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| The Hilltops won the Canadian Bowl for a sixth straight year. |
On Saturday
in Langley, B.C., the Hilltops relied on their unsung heroes on their defensive
unit and receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter. Thanks to clutch performances on both
fronts, the Hilltops downed the host Langley Rams 11-6 at McLeod Stadium to win
an unprecedented sixth straight CJFL and keep possession of the league’s
championship trophy – the Canadian Bowl.
The
Hilltops have won the Canadian Bowl an incredible nine times in the last 10
years. They have faced the Rams four times in the last eight years in the CJFL
title game and have claimed victory in all of their encounters.
Out of the
current run of six straight victories, Saturday’s 11-6 triumph was the Hilltops
closest margin of victory in their current run of six straight titles. It was
their closest Canadian Bowl victory since downing the Rams in Langley 23-21 in
2012.
The
Hilltops were trying to live up to memory of their late alum linebacker Justin
Filteau, who tragically passed away in a plane crash in June. Filteau was an
all-Canadian all-star, so it might have been fitting the overshadowed aspects
of the Hilltops defensive unit and Kleiter’s kicking took over the spotlight.
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| Rylan Kleiter hit three critical field goals on Saturday. |
Sargeant is
a big fan of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, and his Hilltops put on a
performance that flashed back to efforts put on by the Steelers in their Super
Bowl winning dynasty of the 1970s under stoic late Pro Football Hall of Fame
head coach Chuck Noll.
The
Hilltops have always had a great defence under defensive coordinator Jeff
Yausie. With that said, the Hilltops defensive is traditionally known under
Yausie as the ultimate bend don’t break unit.
The
Hilltops defence will give up yards, create a huge number of turnovers and
allow the opposition to score very few points.
Playing
under overcast, damp and off and on rainy conditions on Saturday, the Hilltops
defensive cranked things up to another gear. The ’Toppers played tough,
aggressive and physical defence that grudgingly gave up yards.
It was the
type of performance you rarely see in today’s era of pass happy football. The
Hilltops finished with 230 yards of total net offence, while the Rams had 209 yards
of total net offence.
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| Jesse McNabb had 1.5 sacks for the Hilltops on Saturday. |
Defensive
end Tristan Hering and defensive tackle Jesse McNabb, who are both in their
fifth years of eligibility, arguably had their finest hours with all the sacks
and tackles they made. Hering finished with 2.5 sacks and McNabb had 1.5 sacks.
The
linebacking corps of Riley Keating, CJFL defensive player of the year Jadyn
Pingue and Brady Fossen delivered countless big plays. Keating and Pingue are
both in their final years of CJFL eligibility. Pingue had nine total tackles and a
fumble recovery.
In the
secondary, safety Brant Morrow came up with key plays and defensive back Colton
Holmes returned from injury to have one last final big moment in his final
contest with the Hilltops. Holmes missed four regular season games and the
Hilltops three previous post-season games before dressing for the Canadian
Bowl.
Another
often overlooked part of the Hilltops team is the kicking game. Kleiter was
named a CJFL all-Canadian all-star as a place kicker on Thursday after a
stellar campaign.
In the
Hilltops eight regular season games, Kleiter connected on 18-of-22 field goal
attempts for an 81.8 per cent success rate with a long of 42 yards.
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| Jadyn Pingue came up with late big third and one stop. |
On top of
the success in the field goal department, Kleiter kicked 33 conversion
attempts, recorded one rouge and hauled in two touchdown receptions as a
receiver to lead the Prairie Football Conference in regular season scoring with
100 points.
While
Kleiter had a great season as a place kicker, it seemed like the Hilltops would
never need to rely on him to win a game. On a day when the Hilltops didn’t find
the end zone for a major score, Kleiter, who is a star skip on his own curling
team, made 3-of-4 field goals, and his kicks were crucial in allowing Saskatoon
to win on Saturday.
The defence
and Kleiter had their biggest shining moments late in the fourth quarter, with
the Hilltops holding an 8-6 advantage.
The Rams
had the ball and were gambling on a third-and-one at their own 31 yard line
with less than 3:34 to play in the fourth quarter. Rams backup quarterback
Colby Peters tried to gain a first down on a quarterback sneak, but he was
stopped by Pingue forcing a turnover on downs.
The
Hilltops were only able to drive the ball seven yards to the Rams 24 yard line.
The Saskatoon coaches were thinking about gambling on a third and three, but
Sargeant elected allow Kleiter to extend the lead and leave the issue in the
hands of his defence.
Kleiter
connected on a clutch 31-yard field goal to put the Hilltops up 11-6 with 2:15
to play.
The Rams needing
a touchdown to win elected to take the ball on their own 35 yard line. They got
down to the Hilltops 38 yard line and faced a third-and-11 situation.
The hosts
called their second and final timeout, and with 40 seconds remaining on the
clock, needed to make a first down. Peters tried to hit receiver Jarryd Taylor
at the Hilltops 15 yard line, but Holmes defended the play to cause an
incompletion to give the ball to the Hilltops.
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| Ben Abrook, left, ran the ball 27 times for 130 yards. |
Saturday’s
game was such a defensive slugfest that the Hilltops posted 166 yards of net offence in the first half, while the Rams had 43 yards of net offence.
After a
scoreless first quarter, the Hilltops took an 8-0 lead at halftime. Kleiter hit
a 21-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, Rams punter Kyle
Clarot conceded a safety and Kleiter completed the first half scoring with a
23-yard field goal.
After the
Hilltops went up 8-0, the Rams pulled starting quarterback Tristen Secord-Yanciw
in favour of Peters. Rams starting quarterback wasn’t able to play due to a
knee injury suffered in a regular season game on Oct. 5.
Around the
midpoint of the third quarter, the Rams put together their best offensive
series of the contest that concluded with a one-yard touchdown run by backup
running back Maximilian Joseph on an option toss from Peters.
The Rams
tried to go for a two-point conversion, but Peters was sacked by Hering to
allow the Hilltops to still hold an 8-6 lead.
That set stage
for the dramatics late in the fourth quarter.
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| Tristan Hering had 2.5 sacks on Saturday. |
Rams star
running back Andrew Pocrnic ran the ball 16 times for 74 yards.
In last
year’s CJFL title tilt held in Saskatoon, the Hilltops hammered the visiting
Rams 58-21 in frigid conditions at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
The
Hilltops won in a totally different style on Saturday to claim their 22nd
CJFL championship in team history.
On top of
that, the Hilltops rolled off their 31st overall win in a row with
including action in the CJFL’s regular season and playoffs.
The
Hilltops have won their last 29 straight games on the road including action in
the CJFL regular season and post-season. Due to their current run of six consecutive
CJFL championships, the Hilltops extended their CJFL record of consecutive
post-season wins to 20.
It is
highly likely the Hilltops current overall and road winning streaks are also
CJFL records.
Sargeant
has a 210-30-2 career record in CJFL regular season and post-season action
since becoming the Hilltops head coach before the start of the 1998 campaign. He
has the record for all-time head coaching victories in Canada’s amateur
post-secondary football ranks.
“Sarge” has
won 13 CJFL titles as a head coach, two as an assistant coach with the team and
one as a player. His first championship as a player was earned way back in 1985.
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| Tom Sargeant has guided the Hilltops to 13 CJFL titles as head coach. |
The
Hilltops completed their second straight perfect season posting a 12-0 record
in the 2019 campaign. It was their fifth perfect season in team history. They
were 11-0 in last year’s perfect season.
Saskatoon’s
first perfect season came in 1958 at 11-0, the second in 1978 at 12-0 and the
third in 2003 at 12-0.
With the
turnover the Hilltops had amongst their starters, this year’s perfect season
was arguably the most unexpected one of the five. They graduate 15 players this
season who were part of the back-to-back perfect campaigns in 2018 and 2019.
The Rams
were in pursuit of perfection in 2019 and settled with a 12-1 overall mark.
For
Sargeant, this was season where he won his 200th career game and
earned his 209th career win to become Canada’s all-time leader amateur
post-secondary football head coaching wins.
He always
says those numbers don’t mean much to him, but winning the championship
trophies to allow his fifth-year players to leave on the ultimate high does.
As a head coach,
Sargeant has watched that moment unfold 13 times.
This year,
it was the Hilltops often overlooked defensive unit and Kleiter’s clutch
kicking that made an ultimate sixth straight CJFL championship moment happen.
This feeling never gets old 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/TLEKWshWVC— Saskatoon Hilltops (@SaskHilltops) November 16, 2019
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