Hilltops’ Ehman takes lessons to heart from long ago rookie season, Colts crushed 79-7

LB Bobby Ehman has brought intensity and leadership to the Hilltops.

    When Bobby Ehman first joined the Saskatoon Hilltops way back in 2014, he discovered he was an immediate good fit with the team.

    “The first year feels like a long time ago, but it was awesome,” said Ehman, who is a jack of all trades linebacker. “The vets were really welcoming.

    “Right away, I felt like a part of the family. I lucked out and got to travel in my first year, and that usually doesn’t happen. I just try to make the most of it.

    “I am still here.”

    On Saturday night in Calgary, Ehman had a couple of pass knockdowns as the Hilltops improved to 4-0 in the current campaign thrashing the Colts 79-7 at McMahon Stadium. The Colts fell to 0-4.

    Now in his fifth and final season with venerable Canadian Junior Football League club, Ehman said the time has flown by. The 22-year-old graduate of Saskatoon’s Aden Bowman Collegiate has watched Saskatoon Minor Football Field undergo a totally reconstruction during his time with the Hilltops, which includes playing on a field turf field, in front new stands and press boxes and getting the opportunity to dress in a new clubhouse facility at that site.

    At the Hilltops practice field, he saw the team play their final campaign last season out of their old clubhouse and play the current campaign out of a newly built state of the art clubhouse.

    Of course, Ehman has enjoyed the fact he has helped the Hilltops win the CJFL championship in every season he has been with the team. He has stockpiled memories he will carry with him for the rest of his life in those championship journeys.
    Ehman said some of the most important lessons came out of that first season back in 2014. He was mainly playing the special teams and trying to gain a handle on the Hilltops defensive system.

    On top of that, Ehman learned how to persevere and keep working hard, when things go bad. The Hilltops started out 1-2 in the regular season in that campaign having lost twice to their provincials rivals the Regina Thunder. The Thunder were the defending CJFL champions at that time.

Bobby Ehman (#48) took over as starting middle linebacker for the Hilltops.

    It was a position the Hilltops rarely ever found themselves in and everyone on the club was doing soul searching trying to figure out what type of team they were.

    Ehman recalls that Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant wasn’t really happy at that point in time. After that slow start, the Hilltops rolled of eight straight wins between the regular season and playoffs, and that run was capped by a 39-14 victory over the host Langley Rams in the CJFL championship game, the Canadian Bowl.

    “He (Sargeant) kind of set us straight,” said Ehman. “Honestly, I think that really helped us grow as a team.

    “The vets just started leading the way, and it brought us a championship that year. I kind of figured it out pretty quickly how we are supposed to play the Hilltop way. I’d say I’ve greatly improved.”

    Now as the wily old veteran, special teams captain and starting middle linebacker, Ehman has come full circle as a player and now helps the fresh faced rookies who have joined the Toppers out of high school. Ehman said he is impressed with the skill that the newcomers have.

    “It is quite a bit different,” said Ehman. “It sounds like they played a lot more football.

    “These kids are coming in pretty talented.”

    Hilltops defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jeff Yausie said the team has benefitted greatly from the fact Ehman has a motor that doesn’t quit. Besides being an ace on special teams, Ehman has played in every spot at the linebacker position.

    He mainly played at one of the outside spots before moving into the middle this season due to the graduation of veteran star Cameron Schnitzler.

    Yausie has been pleased with Ehman’s play and continued improvement during his time with the team.

Bobby Ehman celebrates a Hilltops big play.

    “He (Ehman) has been an emotional and energy leader for our team,” said Yausie. “It is a complicated game, especially when you move up a level and you play good opponents, and sometimes players slow down.

    “He doesn’t do that. He plays faster and brings energy and brings confidence to your team. That is the reason he excels as a leader by how he plays.”

    Away from the game, Yausie said Ehman does a great job in keeping things light and loose in the team’s clubhouse.

    “Off the field, he (Ehman) is a fun guy,” said Yausie. “He is just a natural leader, because he is always cracking jokes and he just brings a relaxed atmosphere to the team.

    “We practice hard and we coach hard. Some players quiet down and shut up, but Bobby is just Bobby. He is a leader, because he has a great personality and he is a really good person.”

    Going into this season, Ehman realizes the Hilltops can accomplish something significant, if they can win a fifth straight CJFL title. He said the team has the veteran leadership that can keep things focused on the task at hand.

    “It is in the back of my mind,” said Ehman. “It can honestly become more of an obstacle than we want it to be.

    “We really just have to stay focused.  We have the vets that have been here. We know what it takes to win.

    “We have to do that before we start worrying about the championship.”

    Ehman said he would like to keep playing next season and will keep his options open. He said he thought a lot about the fact he was going into his final CJFL campaign before the regular season started.

    After the Hilltops played their first regular season game, Ehman said he has kept his thoughts in the present from that moment on and is just enjoying the final ride.

    “I really just try to take it in each day,” said Ehman. “It is going by quick.

    “Every day is just kind of a blessing to come out with the guys. I just really try to savour every moment.”

    In Saturday’s wipeout of the Colts, the Hilltops stormed out to a 36-0 lead with 4:22 to play in the first quarter. Saskatoon romped through the rest of the game to close things out.

Bobby Ehman (#48) aims to enjoy his final CJFL season.

    The Hilltop had 363 yards rushing and 234 yards passing as a team in that contest, while the Colts had 29 yards rushing and 147 yards passing.
    Running back Joshua Ewanchyna carried the ball 17 times for 155 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Hilltops. The Toppers received a big performance from running back Ben Abrook, who carried the ball 10 times for 118 yards and scored one touchdown.

    Hilltops starting quarterback Jordan Walls completed 13-of-18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

    Safety Brant Morrow and defensive back Colton Holmes each had one interception for Saskatoon. Including action in the regular season and the playoffs, the Hilltops have won their last 22 straight games on the road.

    The Hilltops return to action this coming Saturday when they host the Thunder (2-2) at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

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

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Hilltops defence crushes Colts

Tom Schnitzler and the Hilltops defence had a big day Sunday in Calgary.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops defence proved to be too much for the Calgary Colts to handle.

    On Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, the Hilltops forced a number of turnovers resulting in 18 points, and they put Colts quarterback Bailey Wasdal under pressure all afternoon. When the dust settled, the Hilltops came away with a convincing 41-9 victory.

    The Canadian Junior Football League clash between the two sides was a tight one until the Hilltops pulled away after halftime. The points Saskatoon piled up off turnovers really changed the complexion of the contest.

    Early in the first quarter, the Hilltops built a 9-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown run from star running back Logan Fischer and forcing the Colts to concede a safety. Calgary cut the gap to 9-6, when Colts kicker Jaden Sheilan hit a 34-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter and 12 yard field goal at the start of the second quarter.

    At that point, Hilltops standout middle linebacker Cameron Schnitzler came up with an interception for the visitors thanks to pressure applied by Hilltops star defensive lineman Tom Schnitzler on Wasdal. Saskatoon’s offence quickly turned that turnover into points on the ensuing series, when quarterback Jordan Walls hit fifth-year receiver Ryan Turple with a 38-yard touchdown pass to put the visitors up 16-6.

    Sheilan hit a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter to cut the Hilltops lead to 16-9 at halftime.

    The turnover parade continue in the second half. Early in the third quarter, Tom Schnitzler recovered a fumble from a Colts player on a punt return to set the Hilltops up on the Calgary 18 yard line. Saskatoon punched that gift quickly into the end zone, when Walls hit fourth-year receiver Jason Price on an eight-yard touchdown strike to put the visitors up 23-9.

Ryan Turple had a big TD catch for the Hilltops.

    The Toppers defence proceeded to recover another Colts fumble. The turnover resulted in the Hilltops going up 26-9 on a 16-yard field goal from safety-kicker James Vause.

    Tom Schnitzler then came up with an interception for the Toppers, and the visitors got a single from a 27-yard missed field goal from Vause to give Saskatoon a 27-9 lead entering the fourth quarter.

    Early in the fourth quarter, Walls hit fourth-year receiver Sam Mike with an eight-yard touchdown pass to surge ahead 34-9. Vause rounded out the rest of the scoring in the contest hitting field goals from 45 and 23 yards out. In between those two made field goals, Vause scored a single from and 18-yard missed field goal.

    Defensive lineman Riley Pickett wreaked havoc on the Colts passing game sacking Wasdal three times, while also being part of a gang that brought Wasdal down on another occasion. Defensive back Jared Giddings had a late fourth-quarter interception.

    The 18 points scored off turnovers was a welcome site for the Hilltops. The Topper are used to piling up points on takeaways, but failed to do just that on two takeaways in their previous outing, which was a 29-26 setback to the Regina Thunder on Sept. 9.

    With the win over the Colts, the Hilltops improve to 4-1 to sit in a tie for second place in the Prairie Football Conference with the 4-1 Thunder. The Hilltops and Thunder split their two head-to-head meeting, but Saskatoon holds the standings tiebreaker outscoring Regina 63-49 over those two contests.

    The Edmonton Huskies sit first in the PFC with a 5-0 mark.

    The Colts fall to 1-4 sit fifth in the PFC. After making the last three straight PFC championship games, the Colts are in big danger of missing the post-season all together in 2017.

    The Winnipeg Rifles sit fourth and hold the PFC’s final playoff berth with a 3-2 record with three weeks to play in the regular season. The Rifles hold the standings tiebreaker with the Colts taking the only schedule encounter between the two sides this season 42-22 back on Sept. 2 in Winnipeg.

    The Hilltops return to action this coming Sunday when they host the Rifles at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Rams’ Picton joins 8,000-yard club and other notes

Noah Picton has passed for over 8,000 yards in his Canada West career.

    University of Regina Rams star quarterback Noah Picton hit a big milestone in his team’s 28-18 victory over the U of Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

    Picton became the eighth quarterback in the history of the Canada West conference to surpass 8,000 yards passing for his career. The fourth-year signal caller completed 30-of-42 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Rams victory over the Golden Bears.

    With that performance in the books, Picton has 8,318 career yards passing to sit fifth in conference history. He trails Greg Vavra (8,401) who played for the U of Calgary Dinos, Billy Greene (8,626) who played for the U of British Columbia Thunderbirds, Darryl Leason (8,800) who played for the Dinos and Rams and Teale Orban (9,449) who played for the Rams.

    Picton has been on fire this season completing 78-of-114 passes for 969 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in leading the Rams to a 2-1 start.

    Cousin and receiver Mitchell Picton, who is a draft selection of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, hauled in seven passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. The fifth-year pass catcher has 19 career touchdown receptions to equal Jason Clermont for second on the Rams all-time career list during the team’s time in the U Sports ranks. Chad Goldie sits first on the Rams all-time career list during the team’s time in the U Sports ranks with 21 touchdown catches.

    The Golden Bears drop to 0-3 with the loss.

• Regina Thunder quarterback Sawyer Buettner is establishing a reputation for mastering the end of the game two-minute drill drive. On Saturday night in Regina with the Thunder trailing the visiting Winnipeg Rifles 24-23 with under two minutes to play at Mosaic Stadium, Buettner drove the hosts 97 yards in 10 plays culminating in a seven-yard touchdown run by Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette with 34 seconds to play. The score gave the Thunder a 29-24 victory. Buettner finished the contest completing 25-of-42 passes for 382 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
• The U of C Dinos are showing their 39-3 pre-season loss to the U of R Rams in Medicine Hat, Alta., meant nothing. The Dinos have jumped out to a 3-0 start in the regular season outscoring the opposition 177-69 looking like the NFL’s 2007 New England Patriots running rough shot through the Canada West Conference. On Saturday, the Dinos traveled to Winnipeg and crushed the host U of Manitoba Bisons 76-17. At the moment, it appears there won’t be a demise for the defending Canada West champs.
• The UBC Thunderbirds re-established their status as a U Sports powerhouse dumping the visiting U of Saskatchewan Huskies 31-10 on Saturday night in Vancouver. After falling in Week 1 to the U of R Rams 36-20 in Regina, the Thunderbirds have continued to improve over the course of two straight wins in building a 2-1 record. Having won the Vanier Cup in 2015 and guided by head coach Blake Nill, the Thunderbirds might find themselves back in the Canada West final for a third straight year. UBC drew 9,542 spectators to their win over the Huskies.
• The U of S Huskies are regrouping after dropping to 2-1 falling in convincing fashion to the Thunderbirds. UBC held a slim 10-7 edge at halftime before blowing the game open in the second half. The Thunderbirds piled up 684 yards of total offence. Injuries are piling up at linebacker for the Huskies, which is creating challenges on defence. The Huskies lost third-year linebacker Ben Whiting to an arm injury in their Week 2 win over the U of Alberta Golden Bears and fifth-year linebacker Justin Filteau was injured before the start of the regular season. It is also common knowledge in Saskatoon’s football community that Filteau’s injury is season ending. The injuries are forcing players like first-year linebacker Thomas Whiting to learn on the fly.

  

  Chloe Marshall in action during her midget AAA days in 2015.

• On the hockey front, it appeared that Jasey Book and Jessica Vance were going to enter the season as goalies A and 1A for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team. That was before Chloe Marshall entered the picture. Marshall, who is from Neilburg, Sask., transferred to the U of S after playing one season for Northland College in Ashland, Wis. In Saskatchewan hockey circles, Marshall was best remembered for playing two seasons with the Battlefords Sharks of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League from 2014-16, where she put up a career .914 save percentage. During her time with the Sharks, Marshall, as the old cliché goes, saw more rubber than a dead skunk on the Trans-Canada Highway due to the fact the midget AAA club wasn’t that strong. Marshall has won both her exhibition starts for the Huskies giving up just one goal, which includes a victory over the defending U Sports champion U of Alberta Pandas. It is conceivable she may emerge as the successor to the now graduated Cassidy Hendricks as the Huskies starting goaltender.
• The WHL regular season begins on Friday with eight games across the circuit. In Saskatoon, the Blades open against the Swift Current Broncos at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will mark the first time the Blades hit the ice for a regular season contest with their classic Pac-Man jerseys as their regular look since 1994. Saskatoon was 4-2 during the pre-season.

Tweet of the day goes to Clermont

    The Tweet of the day has to go to former U of Regina Rams receiver Jason Clermont, who was a CFL star with the British Columbia Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2002 to 2011.

    Upon hearing Mitchell Picton tied him for second all-time on the Rams career touchdown receptions list at 19 for the team’s time in the U Sports ranks, Clermont, who is the Rams vice-president of marketing, wrote this little piece below.

Next year I'm coming back to use up my 2 remaining years of eligibility. At 40 I'll be 2 years younger than D. Leason was in his 4th year...

— Jason Clermont (@JasonClermont) September 17, 2017

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

Hilltops defence delivers in crunch time

Hilltops LB Bobby Ehman grabs Thunder RB Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops defence always seems to deliver in the clutch.

    On Saturday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Hilltops defence delivered two key stops inside of the final two minutes to preserve a 20-18 victory over their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder. The stops came right after Thunder quarterback Sawyer Buettner hit fifth-year receiver Kasim Ocaya on a 14-yard touchdown strike to cut Saskatoon’s edge to two points with 2:03 to play.

    Following that major score, the Thunder got two more possessions to try and move into range for a winning field goal. 

    On the first of those final two possessions, defensive end Blake Hermann came through with a key pass knock down, and the Hilltops forced a fumble a short time later that was recovered by rookie defensive back Leif Larson. Larson had two fumble recoveries on the night for Saskatoon.

Cameron Schnitzler, right, topped the Hilltops with 12 tackles.

    The Hilltops weren’t able to move the ball, which allowed the Thunder to have one last possession with under 40 seconds to play.

    Second-year defensive tackle Tristan Hering proceeded to step up and deliver a blow that pretty much sealed the final outcome for the Hilltops. On a middle rush, Hering managed to knock the ball out of Buettner’s grasp. 

    The ball was recovered by Thunder offensive lineman Brayden Moroz, who chugged downfield before being brought down by a pair of Hilltops in middle linebacker Cameron Schnitzler and defensive lineman Tom Schnitzler.

    The play ate up most of the time the Thunder had to use on the clock forcing them to one last desperate play. On the last play of the game, the visitors attempted a quick kick from running back Quinten Ruckaber, but it wasn’t able to create a winning score.

Tom Schnitzler (#56) deflects a Sawyer Buettner (#14) pass.

    Under defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie, the Hilltops defence usually follows a “bend but don’t break” approach. Saskatoon’s defence will give up yards, but always seems to come out with a decided edge in the turnover department.

    Regina out gained Saskatoon in net offensive yards 522 to 418, but the Hilltops defence came up with four takeaways, while the Thunder defence had one takeaway.

    Buettner had a spectacular outing for the visitors connecting on 43-of-52 passes for 422 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The second-year signal caller wasn’t able to hit any real big plays as his longest completion was 23 yards.

    The Hilltops held the Thunder to 78 yards rushing as a team, which included holding standout running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette to 59 yards on 14 carries.

    The Schnitzlers both had huge days for the Hilltops. Cameron topped the team with 12 tackles, while Tom had 10 tackles.

    Regina took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter of Saturday’s battle. Buettner hit receiver Kristiane Desautels for a 20-yard touchdown pass, and kicker James Reid recorded a single on a 27-yard missed field goal.

Logan Fischer piled up 134 yards rushing on 18 carries for the Hilltops.

    In the second quarter, Hilltops offensive lineman Drayke Unger punched in a one-yard touchdown run taking a carry as a fullback to cut the Thunder lead to 8-7. Hilltops safety James Vause booted a 30-yard field goal with 2.2 seconds to play in the first half to give Saskatoon a 10-8 lead.

    The Thunder jumped ahead 11-10 in the third quarter, when Reid nailed a 34-yard field goal. Before the frame ended, the Hilltops jumped back out in front 17-11 on a one-yard touchdown plunge by running back Logan Fischer.

    Fischer piled up 134 yards rushing on 18 carries and caught two passes for 26 yards.

    Early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder gambled on a third and goal from the Saskatoon five yard line in an attempt to retake the lead. Buettner tried to hit Ocaya, but the pass fell incomplete due to tight coverage by Hilltops defensive back Luke Melnyk.

    Vause hit a 34-yard field goal to increase Saskatoon’s lead to 20-11 before the Thunder made their last push inside of the final three minutes.

Thunder QB Sawyer Buettner is pressured by Hilltops DE Blake Hermann

    Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk completed 13-of-20 passes for 174 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

    With the win, the Hilltops improved to 4-1 to sit second in the Prairie Football Conference, while the Thunder fell to 3-2.  The Hilltops return to action this coming Saturday, when they travel to Kelowna, B.C., to take on the Okanagan Sun in rematch of last year’s Canadian Bowl. Saskatoon took that encounter 38-24.

    The Sun fell to 6-1 dropping a 29-23 decision to the Westshore Rebels on Saturday in Langford, B.C.

    The Thunder take on the PFC leading Calgary Colts (4-0) this coming Saturday in a neutral site game in Medicine Hat, Alta.

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