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| Zaden Taylor is a team captain for the Hilltops. |
During last year’s CJFL Championship Game played on November 9 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Hilltops kicker Ryden Gratton booted a 37-yard field goal with 28.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the host Saskatoon side up 21-18 over the Okanagan Sun. On the ensuing Sun drive, Taylor, who has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker, intercepted Sun quarterback Liam Kroeger to seal the 21-18 victory for the Hilltops and allow them to raise the Canadian Bowl winning their 24th CJFL title.
“I just remember getting
swarmed by my teammates and that amazing feeling,” said Taylor. “To have
something that incredible happen and a memory like that happen and get to
celebrate with my teammates literally right beside me as it happened, it was
pretty surreal.
“It is hard not to
overplay it in my head.”
When the Sun got the ball
at that point in the game, they needed to gain yards in chunks in order to get
in range for a game tying field goal. Taylor remembers things were happening at
a frantic pace on the play when the opportunity presented itself for him to
make his interception that closed out victory.
“That one I believe it was more of a broken play, because I remember covering into the like hook/curl a little deeper,” said Taylor, who stands 6-feet and weighs 215 pounds. “I remember feeling the receiver that was trying to like hook around me was completely covered.
“I saw it was their main receiver. He kind of cut on it. It looked to be like he was either coming from an out or he skied across the field, and I saw (Liam) Kroeger’s eyes just all over him.
“I just break on the ball and try to make a play on it.”
Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has seen many team members over the decades make countless big plays dating back to when he first joined the club as a receiver way back in 1983. With Taylor’s game-clinching interception occurring right in front of the Hilltops bench, Sargeant said that moment was forever burned into his memory.
“It sealed the victory to our 24th national championship,” said Sargeant, who has guided the Hilltops to 15 CJFL title wins as head coach to go along with two victories as a assistant coach and his first coming in 1985 as a player. “I’ll never forget that moment when he made that play and ran over and gave me the football.
“Right then and there, we knew we were taking these to celebrate a great team victory. Zaden’s been a kid that since he walked in on the first day he has been very important to us. He started as a defensive back, and then because of his football IQ and his playmaking ability and toughness, we moved him to linebacker to the “sam” position.
“He has been patrolling that greatly for the last couple of years and done a tremendous job. He is a team captain now, and as I said, he is very important to our defensive success and team success.”
Taylor joined the Hilltops for their 12-0 CJFL championship season in 2023 from the Delisle Composite High School Rebels nine-a-side football program. At that time, he was the rookie looking to capitalize on every repetition that came his way.
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| Zaden Taylor unloads a big hit on a Regina Thunder receiver last season. |
“It is pretty cool to be on the other end of it,” said Taylor, who had 25 total tackles, one quarterback sack and four pass knockdowns in the Hilltops eight regular season games in 2025. “I remember as a rookie watching those older guys play hoping I’d be there one day.
“Now that I’m here, it is as cool as I thought it would be. To start for a team as prestigious as the Hilltops is pretty surreal, and it is awesome.”
Taylor’s football journey began when he was a youngster playing in Saskatoon Minor Football’s flag program, when his family lived in Saskatoon. He got a taste of tackle football playing in the Kinsmen Football League.
By the time Taylor entered high school, his family had moved out to Asquith, which is a town located about 55 kilometres straight west of Saskatoon. While going to Lord Asquith School, Taylor was allowed to play with the Rebels due to the fact his school didn’t have a tackle football program.
As a result, Taylor was traveling by car 30 minutes from Asquith to Delisle almost daily for football practices and games during the high school season. During his high school days, Taylor said he found at that time he really enjoyed the physicality of the game.
“I played hockey a lot as a kid, and I was always a big physical player,” said Taylor, who played linebacker and a little bit of running back for the Rebels. “Football kind of brings more physicality into a sport.
“I just kind of enjoyed it from there. Hitting heads is fun.”
The Rebels have built their own strong history having four provincial titles starting in 2002. With that squad, Taylor gained an experience of football being family.
“The camaraderie of that team is really fun,” said Taylor. “You get to know the guys a lot, because we did a lot of summer practices together – just like captains-led practices and all that.
“It was a winning culture out there. There was a lot of winning to do out there and a lot of fun to have after the wins.”
When his high school days concluded, Taylor’s former Rebels teammate in current Hilltops star running back Corbin Ebben just finished his first season with the venerable CJFL club. Taylor’s then current Rebels teammate in offensive lineman Tobin Kirkness was going to Hilltops winter workouts, so defensive standout decided to give that experience a chance.
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| Zaden Taylor has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker. |
“It turns out I really enjoyed it even further being around guys that were around my skill level to way better than me. It was a lot of fun to learn from those guys.”
When Taylor joined the Hilltops, Sargeant said it was noticeable how much the Rebels grad was improving each week, each month and ultimately each year. The Hilltops coaches were devising ways to get Taylor more involved on the defensive side of the game.
“He (Taylor) has got great instincts,” said Sargeant. “Sometimes, we put him on a blitz opportunity to impact the game.
“He is one of those playmakers that knows how to get to the ball, and when he gets there, he does something real productive. He is a high-end player, and we’re very fortunate that he is a big part of our success game in and game out.”
Now that Taylor is in his fourth year, Sargeant said the coaches are looking forward to how the skilled linebacker will run with the role of being a team leader.
“Well number one, we’re here to defend a national championship,” said Sargeant. “We’re here to get the 25th national championship for our tradition, for our fifth-year players and for the city of Saskatoon.
“We’re embracing everything that comes our way. We know it is not going to be easy. We know the spotlight is on us, so we’ve got to take it on.
“I need my best players, my leaders, people like Zaden, players like Zaden, they’ve got to be the best players and the best leaders. If we do that, then we’ve got a chance to be playing in the biggest, best games, and that is what it is all about.”
Taylor said a big turning point last season came when the Hilltops fell in their regular season opener 31-11 to the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 10, 2025 at Maple Grove Rugby Park. He said the veterans led by example from that point onwards to winning the CJFL title.
“It was a tough start to the season,” said Taylor. “We lose to Winnipeg.
“We had I think our third string quarterback in at the time. We didn’t know what was going to happen going into that game, but I do believe we were overconfident in it anyway. From there, the coaches really got on us, and I think that was the biggest momentum changer.
“When you see all the older guys working as hard as they are after a loss like that, it just motivates the entire team to get better, and that is just exactly what happened.”
Taylor said he wants to carry on what he learned from his former veteran teammates who have graduated from the historic squad. When his Hilltops days wrap up, Taylor would like to continue playing the sport, but for now, he wants to fully live in the moment playing for the blue and gold.
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| Zaden Taylor (#8) enjoys getting a sack last season. |
This piece first appeared in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program on August 23, 2026.
