Fischer powers Hilltops to third straight PFC title

Veteran running back plays his best when the stakes get high

Logan Fischer (#21) powers his way downfield for the Hilltops.

    The bigger the game the better Logan Fischer plays.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops fourth year power running back always seems to have his best games, when the stakes get high for his team. Sunday’s Prairie Football Conference final at Saskatoon Minor Football Field provided another chance to Fischer to add to his big-game resume, and he didn’t disappoint.

    In an offensive shootout with the visiting Calgary Colts, Fischer scored the Hilltops last three touchdowns, piled up 137 yards rushing on 28 carries and 38 yards receiving on five catches to power his squad to a 43-31 victory. The win marked the third straight year the Hilltops, who improved to 10-1 overall, have won the PFC final and all of those victories have come against the Colts, who fell to 8-3 overall. Fischer had big outings in the two previous PFC title wins.

    While the Hilltops celebrated another conference title, Fischer was already eyeing up another lofty plateau. With the win over the Colts, Saskatoon advances to the Canadian Junior Football League’s championship game – the Canadian Bowl – for a third straight year and is looking for a third straight in that championship game.

Logan Fischer muscles his way in for a TD for the Hilltops.

    The Hilltops travel to Langford, B.C., which is a suburb of Victoria, on Nov. 12 to face the Westshore Rebels (10-1-1 overall) for the CJFL title. Saskatoon has had two other runs of winning three straight CJFL titles coming in 2001 to 2003 and 2010 to 2012. If the Hilltops can win in Langford, they will pull off a third three-peat in team history and become the first club to win six CJFL championships over a seven-year period.

    “This will be the third year in a row, so this is definitely exciting,” said Fischer. “It has happened in the past the three-peat. We have some standards to live up to.”

    Against the Colts, Fischer admitted the Hilltops came in with some sharper focus after one of the Colts players said some bulletin-board material to a Calgary media outlet regarding his side’s chances of having success on Sunday. The Colts won the only regular season encounter between the two sides 36-21 back on Aug. 28 in Saskatoon.

    Fischer said he usually goes into a big game with some nervous energy, but Sunday’s game was different.

Dylan Minshull powers his way downfield for the Colts.

    “There is usually a lot of nerves and butterflies going on,” said Fischer. “This game Calgary they went on the news and they opened their mouths, and I guess we just kind of reacted the best way we know how (and) that was just come out and play some football.”

    Even with the extra motivation, the Hilltops had to work to put away the pesky Colts. Any time the hosts surged out to a sizable lead, the visitors pushed back.

    Early in the third quarter, the Hilltops went ahead 22-4, when quarterback Jared Andreychuk hit rookie receiver Rylan Kleiter with a 13-yard scoring toss.

    The Colts cut the gap to 22-11, when quarterback Bailey Wasdal found Dylan Schrot on a seven-yard pass completion.

    With 1:30 to play in the third quarter, Fischer broke off a 25-yard touchdown run to push the Hilltops in front 29-11.

    Early in the fourth quarter, Wasdal hit running back Dylan Minshull on a 15-yard scoring toss to cut Saskatoon’s edge to 29-18.

    Saskatoon increased its edge to 36-18 one play after recovering a Wasdal fumble, when Andreychuk hit Fischer with a seven yard scoring toss.

Jared Andreychuk fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops.

    Minshull proceeded to run in scores from five and 13 yards out to trim the Hilltops lead to 36-31. The Colts failed on a two-point conversion attempt on the first of those two scores.

    With two minutes to play, Fischer muscled his way in from a yard out to put the Hilltops up 43-31. Saskatoon rookie defensive back Jared Giddings made an interception on the ensuing Calgary series to put any hopes of a comeback by the visitors into miracle territory.

    “I’m proud we get to live another week,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “We can coach this thing better, and we can play better.

    “Credit to Calgary and their coaching staff they kept coming back. We still have to iron out our own deal to make sure that we play better than what we did today.”

    Sargeant said it was huge that Fischer had another big outing for his club.

    “That is who he (Fischer) is,” said Sargeant. “He is one the best players in this league.

    “When you get to these games, him and Jared (Andreychuk) were our two best players. It is that simple. When those two guys are our two best players, it is pretty tough to beat us.”

Receiver Rylan Kleiter (#88) and the Hilltops celebrate their PFC title win.

    The Hilltops led 15-4 at halftime thanks to a punt single by Des Vessey, a 15-yard touchdown reception by Colin Stumborg from backup quarterback Jordan Walls on a fake field goal and a four-yard touchdown catch by Kleiter from Andreychuk.

    Kicker Stephen Fabian accounted for Calgary’s first half points on a 28-yard field goal and a rouge from a 36-yard missed field goal.

    Andreychuk connected on 15-of-23 passes for 154 yards and three touchdown passes for the Hilltops. Wasdal completed 27-of-37 passes for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Colts.

    Minshull piled up 121 yards rushing on 18 carries and caught two passes for 30 yards for Calgary.

    In preparing for the Canadian Bowl, Sargeant just wants his coaches and players to keep finding ways to get better.

    “It is always about the process,” said Sargeant. “We keep moving forward.

    “We are going to play better, practice better and coach better. This team better come out and play better in two weeks that is all I ask.”

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Colts surge past Hilltops for top spot in PFC

Balance of power shifts in CJFL with Calgary victory

Defensive back Dylan Niedermaier returns an interception for the Colts.

    The Calgary Colts were ready to take care of business, and they did just that.

    On Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Colts took a big step to joining the upper echelon of the Canadian Junior Football League downing the defending league champion Saskatoon Hilltops 36-21. The Colts stormed out to a 36-0 lead after three quarters against their biggest nemesis before the venerable Hilltops tried to make a desperate rally in the fourth quarter.

    Having hired British Columbia Football Conference legend Matthew (Snoop) Blokker as head coach before the start of the 2014 season, the Colts have been on the rise. After going 0-8 in 2013 the season before Blokker came on board, the Colts advanced to the Prairie Football Conference final in each of the last two years posting a 9-7 record in regular season play only to fall to the Hilltops. The storied Hilltops advanced to win the Canadian Bowl after each of those victories.

Quarterback Bailey Wasdal (#4) dives in for a Colts touchdown.

    Coming into this first and only regular season encounter with the Hilltop in the 2016 campaign, the Colts visibly had a different demeanor. When the dust settled, they improved to 3-0 to sit alone in first place in the Prairie Football Conference, while the Hilltops fell to 2-1.

    “We came in here with a different kind of mentality than we had in previous years,” said Colts starting quarterback Bailey Wasdal. “We came in ready. We weren’t scared.

    “We knew we were coming home with two points. I wasn’t too surprised with the way we came out flying. We just have to be better in the second half.”

    Calgary’s defence set the tone early as defensive back Dylan Niedermaier returned an interception 40 yards deep into Saskatoon territory. That set up a short drive that ended with Wasdal hitting receiver Jake Creasey on a nine-yard scoring toss to put the visitors up 7-0 just over four minutes into the contest.

The Colts celebrate a fumble return touchdown by Dallas Burke (#17).

    Due to bad field position, the Hilltops were forced to concede a safety with 1:59 to play in the first quarter to give Calgary a 9-0 edge. The Colts proceeded to go up 16-0 just as the opening frame expired as Wasdal hit receiver Richard Sindani with a 12-yard scoring toss coming off a swing pass play.

    Things only got worse for the Toppers in the second quarter, when Colts defensive back Luk Catellier made an interception to set up another Calgary scoring drive. That ensuing offensive series was capped by a one-yard touchdown dive by Wasdal to put the Colts up 23-0.

    The hole got deeper for the hosts, when the Hilltops proceeded to muff the ensuing kickoff. The ball was recovered by Colts receiver Dallas Burke, who ran the ball home 20 yards for another major score to put the Colts up 30-0 with 6:44 to play in the second quarter.

    Colts kicker Stephen Fabian booted a 37-yard field goal to give Calgary a 33-0 edge at halftime.

    “We definitely did a lot of things well, and it is going to show in the film for sure,” said Wasdal. “I think we came out trying to be physical, and I think that is what we did.

Dylan Minshull (#21) ran for 169 yards on 22 carries for the Colts.

    “We kind of asserted ourselves in the first half, and we just showed that we weren’t afraid. We were ready to bang, and we came out doing that.”

    Fabian nailed a 40-yard field goal early in the third quarter to put the Colts up 36-0.

    The Hilltops attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter. Just 15 seconds into the frame, Hilltops receiver Jason Price outfought a couple of Colts defenders for the ball to pull in a 12-yard scoring toss from quarterback Jared Andreychuk to cut Calgary’s lead to 36-7.

    Andreychuk proceeded to hit Price on a deep 32-yard connection for another Hilltops major score to trim Calgary’s lead to 36-14 with 8:08 to play in the game. With 2:53 remaining on the clock, running back Logan Fischer muscled in a major on the ground from three yards out to pull the Hilltops to within 36-21.

    The rally was sniffed out on Saskatoon’s next offensive series, when Andreychuk was intercepted by Colts defensive back Jordan Rae.

    Andreychuk completed 19-of-34 passes for 227 yards, two touchdowns, but he was intercepted three times. Fischer piled up 110 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Jason Price hauls in a 32-yard TD catch for the Hilltops.

    Wasdal completed 18-of-23 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for the Colts. Calgary running back Dylan Minshull piled up 169 yards rushing on 22 carries.

    The Colts defence forced five takeaways in the contest, while the Hilltops were only able to force one turnover from the opposition.

    While both teams have six games remaining on their respective regular season schedules, the Colts hold the standings tiebreaker with Sunday’s win over the Hilltops going forward.

    “It is absolutely huge,” said Wasdal. “We had our own destiny in our own hands.

    “We had to get it done against the Hilltops. We just have to get it done the rest of the season, and we will have that home field playoff game.”

    The Hilltops return to action this coming Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Wildcats (0-3). The Colts host the Edmonton Huskies (1-2) on Saturday.

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Hilltops sleepwalk into playoffs

The Colts defence nails Hilltops backup running back Colin Stumborg.

    You have to love the honesty of “The Sarge.”

    Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant entered the press box for post-game radio interviews after his club fell 34-4 to the Calgary Colts and the first words out of his month were, “Sorry guys. We were that bad.”

    The Hilltops entered their final regular season game with first place already locked up in Prairie Football Conference as well as home-field advantage through the Canadian Junior Football League playoffs. With that already in mind, the Saskatoon coaches had to deal the challenging decision to play or rest their regulars with a chance to post a perfect 8-0 regular season mark.

    The coaches elected to rest the regulars after the first quarter. With that said, it appeared the Hilltops players both starters and backups were already looking forward to the playoffs.

    Calgary played Sunday’s clash at Saskatoon Minor Football Field like it mattered and the result turned out to be a rare setback that saw the Hilltops fall in blowout fashion. Saskatoon finished the regular season with a 7-1 record and saw its 15 game winning streak including regular season and post-season play come to an end.

    While the Hilltops wanted to prevent losing any players to injury, the final result on the scoreboard against the Colts, who finished at 5-3, was shocking. That last time most in Saskatoon can recall the Hilltops suffering that lopsided a setback came in the days when the Regina Rams were still in the CJFL.

    The Rams hammered the Hilltops 48-10 in the 1998 PFC final, which was the last encounter by those two clubs, on route to winning the Canadian Bowl before moving on to the Canadian university ranks.

    The most disappointing thing about Saskatoon’s loss to Calgary on Sunday was it felt like the whole Hilltops team was off.

    A promising early offensive series by the Hilltops was nixed, when receiver Davis Mitchell fumbled the ball away. That turnover didn’t cost the Toppers, but Calgary took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a 42-yard field goal from Kyle Bryne.

Dylan Minshull ran for 195 yards on 33 carries for the Colts.

    Near the end of the first quarter, Hilltops starting quarterback Jared Andreychuk appeared to hit receiver Evan Turkington with a four-yard scoring toss, but the touchdown was called back due to a penalty. The drive ended when Andreychuk was sacked, and he fumbled the ball away to the Colts defence. That was the starting signal caller’s last play of the contest, as the Toppers stuck with a plan to allow everyone on their roster to hit the field.

    Early in the second quarter, Brett Thorarinsson hit a 37-yard field goal for the Hilltops to pull them into a 3-3 tie with the Colts. From there, the contest was taken over by the visitors.

The Colts went ahead 10-3 with 29.7 seconds to play in the second quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by Dylan Minshull.

    Saskatoon opened the third quarter getting a point on a kick-off single from Liam Murphy, who took over the team’s kicking duties in the second half, to cut the Colts lead to 10-4.

    Calgary then hit full gear. Minshull ran in another major from 11 yards out, and Bryne hit a 30-yard field goal to extend Calgary’s lead to 20-4 at the end of the third quarter. Minshull, who had 195 yards rushing on 33 carries, scored his third major of the day on a nine-yard romp in the fourth quarter, and Colts starting quarterback John Kiesman hit receiver Kyle Brick on a 15-yard aerial major to round out the game’s scoring.

    Saskatoon turned the ball over four times on an interception and three fumbles. Calgary committed two turnovers off an interception and a turnover on downs.

    In the second half, both teams elected to keep the ball on the ground for most of the time with a lot of bland running plays. That tactic is used to dull video future opponents can use for study purposes.

    Besides the soft effort, it also felt like the Hilltops let a good team like the Colts off the hook in a way. The Colts moved the ball well even then the Hilltops had their starters in, and the win has to help the Calgary players get over a mental block when it comes to beating the Hilltops.

    Guided by a strong head coach in Matthew (Snoop) Blokker, the Colts could see the Hilltops down the road in a possible PFC final match.

The Hilltops lost star DL Blake Adams to a left knee injury on Sunday.

    With that in mind, the injury worries were there Hilltops, and the injury bug did bite. In the short time the starters were on the field, Saskatoon star defensive end Blake Adams suffered a left knee injury in the second quarter, and he stood on the sidelines on crutches for the whole second half. If the fifth-year veteran can’t go in the post-season, his absence will provide a sizable hole in the Hilltops lineup.

    The Colts will travel to Regina this coming Sunday in one PFC semifinal match to face the Thunder (6-2). The Thunder also closed their regular season on Sunday dumping the visiting Edmonton Huskies 29-6.

    The Hilltops host the Winnipeg Rifles (4-4) in the other PFC semifinal this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at SMF. The Rifles concluded their regular season traveling to Edmonton on Sunday to slip past the host Wildcats 36-33.

    The Edmonton Huskies and Wildcats finished at the bottom of the PFC standings with respective 1-7 marks.

    If you have any comments you want to pass along about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out Twitter for more game photos @StanksSports.