Torgerson faces last dance with storied Hilltops squad

DT to play final CJFL game in Canadian Bowl

Craig Torgerson (#56) mans the middle of the Hilltops D-line.

Craig Torgerson believes time on the football field should be cherished.

The 22-year-old defensive tackle will play his final game with the storied Saskatoon Hilltops on Saturday. The Hilltops will be attempting to win their 23^rd CJFL title in team history when they play in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

The PFC champion Hilltops (11-0) will take on the host and BCFC champion Westshore Rebels (12-0) at 3 p.m. local time which is 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time at Starlight Stadium in Langford, which is a suburb of Victoria. While Saturday’s game will mark the last time Torgerson plays both for the Hilltops and for a CJFL title, he stressed the game was big for everyone on the venerable Saskatoon club.

“It is actually very important,” said Torgerson. “It kind of not only makes the team better, but it also shows that what the rookies are getting themselves into and also it helps better the team, because you get extra playing time and you get extra practice and practice always makes perfect.”

During his first year with the team in 2019, Torgerson was a rookie who was thankful to be getting extra practice time on the field. The graduate of Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints Football Team did his part on the practice field helping get teammates ready for games as the Hilltops posted a perfect 12-0 record and claimed their 22^nd and to date last CJFL championship.

The Hilltops traveled to Langley, B.C., for the Canadian Bowl in 2019 and downed the host Rams 11-6 at McLeod Stadium to win a sixth straight CJFL title. Torgerson wasn’t part of the team’s travel party that year.

“I did not get to dress for the championship game,” said Torgerson, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 225 pounds. “All I remember was I was listening to it on the radio, and I could feel the anticipation and all the jitters just through that.

Craig Torgerson had three sacks in the regular season.

“It was definitely quite an experience.”          

Torgerson is one of six Hilltops players who are holdovers from the 2019 CJFL championship team and will exhaust their CJFL eligibility at the conclusion of the Canadian Bowl on Saturday. The other five include middle linebacker Matt Wist, outside linebacker Wade Keating, defensive back Carter Wingert, running back Boston Davidsen and receiver Evan Ward.

Linebacker Jordan Levesque and offensive lineman Justice Walker, who joined the Hilltops after the 2019 campaign, will also exhaust their CJFL eligibility when the Canadian Bowl wraps up.

While Torgerson was listening to the Canadian Bowl on the radio from Saskatoon in 2019, he will be in the middle of the action on Saturday. 

When it comes to the finality of the current post-season, Torgerson has elected to have fun with the experience and play as hard as he can.

“Definitely when playoffs came around, it was definitely do or die at this point,” said Torgerson, who had three quarterback sacks and seven total tackles in the Hilltops eight regular season games. “Hey, there is no better way than to go out on top.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has enjoyed seeing how much Torgerson has grown during his time with the club. The sideline boss said Torgerson has set a good example of showing the effort on the practice field and in games that the team expects of its players.

“It has been great to see him develop into the player that he is today,” said Sargeant. “He is a dominant pass rusher.

Craig Torgerson will play his last CJFL game in the Canadian Bowl.

“He is a great special teams player, and he is well liked by his teammates. He shows up. He works hard.

“He practices with purpose, and he plays with purpose. He has been a real good example for how to practice and how to compete.”

Sargeant said Torgerson and the rest of the team’s graduating players played a big role in getting the club back into the CJFL title game since last winning it in 2019. 

As has been the Hilltops mantra for a lengthy stretch of time, the goal is to help those graduation players depart as CJFL champions.

“At the end of the day when you’re in your last game and you are in your last year, there is a different importance,” said Sargeant. “That is why we built this program to be a fifth-year program.

“We put a lot of pride in that. When we’re having out leadership meetings, we’re getting the input from them. We place the expectations.

“We challenge them. We’re always going to go after our best players the hardest and have the highest expectations. Look at this year, they’ve delivered.”

Torgerson still remembers learning about the work ethic players needed to have to be part of the Hilltops in his rookie year. He also recalls learning how everything they did in practice, the film room and off-season training all comes together and becomes a factor in how the team plays.

Craig Torgerson (#56) walks to SMF Field with his parents.

Overall, Torgerson said his best memories in playing for the Hilltops comes from the team bonding that happens in the off-season and throughout the football campaign. He also enjoyed and was thankful for the team suppers the parents prepared for the squad on the Thursday night before every game in the CJFL post-season.

He admits it is different that the end of his playing days with the Hilltops is drawing near.

“It is definitely crazy,” said Torgerson. “Time flew definitely.

“It just felt like a couple of years ago I was in my first year. It has been a great time.”

Wist, Urban named second team all-Canadians

Matt Wist was named a CJFL second team all-Canadian all-star.

Matt Wist and Dalton Urban were tabbed with CJFL individual honours on Monday.

Wist, who is the starting middle linebacker with the Saskatoon Hilltops, and Urban, who is the Hilltops starting safety, were both named CJFL second team all-Canadian all-stars. Both were key players in helping the Hilltops post an 11-0 overall record and advance to the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

The Hilltops will take on the host Westshore Rebels (12-0) at 3 p.m. local time which is 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time at Starlight Stadium Langford, which is a suburb of Victoria.

Wist recorded 22 solo defensive tackles, 17 defensive tackle assists, two pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles and three interceptions during the Hilltops eight regular season games. The 22-year-old will play his final CJFL game on Saturday, when the Hilltops face the Rebels for the CJFL title.

Dalton Urban became a CJFL second team all-Canadian all-star.

Urban recorded eight solo defensive tackles, three defensive tackle assists, four special teams solo tackles, one pass knock down, one fumble recovery and five interceptions during regular season play for the Hilltops. On his fumble recovery, Urban returned the ball 61 yards for a touchdown in the Hilltops 49-0 win over the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 20.

Urban finishing out his third season with the Hilltops, and this was the first year he took up the spot as the team’s starting safety.

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