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| Trey Reider fires a pass down field on August 1. |
It was the year of the defence for the Saskatoon Hilltops in
2023, and it hid the fact their offence was pretty good.
In 2023, the Hilltops allow just 51 points against over
their eight regular season games. It was the lowest points allowed total for
the team in regular season play dating back to 1949.
Saskatoon followed that up giving up just 25 points in four
post-season games on the way to winning the Canadian Bowl to become CJFL
champions for a 23rd time. On the campaign itself, the Hilltops
posted a 12-0 overall record giving up a total of 76 points against, which is
the team’s lowest total in that department since 1949.
Actually when it comes to combined action in both the
regular season and post-season, the 1949 Hilltops are the only squad in the
history of the team to give up fewer points against that the CJFL championship
winning 2023 Hilltops did.
When you break things down to average points allowed per
game, the 2023 Hilltops in overall play gave up an average of 6.3 points a
game, which is the lowest total in team history.
With that run, the Hilltops defence seemingly gathered up
all the headlines in 2023. The Hilltops offence was strong too, but it was
often overshadowed by the defence.
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| Drake Douglas (#86) was a first team CJFL all-Canadian in 2023. |
The 2023 Saskatoon Hilltops were like the Pittsburgh
Steelers of the 1970s. Everyone wanted to see “Mean” Joe Greene, Jack Lambert,
Jack Ham and Mel Blount on defence. In time, players like Franco Harris, Terry
Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Mike Webster took centre stage too.
The Hilltops in 2024 return 11 of 12 starters on offence
from the previous season. The offence is led by a sure-fire star in quarterback
Trey Reider, who is playing his final season of CJFL eligibility.
During the Hilltops eight regular season games, Reider completed
108-of-167 passes for 1,571 yards and 16 touchdowns, while throwing five
interceptions. He topped the PFC with a 114.6 quarterback efficiency rating,
was named a PFC all-star and took honours as the PFC’s Most Outstanding
Quarterback.
Reider returns along with two of his biggest receiving
targets in Drake Douglas, who is also in his final year of CJFL eligibility,
and Noah Flaman, who is in his fourth year of eligibility. In the regular season
in 2023, Douglas hauled in 56 passes for 591 yards and four touchdowns for the
Hilltops on the way to being named a first team CJFL all-Canadian all-star.
Pass catcher Noah Flaman, who is known as “TD Noah,” caught 21 passes for 422
yards and six touchdowns during the regular season.
That trio played a large part in allowing the Hilltops to
top the PFC in regular season scoring with 335 points for an average of 41.9
points per game. Saskatoon finished second in total offensive yards gained in
the PFC at 3,556.
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| Noah Flaman (#85) was a touchdown maker for the Hilltops in 2023. |
The biggest missing piece is star power running back Boston
Davidsen, who was the Hilltops lone starter that exhausted his CJFL eligibility
following the completion of the 2023 campaign. In being named a first team
all-Canadian all-star, Davidsen led the PFC in carries (170), rushing yards
(1,184) and rushing touchdowns (nine). He finished his CJFL career posting two
straight seasons for rushing over 1,000 yards.
Still, a pair of third-year running backs in Charles Sawi
and Corbin Ebben have been improving and gaining experience in preparing for
the time right now when they have the chance to step into a bigger role. Sawi
gives the Hilltops an explosive playmaker, while Ebben brings a power game that
is similar to Davidsen’s.
The Hilltops return their starting offensive line in right
tackle Cody Shumanski, right guard Victoire Bikulo, centre Matt Noble, left
guard Erik Barsness and left tackle Davin Johnson. Saskatoon also has a super
sub waiting in the wings in Quinton Pike. Pike started the Hilltops final
regular season game and all four of the club’s post-season games at right guard
in 2023 after Bikulo was lost due to a lower right leg injury.
Shumanski was a first team all-Canadian all-star a season
ago.
When the Hilltops open their regular season schedule on
Sunday hosting the Edmonton Huskies at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football
Field, it will be the time for the Hilltops offence to take on more of the
spotlight.
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| Charles Sawi can make explosive plays for the Hilltops. |
The Hilltops lost some key pieces on defence due to
graduation after the 2023 campaign concludes. Middle linebacker Matt Wist, outside
linebacker Wade Keating, defensive back Carter Wingert and defensive tackle
Craig Torgerson all exhausted their CJFL eligibility. Wist, Keating and Wingert
were all key starters and Torgerson played frequent snaps on the defensive line
rotation.
Defensive end Riece Kack moved on to join the University of
Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in the U Sports ranks.
Still, the Hilltops defence will be anchored by star
veterans in defensive tackle Johnathon Stevens, outside linebacker Noah Gedir and
hard-hitting safety Dalton Urban. Stevens was a first team all-Canadian
all-star.
With that noted, watch for the Hilltops offence to fly high
in 2024.
Berries fever takes over Saskatoon, other
notes
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| Joe Carnahan has words for the umpire crew on Thursday. |
Joe Carnahan is well on his way to becoming a household name
in Saskatoon.
On Thursday, the Saskatoon Berries head coach took one for the
team to give his players an extra spark in their 3-0 loss to the Medicine Mavericks
in Game 2 of a best-of-three WCBL semifinal series. The Mavericks win on that
night evened the series at 1-1.
Late in that Game 2 with his players having concerns with the
strike zone of home plate umpire Brendan Boucher, Carnahan came out of his team’s
dugout to make his feelings known. Along with getting in a shouting match with
members of the umpire crew, Carnahan proceeded to kick dirt in order to cover
up home plate.
Carnahan got tossed, and he walked out of the park to a
standing ovation from the 1,974 spectators that packed into Cairns Field. While
the Berries are a first-year expansion team, Carnahan has a long and storied
history with the WCBL.
He played on Swift Current’s WCBL championship teams in
2001, 2005 and 2006, and he was Swift Current’s head coach winning WCBL titles
in 2010, 2016 and 2017. This isn’t his first rodeo going through the ups and
downs of a WCBL campaign.
In baseball, good coaches are always thinking about the next
game, because in leagues like the WCBL, teams are playing every day. You can
expect Carnahan knew putting on a show and getting kicked out would get his
players fired up and refocused for the series deciding Game 3 that was to come
on Friday night in Medicine Hat.
In that Game 3 at Athletic Park, Berries scored four runs in
the top of the ninth to break a 2-2 tie and ultimately post a 6-2 victory to
take the series 2-1. Combined with the fact the Moose Jaw Miller Express upset
the powerhouse Regina Red Sox sweeping the other East Division semifinal series
2-0, the Berries find themselves having home-field advantage for the
best-of-three East Division Championship Series against the Express.
Game 1 is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cairns Field. Game 2
is slated for Monday at 7 p.m. at Ross Wells Stadium in Moose Jaw. If
necessary, Game 3 will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Cairns Field.
The Berries stumbled out of the gates with an expected
expansion team slow start posting a 3-8 mark to start the regular season. When
the regular season wrapped up, the Berries finished with a 31-25 mark to sit third
in the East Division just two games back of the Mavericks for second place.
The Express finished fourth in the East Division with a
26-29 mark.
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| Carter Beck has had a stellar season for the Berries. |
The presence of Carnahan along with pitching coach and
former MLB pitcher Andrew Albers on the Berries coaching staff did create the
conceivable potential the Berries could progress at a rapid rate.
Centre-fielder Carter Beck has emerged as the Berries most
recognizable star being one season removed from being named the most valuable
player of the under-18 AAA level of the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League
with the South East Twins. Local area products like Nolan Sparks, Oakland
Flodell, Cory Wouters and Colin Plain have also come through at key times for
the Berries.
Plain, a right-handed pitcher who is an alumnus of the Saskatoon
Cubs under-18 AAA team, closed out Friday’s win throwing three scoreless
innings striking out five batters and give up just one hit.
United States products like Bailyn Sorensen, Jalen Freeman
and Ethan Menard have endured themselves to the Saskatoon and area community
since arriving in the area in May.
On the attendance front, the Berries are playing in front of
an average home crowd of about 1,900 spectators a night.
It is cool to see this season has turned out as it has for
Berries president Steve Hildebrand, who is still better known as the associate
general manager of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. When the Sask Entertainment
Group, the parent company owns the Berries and Blades, bought into the WCBL
with the Berries expansion franchise, you could tell the Berries and baseball
were Hildebrand’s passion. He really, really wanted to make this work.
To add on to the already memorable campaign, Hildebrand was
able to spend the summer working with his son Max Hildebrand before the go off
to be WHL rivals again. Max Hildebrand, who was once an accomplished baseball
player himself, is the Berries equipment manager but is best known as the star
netminder of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
The Berries are well into playing with house money in 2024.
Still at this point in the campaign, you suspect the Berries want to get greedy
at this point and win it all.
Backed by the warm crowds that they are playing in front of
at home and are starting to follow the team on the road, let’s just see how far
this feel-good story can go.
- On Saturday night at
Rogers Place in Edmonton, Team Canada downed Czechia 2-1 in the Gold medal
game of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Liam Kilfoil, who plays for the QMJHL’s
Halifax Mooseheads, and Caleb Desnoyers, who plays for the QMJHL’s Moncton
Wildcats, netted singles for Canada. Jack Ivankovic, who plays for the OHL’s
Brampton Steelhead, made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for the
Canadian side. Gavin McKenna, who is a star left-winger of the WHL’s
Medicine Hat Tigers, had three goals and three assist in five games for
Canada at that event. McKenna will turn 17-years-old on December 20.
- The CJFL’s Prairie Football
Conference opens regular season play with all six teams hitting the field
on Sunday. The defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops host the
Edmonton Huskies a 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The Regina
Thunder travel to Winnipeg to take on the Rifles. The Edmonton Wildcats
venture to Calgary to face the Colts.
- On Friday, I had new
content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe
Sports Complex. I put together a feature on PSI Hockey Training, which is
an off-ice conditioning program that has attracted the “who is who” of
hockey players seemingly in Saskatoon and area. That piece can be found by
clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored
by pictures from Softball Canada’s Under-19 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch
Championship tournament that was held on the diamonds at the Complex. That
post 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.
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