonton to face the Wildcats, who are the only club in the Prairie Football Conference eliminated from playoff contention with an 0-6 record. The two sides will meet at Emerald Hills Regional Park, which is located in Sherwood Park, Alta., a centre that is right on Edmonton’s east border.

Hilltops veteran middle linebacker Matt Wist said his team still has to be mindful of where they are at even with finally adding another victory to the win column last Sunday against Calgary.

“For sure, it was a good win,” said Wist. “We just have to focus on where we are.

“We’re 3-3 and we can’t forget that. We just have to move forward and focus on ourselves.”

The victory over the Colts has put the Hilltops in a position of being on the cusp of locking up a berth in the CJFL playoffs. The Hilltops will clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Wildcats combined with a loss by the Colts (2-4) in their game this coming Sunday at home against the Regina Thunder (6-0). The Thunder need one win to lock up first place in the PFC.

A third regular season game that will be played this coming Sunday as well involving PFC teams will also be of interest to the Hilltops. The second place Edmonton Huskies (4-2) will host the fourth place Winnipeg Rifles (3-3).

The Hilltops own head-to-head standings tiebreaker with both the Huskies and Rifles, and the second place team in the PFC will host a PFC semifinal contest.

Boston Davidsen, left, leads the PFC in rushing yards.

At the moment, Hilltops legendary head coach Tom Sargeant isn’t too worried about where his team sits in the conference standings. He is focused on ensuring his Hilltops are playing well when the post-season comes around, and he saw glimmers of what his team needs to do in their win over the Colts.

“We’re starting to make some plays,” said Sargeant. “We want to make more plays.

“We have two more regular season games before we get into the reality of playoffs. We need all our players to step up and make more plays. If we’re able to do that, we are going to have more success.”

Going into last weekend’s game with the Colts, Sargeant said he was going to start some of the Hilltops younger players. At quarterback, 20-year-old Trey Reider got his first career CJFL start over 22-year-old veteran Damon Dutton.

Reider completed 16-of-24 passes for 191 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Hilltops running game carried the day in the win over the Colts posting a combined 269 yards on the ground. Star power running back Boston Davidsen led the Hilltops running the ball 19 times for 144 yard and one touchdown.

Davidsen leads the PFC with 734 yards rushing coming off 121 carries, where he has scored three touchdowns.

Veteran running back Carter McLean, who is in his final season of CJFL eligibility, carried the ball eight times for 70 yards in the win over the Colts after missing two games due to a minor ailment. Hilltops 17-year-old rookie running back Charles Sawi had eight carries for 36 yards.

Defensively in the win over the Colts, Wist led the Hilltops with seven total tackles and had an interception.

The Hilltops look celebrate more major scores this coming Sunday.

Heading into the clash with the Hilltops, Wildcats running back Jayden Zak leads his team in rushing with 240 yards coming on 45 carriers. Receiver Travis Heggart is the Wildcats top pass catcher hauling in 19 passes for 307 yards.

The Hilltops and Wildcats met once in 2021 with Saskatoon posting a 44-7 victory at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on October 17 of that year.

Wist believes his team can do achieve big accomplishments and make big plays during the rest of the 2022 campaign, but he reinforced the focus at the moment is on the Wildcats.

“We are expected to do big things,” said Wist. “We all think we can do big things, which is a good thing to move forward.

“We just have to get the win this weekend.”

McNeil get player of the week nod in Rifles setback

Bryson McNeil was the PFC’s offensive player of the week.

Bryson McNeil did his best to try and sling his Winnipeg Rifles to an upset win, and he got a player of the week award for his efforts.

On Wednesday, McNeil was named the offensive player of the week for the PFC for his efforts in his club’s 29-23 loss to the visiting Regina Thunder last Sunday at IG Field in Winnipeg. McNeil completed 25-of-39 passes for 329 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

He also ran the ball five times for 28 yards. This marked the second time this season McNeil was a PFC offensive player of the week.

Had the Rifles won that contest, they would have been in the thick of the race for first in the PFC. The Thunder improved to 6-0 with the victory, and they are one win away from clinching top spot in the conference. Winnipeg fell to 3-3 to sit fourth in the conference.

The PFC’s defensive and special teams play of the week awards went to members of the Edmonton Huskies for their performance in a 48-14 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats this past Saturday at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta.

Huskies defensive back Nahome Giorgis was named the defensive player of the week for the PFC recording seven solo defensive tackles, one quarterback sack and a pass knockdown in the victory over the Wildcats.

Huskies receiver and kick returner Caleb Akerley took home honours as the special teams player of the week for the PFC. Akerley returned two kick off for 69 yards and seven punts for 80 yards.

Sawi stats change on early season touchdown

Charles Sawi had a change made on one of his TDs this season.

In reviewing game tape to double check the accuracy on statistics, a change was made to one of the two touchdowns Saskatoon Hilltops 17-year-old rookie running back Charles Sawi scored on August 21.

On August 21, the Hilltops played their second game of the CJFL regular season downing the visiting Edmonton Huskies 38-10 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Sawi scored that game’s first touchdown on a 40-yard swing pass from quarterback Damon Dutton.

In watching that video, the statisticians ruled Dutton pitched the ball on that play to Sawi and registered that major score coming on a 40-yard run. Sawi added a second touchdown coming off a reverse run that covered 31 yards.

On the season, Sawi officially has 20 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a major score coming on a 125-yard missed field goal return in a 29-21 overtime setback to the Regina Thunder on September 10 at SMF Field.

Bury joins U of Saskatchewan Huskies

Heather Bury, left, at the Hilltops clubhouse in May of 2020.

Arguably the Saskatoon Hilltops best behind the scenes talent will have the chance to make a big behind the scenes impact on a new stage.

On Friday, Heather Bury started her first day working as the new sports information and marketing specialist for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies athletic program in U Sports. Bury will be involved with the sport information and marketing needs of the Huskies 15 varsity teams.

Bury has been the equipment manager and social media manager for the Hilltops for a lengthy stretch. She has been the team’s equipment manager for a time that has included nine CJFL championship wins coming in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

On top of being the equipment manager, Bury is a go to person for the players when they had any questions about the Hilltops organization. She always points them in the right direction.

In U Sports, it is common for sports information and marketing specialists to work 60 hours a week when an athletics program’s season is in progress, but Bury will be staying on with the Hilltops. Both the Hilltops and Huskies will benefit from her expertise.

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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