CJFL coach of the year award long time coming for “Sarge”

Legendary Hilltops sideline boss last took honour in 2003

Tom Sargeant, centre, checks out action on the field. 

It felt like a much-deserved legacy moment for legendary Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.

Last Friday, Sargeant was named the winner of the CJFL’s Gord Currie Coach of the Year award at the circuit’s Celebration of Excellence in Windsor, Ont. It marked the third time Sargeant was named the CJFL’s coach of the year with the previous two occasions coming way back in 2000 and 2003.

The third CJFL individual nod was a long time in coming for Sargeant. Since becoming the Hilltops head coach in early December of 1997, Sargeant has posted a 245-38-2 career record in both the regular season and post-season as the club’s top sideline boss. 

He has guided the Hilltops to 14 CJFL championships as head coach with the last coming in 2023.

He is the all-time leader in career head coaching victories for amateur post-secondary football in Canada. Glen Constantin, who is the legendary head coach of the Universite Laval Rouge et Or Football Team in U Sports, currently sits second on that list with 218 victories. Constantin has a 218-39 record in regular season and post-season play as Rouge et Or head coach including 10 Vanier Cup titles as U Sports champions.

Looking at the Hilltops record of success, one wonders how Sargeant didn’t have a CJFL coach of the year award win between 2003 and this year. That included a stretch where the Hilltops won three straight CJFL titles from 2010 to 2012 and six straight from 2014 to 2019.

The 2024 campaign was a different year. The differences went beyond the Hilltops posting an 8-0 record in regular season play to top the CJFL’s Prairie Football Conference, winning a PFC semifinal 33-18 against the Edmonton Huskies before falling to their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder 24-19 in the PFC final.

om Sargeant overcame a significant health scare in the off-season

In an interview with Saskatoon StarPhoenix forever sports writer Darren Zary for a story published on September 14, Sargeant detailed that he had open heart, double-bypass surgery back in March of this year. Sargeant said he remembered one game late in the 2023 CJFL title winning campaign that he had a weird sensation in his chest.

After the Hilltops downed the Westshore Rebels 17-10 in the CJFL title game – the Canadian Bowl – at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C., on November 11, 2023 for their 23^rd CJFL championship, Sargeant went and saw his doctor. He failed a heart stress test and found out he had four blockages over 90 per cent. He could have had a heart attack at any time.

In his open heart, double-bypass surgery this past March, doctors took a vein out of his Sargeant’s left leg to reroute blood flow to his heart.

Following the medical procedure, Sargeant turned 59-years-old in May and retired as the principal of Walter Murray Collegiate at the conclusion of the school year in June. When the Hilltops opened training camp on July 28, Sargeant was the all ready to go.

The first thing you noticed was he had lost a considerable amount of weight from the end of the 2023 campaign, and he looked a lot healthier physically. Sargeant was able to keep the trimmer and physically healthier look for the rest of the campaign.

When others in the coaching profession in sports deal with a similar serious health scare, it is not uncommon to see those coaches retire once they went through their procedures or comeback for just one last farewell season. Fading off into the sunset to enjoy time with the family becomes the understandable preferred option.

Tom Sargeant, centre, was named the CJFL’s coach of the year.

Sargeant took a page out of the playbook of late CFL icon coach and manager Cal Murphy, who is best remembered for his time with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1983 to 1996 that included Grey Cup championship wins in 1984, 1988 and 1990. Murphy survived heart attacks in 1978 and 1985 and returned to coaching in the CFL both times.

In 1992, he underwent emergency heart bypass surgery that kept him alive before being saved by a last-second donor and successful heart transplant surgery. 

Murphy returned to the Blue Bombers after that medical ordeal. He remained working in football and was still a scout for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts at the time of his passing on February 18, 2012 at age 79.

While those that knew Murphy knew no matter what he was Blue Bombers “blue and gold” through and through, Sargeant is Hilltops “blue and gold” through and through. Before being the Hilltops head coach, he was a slotback for the team for four seasons in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987 and served as an assistant coach from 1991 to 1997.

Sargeant was part of a CJFL championship winners as a player in 1985 and as an assistant coach in 1991 and 1996. If you knew “Sarge,” there was no way he was not going to return to the Hilltops sidelines as head coach in 2024.

While the Hilltops didn’t win a PFC title or a CJFL crown in 2024, the biggest victory looking at the overall big picture was that Sargeant returned to coach this season at all. On the health front, the possibility was there for things to not work out this way.

Tom Sargeant talks to his players during a timeout.

After the Hilltops were eliminated from the CJFL post-season, Sargeant was making his rounds scouting high school football games with members of his coaching staff. It appears 2024 won’t be a last hurrah.

With how passionately his wife, Kris, adult daughters, Macy and Abby, and grandson Jaylen are into the Hilltops, Sargeant has a strong backing at home to continue coaching the Hilltops for as long as he would like to coach the team. After all the years Sargeant put into the team, you have to think the Hilltops head coach position is his for however long he wants it.

Sargeant is more than deserving of his third nod as the CJFL’s coach of the year. No one could have thought after the Hilltops won the CJFL title in 2023 that the fact Sargeant made it back to the sidelines would be the ultimate victory of all.

Guardians end Saskatoon’s 6A high school title jinx

Samuel LaFreniere had a monster season for the Guardians.

In what seemed like big relief for all of high school football in Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association’s 6A title jinx for “the Bridge City” is over.

Last Saturday, Saskatoon’s St. Joseph High School Guardians faced the host Campbell Collegiate Tartans in the SHSAA’s 6A title game at Mosaic Stadium. The Guardians left no doubt about the final outcome rolling to a 52-14 victory.

With the win, the Guardians ended a drought of 15 years of Saskatoon teams not winning the SHSAA’s 6A provincial championship in football. Before the Guardians victory last Saturday, the last Saskatoon school to claim that distinction was the Aden Bowman Collegiate Bears back in 2009, when they downed Regina’s Winston Knoll Collegiate Wolverines 20-19. At that time, the 6A level was known as 4A until the levels of high school football were reclassified in Saskatchewan following the 2018-19 school year.

The Guardians won their only other provincial title way back in 2003. They had a season to remember in 2024 that included a trilogy of exciting games against their top rivals in Saskatoon in the Holy Cross High School Crusaders in Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate play.

On October 4, the Guardians dropped a heartbreaker to the Crusaders 29-28. On October 17, the two sides closed their respective regular season schedules against each other. The Guardians led 35-34 going into the fourth quarter and ultimately fell 48-35.

The two sides met for the Saskatoon city title on November 1 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. They played an all-time classic with the Guardians coming out on top 38-34.

The battles between the Guardians and Crusaders were highlighted by duels between Guardians Grade 11 running back Samuel LaFreniere and Crusaders Grade 12 tailback Aulain Penner. That city title clash may have been their greatest showdown.

LaFreniere ran the ball 25 times for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Penner carried the ball 29 times for 305 yards and three major scores. They had a cool “bro” embrace with each other following that contest.

Following that contest, the Guardians advanced to the SHSAA’s 6A title game where they downed the Tartans. St. Joseph finished the 2024 campaign with an 8-2 overall record including play in the regular season and post-season.

LaFreniere was the Guardians biggest star. While end of year individual football statistics haven’t been released, odds are high LaFreniere surpassed 1,300 yards rushing in the Guardians seven regular season games and 2,000 yards rushing in the squad’s 10 contests overall.

The 2024 Guardians ended a provincial title drought that seemed to take on a life of its own for Saskatoon. They will always have a soft spot in the collective hearts of Saskatoon’s football community for being the team from the city that finally captured the SHSAA’s 6A championship once again.

Saints end OFC’s CJFL title drought, other notes

The St. Clair Saints pulled off one of the biggest shockers in the history of the CJFL and restored respect to the circuit’s Ontario Football Conference in the process.

Last Saturday at Acumen Stadium in Windsor, Ont., the host Saints upset the British Columbia Football Conference champion Okanagan Sun 37-22 in the CJFL title game – the Canadian Bowl – before 2,750 spectators. The Sun led 15-6 at halftime and were up 22-9 at one point in the third quarter.

The Saints closed things out scoring the game’s final 28 points with two majors in the third quarter and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out the 15-point win. Their victory marked the first time a team from the OFC won a CJFL title since 1999.

Back in 1999, the Saints, when they were known as the Windsor AKO Fratmen, beat the Sun 32-29 at Windsor Stadium for the OFC’s previous CJFL title win.

The St. Clair College Student Athletic Association bought the Fratmen in February of 2020. The club played as the St. Clair Fratmen in 2021 and took on the St. Clair Saints name before the start of the 2022 campaign.

In the CJFL title clash this past Saturday, Saints quarterback Maurice Sodja had a monster outting being named the offensive player of the game. He completed 15-of-25 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown, while throwing one interception. Sodja carried the ball 25 times for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

Saints receiver Cameron St. Kitts-Park also had a big game catching six passes for 137 yards. He took home honours as the special teams player of the game.

On top of his receiving skills, St. Kitts-Park punted the ball eight times for 273 yards or an average of 34.1 yards per kick. He returned two kickoffs for 45 yards and ran for eight yards on a fake punt.

Sun linebacker Jacob Bond was the defensive player of the game recording six solo defensive tackles, three defensive tackle assists, three special teams tackles, one forced fumble and one interception.

The Saints finished the 2024 campaign posting an 11-0 overall record. The Sun posted a 13-1 overall mark.

Last year, the Saints made it to a CJFL semifinal contest and were thumped 43-0 by the host Saskatoon Hilltops at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Hilltops advanced onward to claim the Canadian Bowl as CJFL champions for a 23^rd time in team history.

For a large number of years, it was common for OFC champions to lose in the fashion the Saints did when they started playing out of conference opponents. When the Saints got drubbed by the Hilltops in the 2023 CJFL semifinal encounter, they obviously took a lot of lessons out of that contest.

Just over a year later, they come out as a sound winner in a CJFL title game played on home turf. Heading into the Canadian Bowl clash between the Saints and Sun, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Sun would win.

On top of ending the OFC’s CJFL title drought, the Saints gained back a measure of respect for their conference. In the process, the CJFL was the biggest winner as you can say the teams that win their conference have a real shot at capturing the Canadian Bowl.

• The Saskatoon Hilltops had six players named CJFL first team all-Canadian all-stars for the 2024 campaign. They include quarterback Trey Reider, receiver Drake Douglas, running back Corbin Ebben, right tackle Cody Shumanski, defensive end Kai Kukurudza and safety Dalton Urban. The Hilltops had three players named CJFL second team all-Canadian all-stars for 2024. They included defensive tackle Johnathon Stevens, middle linebacker Isaac Michayluk and punter Teijon Abel-Douglas.
• Last Friday, Regina Thunder middle linebacker Stephen Smith was named the winner of the Larry Wruck Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the CJFL. In the Thunder’s eight regular season games, Smith recorded 34 solo defensive tackles, 20 defensive tackle assists, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two pass knockdowns and one interception.
• Nathan Reiter of Prince Albert Daily Herald put together a great story on Prince Albert’s Carlton Comprehensive High School Crusaders Football Team winning their first ever provincial title. They claimed the SHSAA’s 5A championship last Saturday with a 35-34 victory over Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Reiter’s piece can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Saskatoon’s 6A high school football title curse hits biggest heartbreak in latest loss

The Crusaders lost the 6A provincial title on this safety.

Saskatoon’s 6A football title curse added one of the toughest “did that just happen” moments.

Last Saturday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders were facing Regina’s Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School Marauders in the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s 6A provincial football championship game. The Marauders entered the Remembrance Day contest have won the 6A title the previous two years.

With the teams locked in a 10-10 tie inside the final 40 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Crusaders were scrimmaging on a first down from their own one yard line. At that point, disaster struck for Holy Cross.

Elias Flory had a strong Grade 12 season for the Crusaders.

A handoff between Crusaders quarterback Elias Flory and running back Aulain Penner was mishandled. Penner dived on the loose ball in the end zone, and he was downed there for a safety that gave the Marauders a 12-10 lead with 32.5 seconds remaining in the game.

That 12-10 score held up as the final outcome as the Marauders claimed a third straight 6A provincial football championship.

The loss by Holy Cross meant that another year was added on to the drought of when a Saskatoon team last won the 6A title. The last Saskatoon school to claim that distinction was the Aden Bowman Collegiate Bears back in 2009, when they downed Regina’s Winston Knoll Collegiate Wolverines 20-19. At that time, the 6A level was known as 4A until the levels of high school football were reclassified in Saskatchewan following the 2018-19 school year.

The loss last Saturday felt disheartening for the Crusaders and their supporters. After the winning safety happened, it seemed like everyone supporting Holy Cross and those who were checking out the contest as neutral observers had a moment where they were all collectively staring out on to the field in disbelief of what happened.

Aulain Penner (#26) makes tonnes of big plays for Holy Cross.

The Marauders and their supporters started whooping it up. They seemed to be overjoyed on the stroke of good fortune that happened to go their way.

In sports, curses become curses because they seem like the appropriate way describe unusual trends like the inability of a Saskatoon team to win the 6A high school football title since the Bears victory in 2009. A lot of great teams from Saskatoon have played in the 6A title game over that time and have continued to come up empty handed.

Holy Cross has unfortunately been the team that has felt the most heartbreak in that drought. Saturday marked the ninth time during the drought the Crusaders made the 6A championship game only to come out on the losing end.

Actually, Holy Cross’s last provincial title win in football came way back in 1995. The Crusaders have lost all 10 of their provincial championship game appearances since their last title triumph.

Brady Vindevoghel threw for 188 yards for the Marauders.

For the Crusaders, Saturday’s game goes down as one of those lessons where you win as a team and lose as a team. You could go through all sorts of moments in that contest to find spots where the Crusaders could have made a play where that safety wouldn’t have been a factor in the final outcome.

The Crusaders were at their one-yard line due to the fact Marauders quarterback and punter Brady Vindevoghel made a coffin corner punt that went out at the one yard line. Crusaders returner Talon Coquet maybe could have fielded the ball as it rolled out of bounds, because Holy Cross needed to run out the game clock to get to overtime at point in the afternoon’s proceedings.

Flory and Penner both had outstanding seasons for the Crusaders. Both are great ambassadors for their school and the community.

In the game, Flory, who is in Grade 12, completed 19-of-29 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. When he was playing at his highest level during the season, Flory emulated retired CFL all-time great Damon Allen.

Tanner Donovel caught six passes for 110 yards and a TD.

Flory is the son of University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team head coach and three time Grey Cup champion with the Montreal Alouettes in Scott Flory, who is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. With that noted, young Elias has played well enough he should have the chance to play post-secondary somewhere next season. He is making his own name locally in the game.

Penner is in Grade 11 at Holy Cross, and he has already made tonnes of electrifying plays to easily fill a few highlight reel films. He is one of the most exciting players in high school football in Saskatchewan, and it will be fun to see him play his Grade 12 season at Holy Cross.

The Marauders came in with a defensive game plan to key on Penner, which saw Penner carry the ball 21 times for 79 yards.

For a time, it didn’t seem like there would be drama at the end of the game. In the first half, the Marauders took a 10-0 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Vindevoghel to star receiver Tanner Donovel and a field goal. Vindevoghel completed 12-of-19 passes for 188 yards and the one touchdown pass, and Donovel caught six passes for 110 yards including his major score.

Britton Tabler caught 11 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown.

The Crusaders were battling hard as the Marauders slowly built their lead. One wondered if the Marauders were just that one step better and would close out a solid win at a steady pace. At halftime, the Marauders supporters were jacked up, and the Crusaders faithful had fallen into silence.

Holy Cross got some traction in the second half with a field goal to trim the Marauders lead to 10-3.

With 2:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Flory hit Crusaders receiver Britton Tabler with an eight-yard touchdown pass to even the score at 10-10. Tabler finished the contest with 11 catches for 148 yards to go with his major score.

When Tabler scored, the Crusaders faithful in the stands came to life in a big way. It felt at that point in time that this would be Holy Cross’s day.

On the ensuing Marauders series, it appeared Holy Cross got a defensive stop with the Marauders facing a third down situation from their own 34. The visitors ran a fake punt run off a direct snap to get a first down.

The Marauders lift the 6A SHSAA championship trophy.

That allowed the Marauders to flip the field position and pin the Crusaders at their one after later punting on a third-and-long situation.

When the Marauders got the ball at their own 35 after Holy Cross gave up a safety, the Crusaders still had a chance to make a defensive stop and get the ball back holding two timeouts. Vindevoghel hit Donovel for a 52-yard completion, which allowed the Marauders to run out the clock to obtain victory.

Marauders head coach Jason Duczek and his squad got to celebrate a memorable season that resulted in a third straight 6A title. The post-season road included a thrilling 27-20 win over the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Catholic High School Golden Suns in the Regina Intercollegiate Football League’s Schwann Conference title game on November 3 at Mosaic Stadium.

Crusaders head coach Scott Hundseth and his team had to cope with falling in the provincial final in a tough and unforeseen way. As the Crusaders have always done, you can expect they will get up and fight again in 2024.

The Marauders enjoy the spoils of winning three straight 6A titles.

For now, Saskatoon’s 6A high school football title drought continues. Saskatoon team’s will try hard to end it, but one wonders when good fortune will shine on a Saskatoon side to cause this curse to come to an end.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.