Hilltops good, not good enough in 2022 CJFL campaign

Boston Davidsen ran for 1,037 yards in the CJFL regular season.

There were no championship celebrations for the Saskatoon Hilltops in 2022, but the venerable CJFL club was far from awful.

The Hilltops were good, but they weren’t good enough. Their season came to an end Sunday, when they fell 39-21 to their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder in the PFC final.

The Thunder, who are 10-0 overall, advanced on to host the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl – on Saturday, November 12 at 1 p.m. against the Kelowna, B.C., based Okanagan Sun, who are 13-0 overall.

Regina’s win in the PFC final ended a run that saw the Hilltops win seven consecutive conference crowns. Before Sunday, the last time the Hilltops didn’t win the PFC title came back in 2013, when they dropped a 21-16 decision to the Thunder in the conference championship game at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan grounds in Saskatoon on October 27 of that year.

Konner Johnson reacts to making an interception this season.

When the Hilltops conclude a campaign without winning a championship, it feels strange to anyone associated with the club. The Hilltops have had an unprecedented run of success in the CJFL, which has created incredibly high standards.

From 2010 to 2012, the Hilltops won three straight CJFL championships. After the Thunder captured the CJFL crown in 2013, the Hilltops proceeded to win six straight CJFL titles from 2014 to 2019.

That run of six straight titles was capped with an 11-0 perfect season in 2018 and a 12-0 perfect season in 2019. During the 2018 campaign, the Hilltops trailed on the scoreboard for a combined 81 seconds.

Charles Sawi was the PFC’s offensive rookie of the year.

As the 2022 season isn’t too far away time wise from the Hilltops winning nine CJFL championships in a 10-year span, it feels like a season where a championship wasn’t won was a disappointment.

Overall, the Hilltops posted a 6-4 record in 2022. The 6-4 overall mark was the worst record the Hilltops had posted since going 6-4 overall in 1993.

Back in 1993, the Hilltops also made the PFC final and fell 30-15 to the Regina Rams at historic Taylor Field in Regina. The Rams advanced on to win the Canadian Bowl posting a perfect 12-0 record. They would later leave the CJFL and begin playing in the U Sports ranks as the University of Regina Rams in 1999.

The Hilltops had an up and down campaign in 2022 that included experiences the club hadn’t gone through in over three decades. The biggest challenge the team faced was dealing with losing games.

HC Tom Sargeant, centre, and his team were challenged in 2022.

The 2022 season marked the first time the Hilltops lost three games in a regular season and four games overall under legendary head coach Tom Sargeant, who became the team’s top sideline boss in December of 1997.

When the Hilltops started the season 2-0, it looked like the 2022 campaign would play out as successfully as most of the team’s other seasons do. The modern version of the club began play in 1947 and has won 22 CJFL championships.

Following the 2-0 start, the Hilltops proceeded to those three straight, which was a first under Sargeant’s time as head coach. The last two of those setbacks came to the Thunder.

The skid started with a 19-16 loss to the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 28 and was followed by a 29-21 setback in overtime to the Thunder at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on September 10. The final game of the slide saw the Hilltops drop a 23-7 decision to the Thunder at Mosaic Stadium on September 17, and the Thunder outperformed the Hilltops on offence, defence and special teams in that encounter.

Damon Dutton started the Hilltops first five regular season games.

No one could recall exactly when the Hilltops last lost three consecutive games. Even with the club’s stellar veteran coaching staff, doubt surfaced about the storied team’s ability to pull out of the tailspin.

The Hilltops did rally winning their last three straight games of the regular season to finish second in the PFC standings with a 5-3 mark. That allowed the Hilltops to host a PFC semifinal against the Edmonton Huskies.

Against the Huskies, 17-year-old rookie running back Charles Sawi ran home a touchdown from 33 yards with 65 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to allow the Hilltops to pull out a 20-15 victory. At that point, one had to wonder if the Hilltops playoff mystique was rising up and could carry the team all the way.

Trey Reider became the Hilltops starting QB in their sixth game.

In the PFC final last Sunday, the Hilltops started well taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, when 20-year-old quarterback Trey Reider hit veteran receiver Presley Peterson with an 11-yard touchdown pass. The Thunder answered back scoring 24 straight points to go into the halftime break with a 24-7 advantage.

Saskatoon battled back in the second half. With 11:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, Reider scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak and the Thunder lead was trimmed down to 25-21.

In past years in this same situation, the Thunder might have started to fold when the Hilltops comeback attempt was on. This time the Regina side wasn’t fazed.

DE Riece Kack (#47) closes in on a sack for the Hilltops.

On their ensuing possession, the Thunder drove down to score a touchdown to reassert control of the contest. Regina added another major score before the end of the fourth quarter to round out the 39-21 final in favour of the host side.

The Thunder’s triplets in quarterback Carter Shewchuk, running back Ryland Leichert and receiver Rylan Sokul were too much for the Hilltops to handle.

In 2022, the Hilltops play from the quarterback position was inconsistent. Damon Dutton, who was the team’s 22-year-old veteran, was pulled in the September 17 loss to the Thunder in favour of Reider.

Reider remained the starter for the rest of the season, but Dutton was inserted part way through the third quarter of the team’s PFC semifinal win. Dutton helped give the Hilltops a spark to allow them to pull out victory in that contest.

The Hilltops O-line helped the team lead the PFC in rushing.

Reider started the PFC final, but after the Hilltops fell behind 24-7 at halftime, Dutton started the first series of the second half. In that instance, the Hilltops coaches allowed Reider to get a live look from the sidelines before re-entering the game.

The younger signal caller went back in for the Hilltops second series and threw a touchdown pass to go with his rushing score to allow the Hilltops to pull within 25-21. Looking back over that PFC final, Reider likely graded out very well.

Statistically, he completed 15-of-26 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing one interception. Statistics only told part of the story as Reider didn’t look overwhelmed by the big stage, and his belief seemed to grow as the game went on.

Drake Douglas secures a TD catch for the Hilltops.

The two biggest concerns the Hilltops likely had in their two post-season games was their rushing defence as they couldn’t prevent two star running backs from having big days.

In the PFC semifinal win over the Huskies, Huskies star running back Alex Gayle, who was rightfully named the PFC’s most valuable player in 2022, carried the ball 34 times for 175 yards. The Huskies had 207 yards rushing as a team, but the Hilltops found a way to come out ahead on the scoreboard.

In the PFC final loss to the Thunder, Leichert ran the ball 33 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns. The Thunder had 238 yards rushing as a team. Those post-season rushing totals show that the Hilltops defensive line got beat physically by the opposing team’s offensive line.

Daylen Hartz sets to rush the QB for the Hilltops.

The Hilltops defence is consistently proficient at creating turnovers, but was unable to force a turnover in the PFC final. The Thunder defence got an interception and three turnovers on downs.

In 2021 when the Hilltops fell 17-14 in a CJFL semifinal to the eventual CJFL champion Langley Rams in Langley, B.C., that contest could be chalked up as a weird once in a blue moon type contest. The Hilltops turned the ball over an unimaginable 12 times, while the Rams turned the ball over seven times.

In the 2022 PFC final loss to the Thunder, the Thunder were the better team. While the Hilltops for a 10-year stretch were used to being chased by clubs trying to gain ground on them, they now have to chase down and gain ground on the Thunder.

Presley Peterson, left, hauls in a TD catch for the Hilltops.

The Hilltops will have to do that after graduating 20 players who exhausted their CJFL eligibility. The biggest loss is star weak side linebacker Konner Johnson, who was named the PFC’s most outstanding defensive player in 2022.

The offensive line loses four starters to graduation in left tackle Jayson Kehler, left guard Jordan Bisson, centre Luciano Jolly and right guard Ethan Paslowski. The Hilltops offensive line was a big reason why Saskatoon had the PFC’s top rushing offence in 2022 and star power running back Boston Davidsen surpasses 1,000 yard rushing in the regular season carrying the ball 149 times for 1,037 yards and seven touchdowns.

Youngsters took turns playing right tackle for the Hilltops with time being split between Victoire Bikulo, who is in his second season, and rookie Davin Johnson. The Hilltops will be looking to both to anchor the offensive line next season.

The Hilltops meet their fans after falling in the PFC final.

Sawi was named the PFC’s offensive rookie of the year in 2022, and receiver Drake Douglas had some strong games playing as 20-year-old rookie in the CJFL.

It should be noted other teams will be dealing with key graduations too. When the Canadian Bowl concludes on November 12, the Thunder grads will include Shewchuk and Sokul along with another key star receiver in Isaac Foord.

The Hilltops will truly be relying on their youth in 2023. They will be writing their own story in their journey to return the Hilltops to title winning form to allow the club to start filling their trophy case at their clubhouse once again.

Wist, Sawi capture PFC weekly awards

Hilltops MLB Matt Wist, left, disrupts a Thunder pass attempt.

The Saskatoon Hilltops might have fallen in the PFC final, but two players were able to pick up play of the week honours.

On Tuesday, middle linebacker Matt Wist named co-winner of the PFC’s defensive player of the week award. In the Hilltops 39-21 PFC final loss on Sunday to the host Regina Thunder at Mosaic Stadium, Wist piled up nine solo defensive tackles, nine defensive tackle assists and one special teams assisted tackle. Wist’s nine assisted tackles were tied for second most in a PFC post-season contest.

The Hilltops middle linebacker shared the PFC defensive player of the week award with Thunder defensive back Adam King. King had a key interception for his side in the second quarter of his team’s PFC final victory. He also recorded two solo defensive tackles, one defensive tackle assist, one special teams tackle assist and one pass knockdown.

Sawi was named the PFC’s special teams player of the week for the third time in the 2022 campaign. In the Hilltops PFC semifinal loss, Sawi returned two missed field goals for 100 yards. Sawi’s yardage total on missed field goal returns were the second most ever recorded in a PFC post-season game.

The 17-year-old rookie running back returned one kickoff for 30 yards, one punt for seven yards and ran the ball once on offence for three yards.

Thunder star running back Ryland Leichert took home honours as the PFC’s offensive player of the week. In the Thunder’s PFC final win, Leichert carried the ball 33 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one catch for 15 yards.

Saints’ Hayes-Williams cracks into CJFL record book

St. Clair Saints receiver Jared Hayes-Williams broke a 28-year-old CJFL record on Saturday.

In a CJFL semifinal played at Acumen Stadium in London, Ont., Hayes-Williams broke the record for most receptions in a CJFL post-season contest setting a new standard with 14 catches. Hayes-Williams had 14 catches for 198 yards and one touchdown as his OFC champion Saints fell 42-24 to the BCFC champion Okanagan Sun, who call Kelowna, B.C., home.

The old record for catches in a CJFL post-season contest of 13 was held by Stephen Canestrani of the now defunct Laval Scorpions. Canestrani made his 13 catches on October 23, 1994.

The Sun with the win on Saturday advance to the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl. The Canadian Bowl will be played on Saturday, November 12 at 1 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina between the host and PFC champion Thunder and the Sun.

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