Win 200 for “Sarge” a special moment in Hilltops’ lore

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, right, contemplates a play call.

    REGINA, Sask. - Tom Sargeant’s 200^th career win as head coach will always be a top “Mosaic Moment” in Saskatoon Hilltops lore.

    On Sunday, Sargeant picked up his 200^th career victory including action in the regular season and playoffs as the Hilltops downed the host Regina Thunder 34-16 before 1,495 spectators at Mosaic Stadium. Sargeant has a 200-30-2 career record that includes a 149-21-2 mark in the regular season and a 51-9 mark in the post-season.

    Road trips to Regina are always special for the Hilltops. They always look forward to clashes with their provincial rivals in the Thunder, and there is always excitement over playing a game at the facility that is home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Tyler Hermann hit a key long pass that started a 109-yard touchdown drive.

    The Hilltops Cheerleading team makes it down to the event as does a large following of family and friends.

    News that a Hilltops victory would give Sargeant his 200^th win made this trip extra special.

    Veteran Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports scribe Kevin Mitchell broke the story last Wednesday stating Sargeant was a win away from 200. Mitchell researched Sargeant’s record since he became Hilltops head coach in 1998 and did the math on the career record.

    If it wasn’t for Mitchell’s work, no one would have been aware that milestone was near.

    I was as close to certain as you can get that Mitchell had everything bang on. I still decided to perform due diligence and double check the numbers. I confirmed that everything Mitchell put together on this front was accurate.

Ben Abrook charges downfield for the Hilltops.

    I checked in with Harvey Kehler, who is the new statistician for the CJFL. He was outstanding to deal with on this front in further confirming the numbers.

    After helping out with a clarification on one question he had, Kehler confirmed the numbers Mitchell put together, and everything was officially in line when the Hilltops and Thunder hit the field on Sunday.

    Over the years, the Hilltops and Thunder engaged in some epic clashes. In all honesty, Saskatoon’s victory on Sunday wasn’t one of those epic clashes.

    Both teams played a spotty game, where they made great plays at times and didn’t look very good at other times. The two sides combined for eight turnovers with the Thunder, who fell to 1-1, giving the ball away five times and the Hilltops, who improved to 2-0, giving it up three times.

    After the contest, Sargeant said he didn’t coach a very good game and couldn’t wait for his team to return to practice on Tuesday to get better.

Hilltops DB Kirk Morrow disrupts a Thunder pass play.

    With that said, Sargeant and his coaching staff were doing everything they could to motivate, encourage and most importantly correct errors. Saskatoon’s coaches were highly active due to the fact the Hilltops experience a lot of turnover amongst their starters resulting in a lot of new faces in new roles.

    While Sargeant said he didn’t have one of his best games, he likely did a lot better of a job than he gives himself credit for.

    Late in the first quarter, the Hilltops go the ball on their own one yard line, after defensive back Colton Holmes ripped the ball away from Thunder short yardage quarterback Carter Shewchuk.

    Sargeant, who is also Saskatoon’s offensive coordinator, called for a deep pass down the right sideline on the Hilltops ensuing offensive play. Hilltops starting quarterback Tyler Hermann completed a 37-yard pass to receiver Keegan Dicks, who had a Thunder defensive back draped all over him.

    That started an 11-play, 109-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a three-yard run by power running back Ben Abrook in the second quarter to give Saskatoon a 7-0.

Backup QB Doug Fleming, left, takes off on a 33-yard touchdown run.

    Later in the second quarter, Sargeant grilled backup running back Carter McLean for missing a block on a quarterback draw and pulled the second-year player off the field. Just seconds later, Sargeant was talking off to the side with McLean and sent him back into the game.

    Sargeant proceeded to call the same quarterback draw play with backup signal caller Doug Fleming taking the snaps. McLean made his block and Fleming raced 33 yards for the Hilltops second touchdown of the contest and a 14-2 lead.

    The Hilltops don’t usually do the ice bucket shower tradition for the head coach unless they win a CJFL championship, and Sargeant has 12 of those to his credit as a head coach to go along with two CJFL title wins as a Hilltops assistant coach and one as a Hilltops player.

The Hilltops celebrate a TD run from QB Doug Fleming (#4).

    After the clock expired on Sunday, Sargeant received the ice bucket shower fourth-year defensive tackle Jesse McNabb and fifth-year defensive back Logan Kelsey-Stern. Sargeant immediately hugged McNabb as McNabb was the nearest to him and the rest of the players piled around for a short celebration.

    Hilltops president Terry Postey collected game ball and there was glee from the Hilltops players, coaches and staffers in helping Sargeant, who is by far the CJFL’s all-time leader in career wins, obtain this special milestone.

    That added something extra to celebrating the win with the friend and family that lined the front row of the west side stands to meet the team.

Running back Carter McLean piles up some yards for the Hilltops.

    Sargeant became the second head coach to hit the 200-win barrier in Canadian amateur post-secondary football joining retired Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal, who piled up 208 wins from 1984 to 2014 including action in the regular season and post-season in the CJFL and U Sports ranks. The Rams joined the U Sports ranks in 1999.

    The Hilltops were formed in 1947, appeared in their first CJFL title game in 1948 and captured their first CJFL crown in 1953.

    Since that time, they have become an institution in Saskatoon winning 21 CJFL championships. In building their storied history, the Hilltops have done things the right way and with class in developing young men to have a positive impact on their communities.

    If Saskatoon as a city is going through a rough stretch, the Hilltops are seen as that reassuring positive light of what can happen when you do everything right.

The Hilltops players visit family and friends after Sunday’s win.

    In today’s world where there are challenges seemingly in every walk of life, it is reassuring for those in Saskatoon to know the Hilltops are that one team and one organization you can count on to do things the right way.

    When Sargeant picked up his 200^th win, it added an ultimate moment of what can happen when things are done the right way.

    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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Plaza of Honour induction cements Hughes as ’Riders great

Neal Hughes is pictured with a couple of young fans in 2011.

    Neal Hughes received a big stamp of approval as one of the Saskatchewan Roughriders all-time greats for representing the team with class on and off the field for 11 seasons.

    On Thursday, Hughes was inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honour along with former teammate Kerry Joseph at a dinner and reception on Thursday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

    Hughes was a fullback and ace special teams player for the Roughriders playing in 140 regular season games from 2004 to 2014. He played in the Roughriders Grey Cup victories in 2007 and 2013 and Grey Cup setbacks in 2009 and 2010.

    Back when the now 39-year-old suited up with the Roughriders, he was the perfect person you wanted representing the team in community.

    Growing up in Regina, Hughes dreamed of playing for the Roughriders.

    His favourite players were Tim McCray, Tom Burgess, Willis Jacox, Orville Lee, Jeff Fairholm, Don Narcisse, Eddie Lowe and Bobby Jurasin. Hughes often wore Jurasin’s trademark bandana.

    At age seven, Hughes joined a minor football team in Regina called the Razorbacks. From that start, his amateur career as a star running back took off.

    Hughes moved on to play in the Regina high school with the Thom Collegiate Trojans. He joined the Regina Rams in 1998 and helped them close out their history in the Canadian Junior Football League by winning a 15^th and final CJFL title.
    Hughes moved with the Rams to the U Sports ranks as the University of Regina Rams playing five seasons from 1999 to 2003. He helped the Rams advance to the 2000 Vanier Cup falling 42-39 in that season’s U Sports title game to the University of Ottawa Gee Gees.

A Roughriders’ promo picture of Neal Hughes.

    While he accomplished a lot with the Rams, there were no guarantees that Hughes would have a career at the CFL. When Hughes finished his time with the Rams, it wasn’t a common practise for CFL teams to take a chance on Canadian born running backs. A lot of times, those running backs were converted to be fullbacks, but it was custom for those careers to run three or four years.

    Hughes was invited to Roughriders training in 1999 under junior territorial rules due to the fact the Rams hadn’t played their first university level game. Even that invite didn’t guarantee a possible future playing in the CFL.

    After no one selected him in the 2004 CFL Draft, Hughes signed as a free agent with the Roughriders. He ended up playing in 14 regular season games and both of the Roughriders playoff contests in that rookie campaign.

    During training camp, Hughes proved he was versatile showing that he could run the ball, be a receiver, return kicks and cover well on special teams. In Week 10 of the 2004 campaign, Hughes replaced an injured Paul McCallum as the team’s punter and averaged 35.0 yards on two kicks.

    Through his CFL career, Hughes mainly focused on blocking duties as a fullback or from a tight end position and covered kicks on special teams.

    The home-grown product did get a handful of chances to produce yards as a rusher or receiver. Hughes, who stood 5-foot-10 and weighed 210 pounds, ran the ball 70 times for 277 yards and scored eight touchdowns in regular season play.

    He hauled in 46 passes for 505 yards and scored six majors, while returning 18 kickoffs for 246 yards and one punt for 21 yards in regular season action.

    It seems fitting Hughes entered the Plaza of Honour along with Joseph, who was the Roughriders star quarterback that won CFL Most Outstanding Player honours during the team’s 2007 Grey Cup winning campaign.

    The two combined for a big moment in the 2007 West Final against the British Columbia Lions in Vancouver, B.C. Near the midway point of the third quarter, Hughes hauled in a two-yard scoring reception on a play action pass play from Joseph to put the Roughriders up 20-10.

    That would be the only major score Hughes would account for in post-season play, but it proved to be the winning points in a 26-17 victory to send the Roughriders to the Grey Cup.

Neal Hughes (#32) signs a young fan’s jersey in 2010.

    Looking back, that score proved to be a major get over the hump moment as the Roughriders had fallen in the West Final in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
    In the 2007 Grey Cup in Toronto, Ont., the Roughriders downed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19.

    Hughes was a part of the fairy tale night for Rider Nation in the 101^st Grey Cup on November 24, 2013. Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 44,710 spectators at Taylor Field, the Roughrider blasted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23.

    Hughes carried the ball three times for 32 yards in front of his hometown crowd.

    Away from the field, Hughes did pretty much every community appearance the Roughriders requested of him on behalf of the team.

    Now, his names will be listed for all-time along with most of his childhood heroes on the Plaza of Honour. It will forever be the type of thanks that goes beyond what could be dreamed of.

Confirmed – “Sarge” on the verge of 200 wins with Hilltops

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant is closing in on 200 career wins.

    If anyone needed any further confirmation, Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant is indeed on the verge of recording his 200^th career win.

    On Wednesday, veteran Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports staffer Kevin Mitchell typed a story that said Sargeant has 199 career wins including play in the regular season and post-season in the Canadian Junior Football League.

    I actually went through and double checked the numbers on Thursday, and Mitchell does have everything bang on. He listed the year-by-year regular season and post-season records the Hilltops had with Sargeant as head coach, and all of those were bang on.

    That included catching facts that the Hilltops had a bye in the Prairie Football Conference final after a first place regular season finish in 1999 due to the fact there were four teams in the PFC that season.

    Including action in the regular season and playoffs, Sargeant indeed has a 199-30-2 record as the Hilltops head coach. The 54-year-old’s record in the regular season is 148-21-2 and is 51-9 in the post-season.

    The Hilltops have won 12 CJFL titles with Sargeant guiding the team as head coach. Saskatoon has won the last five straight CJFL titles and has an active league record 16-game winning streak going in the post-season.

Brian Towriss tops the U Sports list of head coaching wins at 196.

    The Hilltops will try to help Sargeant collect his 200^th win on Sunday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Thunder at 3 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in a battle of 1-0 teams.

    Saskatoon has won its last 20 straight overall games in a row and last 24 straight in a row on the road include three victories in the CJFL title game - The Canadian Bowl.

    While the Hilltops have turned over a number of players in their starting lineup, you can bet their players will be motivated to get that milestone win for their head coach.

    Sargeant is by far the all-time leader in CJFL victories be it regular season, post-season or both.

    His win total has surpassed the total put up legendary former University of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach in Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Brian Towriss at the U Sports level.

    Towriss in the all-time leader in U Sports coaching victories posting 196 wins between the regular season and post-season. Coaching the Huskies from 1984 to 2016, Towriss posted a 167-96-1 regular season record and a 29-22 post-season record for a 196-118-1 combined slate.

    Under his guidance, the Huskies won the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions on three occasions in 1990, 1996 and 1998.

Rams’ McCrystal the wins king at 208

Frank McCrystal, seen here in 2000, has 208 wins as Rams head coach.

    When it comes to Canadian amateur football in the post-secondary ranks, the 199 career wins in both the regular season and playoffs by Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant are surpassed by only one man.

    Frank McCrystal piled up 208 career wins as head coach of the Regina Rams in the regular season and playoffs from 1984 to 2014. McCrystal piled up his win total during the Rams final 15 seasons in the Canadian Junior Football League from 1984 to 1998 and the Rams first 16 seasons in the U Sports ranks as the University of Regina Rams from 1999 to 2014.

    In the CJFL, McCrystal posted a 104-17-1 record in the regular season and a 37-8 record in the post-season as the Rams head coach. The Rams won seven CJFL titles under McCrystal’s guidance in 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998.

    In U Sports, McCrystal posted a 60-67-1 record in the regular season and a 7-12 record in the post-season as the Rams head coach. The Rams made the U Sports title game – the Vanier Cup – once under McCrystal’s watch falling 42-39 in the 2000 Vanier Cup to the U of Ottawa Gee Gees.

    Combining his records from the CJFL and U Sports, McCrystal posted a 208-104-2 mark as the Rams head coach. That record does not include the Rams 22-17 victory over the U of Alberta Golden Bears at Taylor Field on Sept. 7, 1985 in an exhibition tilt, when the Regina side was still in the CJFL.

    Sargeant is the all-time wins leader in the history of the CJFL posting a 199-30-2 mark in both the regular season and playoffs.

    Former U of Saskatchewan Huskies football team head coach Brian Towriss in the all-time leader in U Sports head coaching victories posting a 196-118-1 record combined in the regular season and post-season.

A picture of Gord Currie from his celebration of life.

    Legendary Regina Rams head coach in the late Gord Currie would be the fourth member on the Mount Rushmore of amateur football coaches in Saskatchewan along with McCrystal, Sargeant and Towriss.

    Currie, who is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, guided the Rams as head coach from 1965 to 1976 in the CJFL posting a 76-20-1 record in the regular season and a 35-9 record in the post-season for a combined slate of 111-29-1.

    Under his guidance, the Rams won six CJFL titles coming in 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1976.

    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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Riot versus Valkyries – the title showdown the WWCFL was waiting for

Amy Kowalski (#12) calls out signals for the Riot against the Valkyries.

    It seems only fitting there will finally be a Western Women’s Canadian Football League championship game between the Regina Riot and the Saskatoon Valkyries.

    Since the WWCFL played its inaugural season in 2011, the Riot and Valkyries have the powerhouse clubs on the circuit combining to win all seven WWCFL titles that have been handed out to date. The Valkyries won the first four titles from 2011 to 2014 and a fifth championship in 2016. The Riot won it all in 2015 and last year.

    In last year’s championship final held at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Riot bombed the Calgary Rage 53-0 to capture the WWCFL crown.

    On Sunday, the Riots host the Valkyries in this year’s WWCFL championship game set for 3 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Pre-game festivities begin with a party at Confederation Park outside the stadium at 1 p.m.

    This year’s WWCFL title game meeting between the defending champion Riot and the Valkyries was made possible by a change in the playoff format. Normally, teams played through their conference to get to the league’s championship game, but the semifinal was played in a cross conference format this year.

    The change was made to create the possibility of having a final that featured a match between the Riot and Valkyries assuming they would be the league’s two best clubs once again. The two clubs have battled in a number of competitive and tight games, and there are hopes that history will repeat itself on Sunday.

    In the seven previous WWCFL championship games, the closest game occurred in 2013 in Regina, when the Valkyries downed the Lethbridge Steel 27-13. The other six title clashes were lopsided blowouts.

    The greatest battle that occurred between the Riot and Valkyries occurred on June 28, 2015 in the Prairie Conference title game in Regina at Taylor Field. The Riot slowly built a 28-7 lead in the fourth quarter only for the Valkyries to storm back and go ahead 29-28.

Valkyries QB Alex Eyolfson (#15) fires a pass behind Shelby Payne’s block.

    With 15 seconds to play in the contest, Riot kicker Morgan Turner booted a 12 yard field goal into a strong wind to give Regina a 31-29 victory.

    In last year’s Prairie Conference final, the Riot downed the Valkyries 34-24 in an entertaining clash in what would be the final competitive tackle football game ever played at Taylor Field before it was demolished.

    The Riot enter this year’s contest sporting a 6-0 overall record, while the Valkyries are 4-2 overall. Regina claimed both head-to-head encounters with Saskatoon this year.

    On May 12 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, the Riot downed the Valkyries 28-7. On June 3 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Riot slipped past the Valkyries 21-16.

    Both teams had their share of adversity. For head coach Olivier Eddie and his Riot, they had to at first try and avoid some rust. They had an unexpected bye week during the regular season when the Winnipeg Wolfpack elected to suspend operations for the 2018 campaign and won that encounter via forfeit.

    With the Wolfpack out of the playoff picture, the Riot received a bye through the first round of the post-season.

    Before they were to host the Edmonton Storm in a league semifinal, a Riot team van was stolen that contained the club’s game day informs.

    The Riot wore the uniforms the Canadian Junior Football League’s Regina Thunder for the WWCFL semifinal clash with the Storm last Sunday. The Riot romped to a 45-9 victory.

    The stolen van and the club’s uniforms were recovered earlier this week, and the Riot are expected to wear their regular gear in the WWCFL title game.

    For head coach Pat Barry and his Valkyries, they had to play through a number of injuries this season and overcome some key departures from last season. As a result, some younger players gained a pile of experience, while some veterans were moved to new positions to fill holes and gained new experience as a result.

    The Valkyries received a big scare in their WWCFL quarter-final match, when they just slipped past the much improved Manitoba Fearless 16-13. Following the win over the Fearless, the Valkyries traveled to Calgary on June 16 and downed the Rage 30-6 in a WWCFL semifinal contest.

The Valkyries D tracks down Riot RB Mallory Starkey (#7).

    Both sides have numerous talented players to rely on. The Riot offence is guided by star quarterback Aimee Kowalski, while veteran linebacker Adrienne Zuck helps steady the defence.

    Defensive back and kick returner Payton Kuster stepped into the spotlight in last year’s WWCFL title game returning two punts for touchdowns in the Riot’s win over the Rage.

    The Valkyries offence has been guided by quarterback Alex Eyolfson and received a big season from running back Sarah Wright. Veteran linebacker Denise Kolosky has been a key leader on defence.

    Saskatoon received a huge boost when Carly Dyck returned from injury to resume her duties in the kicking game in the semifinal win over the Rage.

    The elements are there to help make this year’s WWCFL championship game a classic.

Hurricanes fire incident unfortunate accident

Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive (#15) was hurt in a campfire mishap.

    Two current members and one alumnus of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes are still dealing with the after effects of a pretty big scare.

    On June 15, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive, centre Ryan Vandervlis and former team member Matt Alfaro, who currently plays for the University of Calgary Dinos, were all involved in a mishap at the family home of former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong just west of Calgary. Wong was hosting nine of his friends at the family residence, and they were planning to go golfing and camping the next day.

    There was an explosion from the campfire that was started that night at the Wong residence. Bellerive, 19, and Alfaro, 21, sustained burns to their upper bodies and Vandervlis, 20, sustained burns to the front of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma. Vandervlis was taken off dialysis on Monday.

    A release from the Cochrane RCMP on June 17 stated a substance was placed in the fire pit that caused an explosion.

    Alcohol was ruled out as a contributing factor and there wasn’t any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

    Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt held a press conference on Tuesday in Lethbridge to provide an update on the situation. Anholt said there had been inquiries about aiding the Vandervlis family, and he added the Hurricanes will help and aid the Vandervlis family to make that process clearer in the near future.

Dinos F Matt Alfaro was hurt in a campfire mishap.

    On Tuesday, Bellerive released a statement through his Twitter account thanking the public for their support. Alfaro, who spent a lengthy stretch in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice, released a statement through the Dinos Twitter account offering those same thoughts. 
    Anholt also said on Tuesday everyone involved with the Hurricanes was shaken up by what happened including Wong’s parents Julie and Will. Those that have dealt with Anholt over the years know he cares about the players under his watch like they were his own sons.

    The Hurricanes wanted to clarify that the gathering was not a stag or bachelor party.

    What happened with Bellerive, Vandervlis and Alfaro is one of those situations were accidents will happen.

    It is common during the off-season where members of major junior teams will have social gatherings at somebody’s place. The odd time there will be an innocent mishap, and that is just life.

    In most cases, the gathers go off without a hitch.

    By the sounds of things coming out of Lethbridge, Bellerive, Vandervlis and Alfaro will all make full recoveries, and at the end of the day, that is the best news that could be passed along.

Thumbs up to StarPhoenix for following Broncos to Vegas

    A thumbs up has to go to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix this week for sending staff down to Las Vegas to cover the journey of 10 surviving members of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash to Las Vegas.

    Veteran sportswriter Kevin Mitchell and photographer Liam Richards followed the junior A Broncos down to Las Vegas as they attended the NHL Awards on Wednesday night along with taking part in other festivities put on by the NHL

    Darcy Haugen, the Broncos head coach and general manager who died in the April 6 crash, was named the posthumous winner of the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero award.

    Darcy’s wife, Christina Haugan, accepted the award and gave a rousing acceptance speech.

    The coverage by Mitchell and Richards in following the SJHL Broncos has been outstanding, and it has been something I believe has gone over well in the local community.

    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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