Hilltops run to PFC mountaintop

Logan Fischer rumbles into the end zone for a Hilltops touchdown.

    It seems you can always count on Logan Fischer.

    The venerable Saskatoon Hilltops believed their best option to win Sunday’s Prairie Football Conference final was to give the ball to their physical workhorse tailback, who led the team with 794 yards rushing in seven regular season appearances. Fischer was handed the rock 23 times, and he rumbled for 170 yards and scored four touchdowns to help the Hilltops dump the Calgary Colts 38-16 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    The win allowed the Hilltops to repeat as conference champions and advance to the Canadian Junior Football League title game, the Canadian Bowl, for a second straight year. The Hilltops, who are the defending CJFL champions, will host the national junior final on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field against the Okanagan Sun. The Sun, who are 12-0 overall, crushed the Vancouver Island Raiders 54-0 in the British Columbia Football Conference final on Sunday in Kelowna.

    Fischer was excited that the 2015 season will go to the last possible game his club could play.

    “Every single night it is a blast with the guys,” said Fischer. “This is the closest group probably that we have had.

    “It just feels great playing with the guys for an extra two weeks. Everyone couldn’t be any happier about it.”

    Looking at the final score, one would think victory came easy to the storied Hilltops, but that was far from the case. The first quarter was a defensive slugfest that saw the only points come from a 17 yard field goal from Hilltops kicker Brett Thorarinsson. The Hilltops defence benefitted from the fact star fifth-year defensive tackle Blake Adams returned after missing a game with a left knee injury.

    Early in the second quarter, the Colts had a chance to draw even with a 28-yard field goal, but kicker Kyle Bryne’s attempt was wide counting for a single that cut Saskatoon’s lead to 3-1.

    From that point, the Hilltops really started to churn out the yards along the ground. Fischer scored his first major of the day on a slashing run from 25 yards out and put in his second score on a plunge from a yard out to give the hosts 17-1 edge.

    The grad of Saskatoon’s Bethlehem Catholic High School was quick to credit his success to the Hilltops offensive line that included starters Terry Thesen, Nathan Heide, Jordan Hydomako, Drayke Unger and Tyler Hoath.

Hilltops DT Blake Adams takes down a Colts ball carrier.

    “When it comes down to it, it is all about the battle in the trenches,” said Fischer. “Our O-line just absolutely dominated.

    “Without them, we couldn’t run the ball. We couldn’t throw the ball. Really, it comes down to the O-line.”

    The Colts battled back putting together a two-minute drill drive right before halftime. The march was capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Dylan Minshull with 15.2 seconds to play in the second quarter that cut the Toppers lead to 17-8.

    Near the start of the third quarter, the Colts put together another long offensive drive, which looked like it would result in more points. The series ended when Calgary quarterback John Kiesman unloaded a dangerous throw across the middle of the field that was intercepted by Hilltops safety James Vause. Vause would add a second interception the fourth quarter, which was also his fourth pick in Saskatoon’s two post-season games.

    Things weren’t totally smooth on offence for the Hilltops. They didn’t have their greatest outing when it came to passing the ball, as starting quarterback Jared Andreychuk completed just 7-of-17 passes for 149 yards. The incompletions included drops from receivers and a couple of missed throws by Andreychuk.

    With the passing game sputtering, the Hilltops continued to feed Fischer the ball. Right before the third quarter ended, he ran in a score from 24 yards out for his third major of the game to give the Hilltops a 24-8 lead.

    Early in the fourth quarter, Fischer drove in from a yard out for his fourth score to put Saskatoon up 31-8.

    “We kind of had a game plan,” said Fischer. “Whoever ran the ball was going to win it. Today, we wanted to run the ball.”

DT Matt Kozun hauls in a TD catch for the Hilltops.

    The lead increased to 38-8, when Andreychuk hit defensive tackle Matt Kozun, who lined up as a tight end in a short yardage situation, for a two-yard scoring toss.

    The Colts accounted for the last major, when Kiesman hit Jesse Kuntz on a 20-yard post pattern with 8.7 seconds remaining on the clock. Kiesman hit Grayson Javorsky with a short pass for a two-point conversion.

    Calgary’s signal caller finished the contest completing 27-of-46 passes for 375 yards. Calgary piled up 486 yards of total offence, while the Hilltops had 350 total yards.

    The statistical difference in the game came from the fact the Colts turned the ball over three times and had 180 yards in penalties. The Hilltops didn’t have any turnovers and only had 30 yards in penalties.

    With the win, Saskatoon improved to 9-1 overall, while Calgary finished at 6-4.

    With the PFC final in the books, Fischer was excited about playing the CJFL title game on home turf, and he wants his squad to put out another strong effort at home in about two weeks.

    “That is a tremendous feeling,” said Fischer. “We came out here and this is our home. We take that very seriously.

    “We don’t really want anyone to come in here and manhandle us. We want to do all the manhandling.”

    The Hilltops claimed last year’s Canadian Bowl 39-14 over the Rams in Langley, B.C. Saskatoon has won 17 CJFL titles.

    The Sun have won two CJFL championships, but they haven’t appeared in the Canadian Bowl since 2004, when they fell 24-7 to the Huskies in Edmonton. Okanagan’s last CJFL title came in 2000 with a 36-28 victory in Kelowna against the visiting Hilltops.

Colts played to honour Ramias

Colts DB Conner Robinson wore #23 to honour late teammate Brock Ramias.

    The Colts played Sunday’s PFC final with heavy hearts.

    On Monday, former Colt player Brock Ramias, who was with the team last season, was found dead in Kinsmen Park in Lethbridge. Ramias was a high school football star with the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams.

    The Colts dedicated playing Sunday’s game to the memory of Ramias. Calgary defensive back Conner Robinson wore #23 instead of his normal #3 to honour his former teammate. Robinson, who is also from Lethbridge, and Ramais were close friends and played together in high school with the Rams. Ramias wore #23 during his high school years.

    He was only 20-years-old, and autopsy results indicate his death was non-criminal in nature.

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

PFC final provides intrigue

Will the up and coming Colts knock off the storied Hilltops?

Head coach Tom Sargeant, centre, gets fired up on the Hilltops bench. 

    The Prairies Football Conference championship game is anything but a lock for the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops.

    The up and coming Calgary Colts are out to prove it is their time.

    For the second straight year, the Hilltops and Colts will meet for the conference title. Saskatoon topped the PFC’s regular season standings with a 7-1 mark, and their only loss was a 34-4 setback to the Colts in a match that closed the regular campaign for both sides. The Toppers starters rested for most of that game, but the Colts moved the ball in that contest no matter who was on the field.

    Saskatoon enters the contest as favourites and as the established powerhouse. They are in search of their 18^th Canadian Junior Football League championship, and in the previous 17 national title wins, Tom Sargeant has been part of 11 of those victories as a player (once), assistant coach (two times) and head coach (eight times).

    Calgary are the upstarts, who are two seasons removed from a 0-8 campaign. Last season, the Colts hired legendary British Columbia Football Conference head coach Matthew (Snoop) Blokker, and he guide the Colts to a 4-4 record and berth in the PFC final. In year two under Blokker, the Colts finished the regular season with a 5-3 mark.

    Last season, the Colts appearance in the PFC final was a surprise one and a bonus for a rebuilding program. This year, the Colts had expectations to make it this far, and they also have hopes of advancing to the Canadian Bowl and possibly winning their first CJFL title since 1990.

The Colts are out to make a statement that they have arrived, and it is their time.

Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk fires off a pass against the Colts.

    The Hilltops are loaded up with 16 players in their fifth and final year of eligibility. They want to send a not so fast message to the upstarts that their time hasn’t arrived just yet.

    Saskatoon has a big edge in the experience department in big games. The Toppers players know how to rebound, if plays and moment doesn’t slid their way for a time.

    While they usually win going away, they have the ability to regroup and rally back, and that was shown on Sept 12, when they trailed the Thunder in Regina 25-10 in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 26-25 victory. In that contest, Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk engineered a 75-yard two-minute drill touchdown drive near the end of the fourth quarter to win the game.

    The Colts have also received strong play from the quarterback position from John Kiesman, who spent time with the University of Regina Rams.

    Sunday’ clash might be decided by the special teams. In the first meeting on Aug. 16 between those two clubs, the Hilltops held a 13-10 third quarter lead, but blew the contest open, when linebacker Bobby Ehman blocked a Colts punt. Topper defensive lineman Dillon Buckle recovered the blocked kick in the Calgary end zone for a Saskatoon touchdown, and the Hilltops went on to claim a 31-10 victory in Calgary.

    When the Colts thumped the Hilltops on Oct. 11 in Saskatoon, Calgary had troubles on at least three long snaps in punt formation. You can expect Hilltops special teams coach Matt Yausie will unleash a full out punt block to force a big play until the Colts show they have corrected their execution troubles in that situation. That might make the difference in this year’s PFC title game.

    Saskatoon Minor Football Field should be the site of some great drama on Sunday. It almost makes you wish these team could kick things off right now.

    If you have any comments you want to make about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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.

Hilltops' block stops Colts

James Vause and the Hilltops defence came up big against the Calgary Colts.

    A special teams spark paved the way for an opening day victory for the Saskatoon Hilltops.

    On Sunday in Calgary, the visiting Hilltops were locked in a toe-to-toe battle with the host Colts in the opening regular season game for both Canadian Junior Football League teams. The clubs were tied 10-10 at halftime, and the Hilltops pushed in front 13-10, when Brett Thorarinsson kicked a field goal on his team’s first possession of the second half.

    The visitors took control of the contest on Calgary’s ensuing series. The Colts were forced to punt, and the Toppers loaded up for a full out rush. Sophomore linebacker Bobby Ehman blew through the Colts line to block the kick and fourth year defensive lineman Dillon Buckle recovered the ball in the Calgary end zone for a Hilltops touchdown that made the score 20-10.

    The Hilltops momentum continued to snowball. Shortly after that score, the Hilltops got the ball back again and quarterback Jared Andreychuk hit tailback Logan Fischer with an outlet pass for another major to put Saskatoon in front 27-10. From there, the visitors cruised to a 31-10 victory.

    While the final outcome was convincing, the Hilltops had to fight for the opening win. They led 3-0 after the first quarter and vaulted ahead 10-0, when Andreychuk hit fifth-year receiver Evan Kopchynski with a 65-yard TD pass.

    The Colts stormed back to tie the score before halftime at 10-10.

    The final outcome was sealed thanks to Ehman’s block and the fact the Hilltops read and react defensive scheme forced a number of turnovers. Saskatoon’s defensive line was able to get pressure on Colts quarterback John Kiesman with just a four-man rush. Thanks to that pressure, the Hilltops secondary could jump upon a number of hurried throws.

    Thorarinsson kicked a total of three field goals in the win, and Hilltops defence grounded the Colts offence down to a halt. Saskatoon’s offence didn’t have its biggest game but made big plays at key times.

    The Hilltops (1-0) return to action this coming Sunday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Rifles (0-1). The Rifles dropped their opener 49-32 on the road against the Thunder in Regina.

A golden summer for Canada’s hoopsters

Lisa Thomaidis is a stellar coach.

    Canada’s senior national women’s basketball team arguably had its most memorable summer ever.

    On Sunday in Edmonton, Canada claimed gold at the FIBA Americas women’s basketball championship downing Cuba 82-66 at the Saville Community Sports Centre. Kia Nurse, who has stepped into the national spotlight as a 19-year-old prodigy, led the way for the red and white with 20 points, while Natalie Achonwa chipped in 12 points. Leidys Oquendo topped Cuba with 25 points.

    Canada trailed at one point in the opening quarter 18-10, but rallied to go ahead 44-35 at halftime. Cuba started the second half on an 11-0 run to go ahead 46-44, but Canada rebounded to hold a 65-54 edge at the close of the third quarter.

    The win over Cuba allowed Canada to lock up a berth at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    Canada national women’s basketball team turned a lot of heads in July claiming gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto downing the United States 81-73. Nurse scored 33 points in that victory.

    While Nurse has become a star, the team play of Canada’s senior national women’s basketball team might have never been more polished. They moved the ball around extremely well and were tough on defence.

    Canada is guided by head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who has been the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team since 1998. Under Thomaidis, the Huskies have always played with sound structure, and it is obvious she has worked the same magic with the national program.

    Canada’s team is loaded with great players, but Thomaidis has to be given huge credit for bringing everything together.

    If you have any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.