Dutton, Sawi keep Hilltops season alive

Saskatoon advances to PFC final with 20-15 win

Charles Sawi, right, speeds to the end zone on his winning TD run.

The X-factors kept the Saskatoon Hilltops season alive.

With the Hilltops offence seemingly stuck in quicksand in the second half of a PFC semifinal with the Edmonton Huskies on Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the host side turned to a couple of players who had been watching the proceedings from the bench for a lot of the day. Midway through the third quarter, the Hilltops inserted 22-year-old veteran quarterback Damon Dutton into the game in place of 20-year-old starter Trey Reider.

In the fourth quarter, the Hilltops starting substituting dynamic 17-year-old rookie running back Charles Sawi at tailback to change up the pace with 21-year-old star power running back Boston Davidsen.

Charles Sawi, middle, had 63 yards rushing on four carries.

With 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, Huskies kicker Ethan Hartman booted a 31-yard field goal to give the visitors a 15-13 lead.

With Dutton at the controls, the Hilltops started on a two-minute drill drive from their own 35 yard line. On the second last play of the march, Dutton hit veteran receiver Presley Peterson with a pass over the middle in traffic for a 19-yard gain. Dutton and Peterson were both teammates with the North Battleford Comprehensive Viking Football Team before joining the Hilltops.

On his big 19-yard catch against Edmonton, Peterson held on to the ball after getting decked by a couple Huskies defenders setting the Hilltops up on the Edmonton 33 yard line.

Damon Dutton engineered a winning two-minute drill drive.

On the very next play, Dutton gave the ball to Sawi, who creased the Huskies with an electrifying 33-yard touchdown run to put the Hilltops up 20-15 with 65 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Huskies ended up with two more possessions before the game ended but Hilltops star weak side linebacker Konner Johnson and standout defensive back Steve Gilewicz came up with drive killing interceptions. Those efforts preserved the 20-15 score as a final outcome in the CJFL post-season match in favour of the Hilltops.

“The heart of a lion stepped up today,” said legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, whose team has won four straight games. “Our fifth year players were outstanding.

“We just hung and we stuck together, and we played hard. Full credit to the Edmonton Huskies, holy cow, were they on point. We knew what they were going to do, and we couldn’t stop them.

Boston Davidsen scores the Hilltops first TD on a one-yard run.

“You know what, we willed ourselves to a win, and it was great to see Damon Dutton step up – the North Battleford connection him to (Presley) Pederson. Then Charles (Sawi) made that big splash play, and then the defence dug deep and found a way to finish the game off for us.”

Sawi finished the contest with 63 yards rushing on just four carries, which included his 33-yard touchdown run. The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders Football Team was pumped to come through with the winning score.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done that before in my life,” said Sawi. “That is probably one of the happiest moments I’ve ever had in my life in football.”

Alex Gayle ran for 175 yards for the Huskies.

The youngster was happy his Hilltops survived to play another week.

“I honestly thought we were going to lose this game,” said Sawi. “I was very worried.

“As soon I got in there, I gave it my all and just played like it was my last.”

Dutton was also elated the Hilltops survived. He is one of 20 Hilltops players who will graduate from the storied CJFL club once the team’s 2022 post-season run comes to an end.

The veteran signal caller said the graduating players did not want Sunday’s PFC semifinal to be their last game. Last year, Dutton engineered a two-minute drill drive to beat the Huskies 33-31 in a PFC semifinal played at SMF Field.

Jemanie Watkis had a 32-yard TD catch for the Huskies.

He thought he and his team were locked in on Sunday, especially when it came to making that game-winning two minute drill drive that ended in Sawi’s winning run.

“We just have to stay cool,” said Dutton. “We run the two-minute drill in practice every night.

“We’ve been here before. We just have to stay within ourselves and do our thing. You can’t get too excited.

“You can’t get too down. You just have to stay level headed and try to make some plays.”

The Hilltops got out to a fast start in Sunday’s contest going ahead 10-0 by the 9:16 mark of the opening quarter thanks to a 23-yard field goal from kicker Connor Green and a one-yard touchdown run by Davidsen.

Huskies QB Jordan Lane, left, throws a pass under pressure.

The game’s complexion proceeded to turn as the Huskies put together a scoring drive that covered about 105 yards in length. The march ended on the final play of the first quarter, when Huskies starting quarterback Jordan Lane hit receiver Jemanie Watkis with a 32-yard touchdown pass on a go route down the right sideline to cut the Hilltops lead to 10-7.

In the second quarter, the Hilltops had to concede a safety due to bad field position to allow the Huskies to close to within 10-9. On the final play of the second quarter, Hartman hit a field goal from 16 yards out to give the Huskies a 12-10 lead at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Green had a chance to put the Hilltops back in front, but he hit the upright on a 27 yard field goal attempt. A short time later, the Huskies had a 15-yard touchdown run by Epharh Oyama nullified due to an illegal participation penalty.

Hilltops receiver Drake Douglas, left, breaks past a defender.

After that scoring play was nixed due to a penalty, Hartman had a chance to extend the Huskies advantage, but his 21-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Hilltops defensive back Evan Mantyka.

At that point in the game, the Hilltops inserted Dutton in at quarterback for Reider. Reider completed just 4-of-12 passes for 26 yards, while throwing two interceptions. Dutton gave the Hilltops offence a little more poise as he completed 4-of-6 passes for 46 yards, and his completions came at critical times.

“That is the heart of a fifth-year player,” said Sargeant. “He stepped up, and he made a couple of big plays and got us going.

“Damon Dutton doesn’t go in there we don’t win this football game. It is about as simple as that. As I said, he is a proven commodity.

Riece Kack (#47) celebrates a fumble recovery.

“We know what to expect. It is great to see him rise up and answer to the challenge.”

On the final play of the third quarter, Hilltops defensive end Riece Kack recovered a Huskies fumble about 40 yards away from the Edmonton end zone.

The Hilltops ensuing offensive series to start the fourth quarter ended with Green hitting a 26-yard field goal to give the host side a 13-12 advantage. That set the stage for the dramatics in the game’s final three minutes.

“I was just happy to be able to help this team win,” said Dutton. “The defence played amazing.

“The offence was rolling. We just needed one last kick, and I was happy to be part of it.”

Hilltops DB Evan Mantyka (#15) makes a big hit in the secondary.

Davidsen led the Hilltops with 114 yards rushing coming on 28 carries including his major score run. Rookie receiver Drake Douglas was the Hilltops top pass catcher making four catches for 36 yards.

Jordan completed 15-of-27 passes for the Huskies for 150 yards and one touchdown, while throwing three interceptions.

Huskies star running back Alex Gayle led all ground gainers carrying the ball 34 times for 175 yards. Edmonton posted 207 yards rushing as a team.

Johnson had three solo defensive tackles, five defensive tackle assists, three solo special teams tackles and one pass knockdown to go with his one interception. Veteran defensive tackle Jaxon Funk had six solo defensive tackles and six defensive tackle assists.

Hilltops DB Joe Yausie makes a diving tackle from behind.

Hilltops cornerback Joe Yausie came up with a fourth quarter interception.

Linebacker Teryll Sherman had a big day for the Huskies making five solo defensive tackles, three defensive tackle assists, one solo special teams tackle and one interception. Defensive back Paul Loggale also had an interception for the Huskies, who finished the 2022 campaign with a 5-4 overall record.

The Hilltops, who are 6-3 overall, advance to the PFC final to face their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder. The Thunder downed the Winnipeg Rifles 23-14 in Sunday’s other PFC semifinal held at Leibel Field in Regina.

Damon Dutton fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops.

Due to challenging winter storm conditions in Saskatchewan, the contest between the Thunder and Rifles originally slated to start at 1 p.m. local time didn’t begin until 2:45 p.m. local time as parents, players, fans and volunteers cleared a large snowfall to allow the game to be played.

The Rifles finished with a 4-5 overall record, while the Thunder improved to 9-0 overall.

The PFC final between the Thunder and Hilltops is slated to be held this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The Hilltops won last year’s PFC final played between the two sides 29-9 at Mosaic Stadium.

“We’ll get in the lab and start getting ready for that,” said Sargeant. “We live another week and that is all I care about.”

NOTES – On Saturday at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna, B.C., the host Okanagan Sun blanked the Westshore Rebels 38-0 to win the BCFC title. The Sun improved their overall record to 12-0, while the Rebels complete the 2022 campaign with an 8-4 overall mark.

The Huskies and Hilltops shake hands after Sunday’s game.

Also on Saturday at Acumen Stadium in Windsor, Ont., the host St. Clair Saints dumped the London Beefeaters 38-7 to win the OFC championship. The Saints improve to 10-0 overall, while the Beefeaters conclude the 2022 campaign with a 7-3 overall mark.

The Saints will host the Sun this coming Saturday in a CJFL semifinal at Acumen Stadium.

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