Hilltops rock ’n’ roll to 8-0 regular season mark once again

Hilltops DT Jesse McNabb, left, brings down a Wildcats ball carrier.

    It was one of those things where you have to be part of the Saskatoon Hilltops to understand it.

    During a team breakfast before the Hilltops closed their regular season schedule against the Edmonton Wildcats at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Sunday, Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant decided he needed to make veteran star defensive tackle Jesse McNabb hit another gear with a call out.

    It worked.

    McNabb, who is playing out his final season of CJFL eligibility, went out and had 6.5 total tackles and three sacks as the Hilltops hammered the Wildcats 48-8 before 811 spectators. 

Jesse McNabb, centre, enters the field with parents Deb and Aaron.

    The win allowed the Hilltops, who had first place in the Prairie Football Conference locked up, to close the regular season with an 8-0 record for the second straight year.

    “I called him (McNabb) out today in front of all the team and the parents at the morning breakfast, and he shoved it right in my mouth so good for him,” said Sargeant, whose team has won the last five straight CJFL titles. “He got it done today, and it was fun to watch.

    “He is a nice player to watch, and I had the lens on him. He got a hat trick today. He did a pretty good job of shutting me up today.”

    Truth be told, McNabb doesn’t really need any extra motivation to get going. The North Battleford, Sask., product has a unique relationship with his legendary head coach where they usually have some good-natured banter going back-and-forth.

Jesse McNabb, centre, celebrates one of his three quarterback sacks.

    Often, that results in Sargeant dropping down a challenge, which looks serious but is done in a good-natured way. McNabb goes out and executes the challenge with precision and calm and usually drops a sly smile to his sideline boss, when the challenge is complete.

    “Sarge” responds with a smile of his own and with a “Sargeism” that makes everyone laugh.

    When asked about Sargeant’s call out after the game, McNabb had a matter of fact response.

    “He (Sargeant) called me out at breakfast in front of everyone, so I thought I better respond today,” said McNabb said with a grin.

    McNabb said he had lots of motivation to play well on Sunday. He was one of the team’s 15 graduating players that were introduced individually and made the walk to the SMF Field turf with their parents.

Jesse McNabb, left, and Jaxon Funk get set on the defensive line.

    The graduates walk to the field with their parents has been a Hilltops tradition for some time, and for McNabb, it was hitting him that the time had come where he was one of the grads. It was also Thanksgiving Day weekend, so McNabb wanted to do something good that everyone could talk about.

    “It was good to unleash and just have a fun time,” said McNabb, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 245 pounds. “It was a good time with all the guys.

    “Our guys played great, so I can’t complain. Playing with your parents watching and Thanksgiving Day weekend, you want to put on a good show. I think we did that for the fans today.”

Tyler Hermann threw four TD passes for the Hilltops.

    McNabb made the walk to the field with his parents Aaron and Deb McNabb, and it crossed his mind that he wished he could come back and play another full season.

    “It is a little different it being your last trip out here in the regular season,” said McNabb. “You’d give anything to be out here for another year and another year after that.

    “Everything has to come to an end at some time I guess.”

    The venerable Hilltops did their best to try and bring a quick end to the competitive phase of Sunday’s game. The host side jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and held a 35-0 edge at halftime cruising to victory from there.

    Star power running back Ben Abrook ran in a touchdown from four yards out, and fifth-year receiver Tanner Rhode hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from starting quarterback Tyler Hermann for the Hilltops in the first quarter.

Connor Graham hauls in a 58-yard TD catch for the Hilltops.

    Hermann threw three more touchdown passes in the second quarter. He hit fifth-year receiver Connor Graham with a 54 yard touchdown bomb, third-year receiver Keegan Dicks with a 27-yard scoring strike and second-year receiver Dillan Heintz for a 58-yard deep throw for a major.

    Hermann finished the game completing 20-of-26 passes for a career high 364 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

    Graham topped all pass catchers with 114 receiving yards coming off four catches including his one score. He was pleased he could help his team finished 8-0 in the regular season for a second straight year.

    “If we can come out and win every game in the regular season, we feel good about that,” said Graham. “We felt like we had a good statement game to get ready for next week, so we’re just happy where we are right now.”

Tanner Rhode (#11) hauls in a 24-yard TD catch for the Hilltops.

    Receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter pushed the Hilltops advantage out to 38-0 with a 20-yard field goal.

    The Wildcats made a slight push back scoring eight straight points to cut the Hilltops lead to 38-8. The Edmonton surge came via a 37 yard missed field goal single from kicker Sebastian Firtsen and a 43-yard interception return touchdown from defensive back Zach Putters.

    With 3.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter, backup running back Carter McLean ran a touchdown in from a yard out for the Hilltops to push their lead out to 45-8.

    Kleiter closed the scoring in the contest with a 26 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

    “We want to make sure that we are playing our best as we head into playoffs,” said Sargeant. “It was a basic game plan, but son of a gun, the coaches did a great job of improving the areas we needed to improve.

Logan Kelsey-Stern returns an interception for the Hilltops.

    “In that first 30 minutes, we got to see a lot of things I hadn’t seen this year, so we are getting this team right at the right time. Now, we just have to keep building it, keep working the confidence, keep working on scheme and do a better job of preparing. Those two interceptions that Hermann threw in the second half they just sort of outsmarted us.

    “We have to get back to the lab and coaching that thing a little bit better. We’ll work to improve that for sure.”

    Abrook topped the Hilltops in rushing carrying the ball 19 times for 101 yards to go with his touchdown. On the season, Abrook touted the ball 199 times for 1,215 yards and eight touchdowns.

    Wildcats starting quarterback Dante Tabacu completed 4-of-8 passes for 51 yards and two interceptions. Devin Desormeau had considerable playing time at quarterback for Edmonton too completing 11-of-13 passes for 103 yards.

    The Hilltops defence limited the Wildcats to 82 yards rushing and 154 yards passing as a team.

Jared Giddings, centre, makes an interception for the Hilltops.

    Caleb Haight, Tristan Hering and rookie Craig Torgerson all had single sacks for the Hilltops. 
    Fifth-year defensive back Logan Kelsey-Stern and fourth defensive back Jared Giddings each had one interception for Saskatoon.

    Star linebacker Chopper Hippe had eight total tackles for the Wildcats. 
    Evan Eide had one sack and Rony Bakehe and Brett Phillips split a sack for the Edmonton side.

    Ty Smith had an interception for the Wildcats, who closed the regular season with a 2-6 record to finish fourth in the PFC.

    The Hilltops and Wildcats will go at it again this coming Sunday in a PFC semifinal playoff contest set for 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    The other PFC semifinal, the Regina Thunder (6-2) will host the Edmonton Huskies (6-2) this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at Leibel Field in the Saskatchewan capital.

Ben Abrook, left, ran for 1,215 yards on the season for the Hilltops.

    The Thunder finished ahead of the Huskies for second in the PFC standings winning the lone head-to-head contest 24-21 between the two sides on Sept. 22 in Regina.

    Regina won its final regular season game by default at home on Sunday due to the fact the Winnipeg Rifles (1-7) were unable to travel to “The Queen City.” 
    The Trans-Canada Highway was closed at different parts in Manitoba due to snowstorm conditions.

    The Huskies closed the regular season by traveling to Calgary and posting a 49-21 victory over the Colts (1-7).

    Graham said the Hilltops, who have won their last 27 straight games overall in the regular season and playoffs, can’t wait to get going in the post-season as the intensity gets cranked up another notch.

The Hilltops celebrate their win over the Wildcats on Sunday.

    “This is where we want to really make sure we make our plays and everyone is crisp out there,” said Graham. “This is when it matters.”

    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 pay the Price and make Rifles hit the Rhode

Receiver Jason Price jets home on an 81-yard touchdown catch.

    Jason Price was happy he could help pull his Saskatoon Hilltops out of some doldrums.

    After the Hilltops stormed out to a 25-3 lead in the first quarter over the visiting Winnipeg Rifles in a Prairie Football Conference semifinal playoff match on Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the host side stalled in the second quarter. 
    In that frame, the Hilltops scored just one point and had to concede a safety due to bad field position to see their lead sit at 26-5.

    Price, who is the club’s star fifth-year receiver, had an 81-yard touchdown reception in his side’s explosive first 15 minutes. At the 3:10 mark of the third quarter, Price hauled in a deep corner route to score a 45-yard touchdown reception to put the Hilltops up 33-5.

    That kick started the venerable Canadian Junior Football League team, and the Hilltops cruised to a 58-5 victory from that point.

Receiver Tanner Rhode reaches into the end zone for a touchdown.

    “We had kind of a rough second quarter,” said Price. “Coming into the next half, we just had to make some kind of play, and it turns out they called on my number.

    “I just had to make it, and it helped carry the team to this kind of victory.”

    Price and third-year receiver Tanner Rhode had monster games in the Hilltops romp. Price hauled in five catches for 191 yards and his two major scores. Rhode hauled in eight catches for game high 193 yards and scored one touchdown burning Rifles defensive back Troy Wilson seemingly all afternoon.

    Thanks to the big games by Price and Rhode, Hilltops fifth-year star quarterback Jordan Walls had the best statistical game of his CJFL career completing 18-of-29 passes for 473 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

    “Offensively, Wallsy did a great job of finding his receivers,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “Tanner Rhode stepped up and had the best game I’ve seen him in our uniform.

QB Jordan Walls piled up 473 yards passing for the Hilltops.

    “Jason Price was Jason Price. (Running back) Josh Ewanchyna had a couple of big catches and big runs. It was just a great effort.”

    The Hilltops struck quickly in Sunday’s contest, when Ewanchyna ran home a touchdown from 24 yards out at the 2:04 mark of the first quarter to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

    Winnipeg answered back with a 27-yard field goal from kicker Barrett Mueller to cut Saskatoon’s edge to 7-3.

    From that point, the Hilltops almost burned out the lights on the scoreboard at SMF Field during the rest of the first quarter.

    Receiver/kicker David Solie booted a 31 yard field goal, and punter John Brown booted a 54-yard punt single to put the Hilltops up 11-4. From there, Price hauled in his 81-yard touchdown reception to increase the Hilltops lead to 18-3.

    On the final play of the first quarter, Walls connected with Rhode on a 25-yard touchdown pass to give the Hilltops a 25-3 edge.

Josh Ewanchyna piled up 157 yards rushing for the Hilltops.

    Brown conceded a safety early in the second quarter to give Winnipeg two points to trim Solie collected a single point off a 27 yard missed field goal with 9.8 seconds remaining before halftime to give the Hilltops a 26-5 advantage.

    While Sargeant was happy with the win, the Hilltops legendary sideline boss saw too many spots - especially in the second quarter - where the Rifles could have gotten back into the game.

    “We had some good lessons to learn,” said Sargeant. “There are lots to improve and get better.

    “There are some things I am not happy about, but ultimately in playoffs, you just want to keep moving to the next week. We’ve done that, so I’m just looking forward to getting back to work next week and making this team even better.”

    Price’s early third quarter score got the Hilltops rolling in the second half.

Fans at SMF Field cheer on the Hilltops.

    Just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter, Ewanchyna took a swing pass from Walls and turned it into a 34-yard touchdown reception to put the Hilltops up 40-5. Ewanchyna carried the ball 18 times for 157 yards and hauled in three passes for 68 yards to go with his one major score on the ground and one through the air.

    Solie hit a field goal from 32 yards out and collected a single from a 31-yard missed field goal to put the Hilltops up 44-5.

    Saskatoon’s defence proceeded to get in on the scoring from that point.

    After the Rifles drove deep into Saskatoon’s end, Hilltops fourth-year defensive back Logan Kelsey-Stern picked off Rifles quarterback Riley Naujoks and ran the ball back 117 yards for a touchdown to give the Hilltops a 51-5 advantage.

DB Logan Bitz, right, defenses a pass for the Hilltops.

    Following that score, Hilltops sophomore defensive back Michael Gerber sacked Naujoks forcing a fumble. Hilltops sophomore defensive end Connor Delahey picked up the loose ball and raced 41 yards for a touchdown to round out the game’s scoring. 
    The major score was the first for Delahey in his post-secondary football career.

    “I was just worried I was going to end up tripping on the ball and falling over it and looking like an idiot,” said Delahey, who had a sack in Sunday’s win. “We were lucky.

Logan Kelsey-Stern returns a pick 117 yards for a touchdown.

    “I scooped it and scored and everyone was blocking for me, so I ended up getting into the end zone. My first touchdown and maybe my last.

    “Hopefully not, but maybe my last with the Hilltops. I have to really cherish the moment, because it might never happen again.”

    Delahey had a breakout campaign with the Hilltops making 21 total tackles and four sacks in six regular season games with the team.

    “For me personally, I think I have improved a lot,” said Delahey. “That is what is the most important to me from the start of the season to the end.

    “My pass rush has gotten better. I’ve been able to read the run. As a whole D-line, we’ve improved.

    “As the whole D-line improves, it is going to open up opportunities for me.”

    Defensive tackle Jesse McNabb had a pair of sacks for the Hilltops, and star fifth-year linebacker Cody Peters had a team-high four total tackles.

Rifles QB Riley Naujoks is sacked by Hilltops DB Michael Gerber.

    Naujoks, the Rifles regular starting quarterback who returned from injury, completed 24-of-49 passes for 341 yards, but his one interception resulted in Kelsey-Stern’s major score. Brendan Naujoks topped the Rifles in receiving hauling in nine passes for 99 yards.

    Winnipeg was held to 25 yards rushing as a team.

    Rifles defensive back Andrew Ricard led his side with eight total tackles and recovered one fumble.

    The Hilltops, who were 8-0 in the regular season, improve their overall record to 9-0. Including action in the regular season and playoffs, they have won their last 17 games in a row.

    The Rifles, who were 3-5 in the regular season, finish the 2018 campaign at 3-6 overall.

DE Connor Delahey returns a fumble 41 yards for a TD.

    In the other PFC semifinal on Sunday, the Edmonton Huskies, who were 6-2 in the regular season, downed the Regina Thunder, who were 5-3 in the regular season, 39-36 in overtime at Commonwealth Stadium in the Alberta capital.

    The Huskies, who are 7-2 overall, will travel to Saskatoon to meet the Hilltops, who have won the last four straight CJFL titles, in the PFC final set for this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at SMF Field.

    In making his last run through the CJFL playoffs, Price wants to keep advancing and help the Hilltops win an unprecedented fifth-straight CJFL title.

    “You always want to go out on top as a fifth year,” said Price. “We have the right team for it.

    “We just have to keep playing as that Hilltop team and keep playing Hilltop football.”

    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 cash in on Thunder errors at new Mosaic Stadium

Defending CJFL champs show rough spots in 37-20 win

Running back Adam Machart (#20) rumbles downfield for the Hilltops.

    REGINA – In the face of victory, Tom Sargeant could only think about how his Saskatoon Hilltops could get better.

    On Saturday night a new Mosaic Stadium, the Hilltops scored 21 points off turnovers to down their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder 37-20 before 1,947 spectators in the regular season opener for both clubs. Sargeant, who is in his 20^th season as the Hilltops head coach, saw way too many things he didn’t like out of his three-time defending Canadian Junior Football League champions.

    The sideline boss saw too many missed tackles and felt his side really didn’t get out of the blocks executing their game plan.

    “At the end of the day, I am happy we won but not happy in our performance or play,” said Sargeant. “We took a lot of undisciplined penalties that didn’t help us.

Logan Kelsey-Stern returns an interception for the Hilltops.

    “There are a lot of things I am not happy about. The way I coach it is always about we got to get better tomorrow. I can’t wait to get going.”

    The Hilltops took a number of penalties in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, which stalled any momentum the team tried to build. In total, the Hilltops were penalized 16 times for 124 yards on the  night.
    The visitors exited the first 15 minutes holding a 1-0 lead thanks to a single point scored off a 32-yard missed field goal attempt by safely/kicker James Vause.

    Early in the second quarter, the host Thunder grabbed momentum, when defensive lineman Matthew Williams intercepted a pass that deflected off a Hilltops receiver and returned the ball deep into the Saskatoon end.

    Regina star quarterback Sawyer Buettner capped a short scoring drive with a one-yard sneak run to give the Thunder a 6-1 lead. The Hilltops blocked the ensuing extra point attempt to prevent Regina’s lead from growing to six points.

    A short time after that major score, the Hilltops conceded a safety when they were pinned deep in their end on third down to give the Thunder an 8-1 lead. From that point, Regina started to make errors that were costly, and two of them helped Saskatoon score 21 consecutive points to pull ahead 22-8 by halftime.

Hilltops linebacker Adam Benkic takes down a Thunder receiver.

    The first error saw Thunder receiver/punter Kristopher Calcutt mishandle a long snap on a punt deep in his own end. He wasn’t able to get the kick away and was tackled by the Hilltops special teams unit to force a turnover on downs.

    The Hilltops quickly drove 26 yards and tied the contest up 8-8 on a four yard rushing touchdown by star running back Logan Fischer.

    Saskatoon went ahead 15-8, when quarterback Jordan Walls hit fullback Colin Stumborg for a short three-yard touchdown pass in the flat.

    Following that score, the Thunder made their second critical error before halftime, when a pass from Buettner deflected off the hands of Hilltops defensive back Colton Holmes into the hands of Holmes’s teammate Logan Kelsey-Stern near midfield. Kelsey-Stern returned the pick to the Regina 22 yard line.

Quarterback Jordan Walls dives into the end zone for a Hilltops touchdown.

    From there, the Hilltops completed a short scoring drive going ahead 22-8 on a two-yard diving touchdown run by Walls.

    Kelsey-Stern was pumped to make the interception off the tip noting that type of play usually had a different result at Hilltops practice, when the team’s offensive and defensive units scrimmage.

    “At practice, Colton (Holmes) will tip it up, and generally our receivers catch it,” said Kelsey-Stern. “This time, I got it, so it was unreal.

    “It is always good coming to Regina and winning.”

    Regina cut the Saskatoon lead to 22-14 near the midway point of the third quarter, when Thunder running back Ethan Hautz ran in a major score from one-yard out. Saskatoon again blocked the ensuing point after attempt to prevent the Thunder from cutting the gap further.

Hilltops receiver Jason Price zips downfield on a 38-yard touchdown catch.

    Early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder drove into the Hilltops end again but turned the ball over on downs at the Saskatoon 25 yard line. The Hilltops proceeded to dive 85 yards the other way and went ahead 29-14, when Walls connected with receiver Jason Price on a 38-yard touchdown toss off a deep play-action pass.

    Saskatoon kicker Rylan Kleiter added a rouge on the ensuing kickoff to give the Hilltops a 30-14 lead.

    With 4:41 to play in the fourth quarter, the Hilltops sealed the win on a one-yard touchdown run from running back Adam Machart to go ahead 37-14. Machart, who is in his third season with the Hilltops, had an impressive training camp and played most of the second half at tailback in Saturday’s win ripping off a number of strong runs piling up 110 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Hilltops DB Jared Giddings, left, knocks down a Thunder pass attempt.

    The graduate of Saskatoon’s Centennial Collegiate said he believed he could make big plays as a tailback with the Hilltops but admitted he has found a new comfort level with the position this season.

    “I think it is more of a mental thing, a confidence thing,” said Machart. “You fix the little mistakes and get them out of your head and just play football and have fun with it again.

    “This year, it is fun again. I love it out there, and that makes it a lot easier to play when you are having fun.”

    Regina rounded out the scoring when Buettner hit Calcutt with a 13-yard touchdown toss with 32 seconds to play in fourth quarter. Including action in the regular season and playoffs, the Hilltops have won their last six head-to-head meetings with the Thunder.

The Hilltops defence closes in on Thunder QB Sawyer Buettner.

    Buettner threw for 327 yards for the Thunder, while Calcutt led the host side with 115 yards receiving. Defensive back Tyson Haubrich topped all Regina players with four tackles.
    Walls piled up 271 yards through the air completing 16 of 26 pass attempts, with two touchdown tosses and one interception for the Hilltops. Linebacker Cody Peters led Saskatoon with six tackles.
    The Thunder return to action this coming Saturday, when they host the Edmonton Wildcats (0-1) at 7 p.m. at new Mosaic Stadium.

    The Hilltops return to action on Sunday, Aug. 20, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Rifles (1-0) at 1 p.m. local time.
    Knowing the Rifles thumped the Sooners in Ottawa 51-0 on Saturday, Sargeant said his team needs to play a lot better in their upcoming game in Winnipeg to come away with another victory.

    Sargeant did see things he liked in his club’s win on Saturday.
    The sideline boss was pleased his side scored 21 points off turnovers, Machart ran hard with the ball and Walls and the offensive line improved as the game went on.

The Hilltops meet their fans in the stands after Saturday’s win.

    With that said, Sargeant has a standard where he wants his Hilltops to do everything as perfectly as possible. He believes his players have the potential to play way better than they did on Saturday, and he said the coaches have to help the players reach their potential.

    “The sky is the limit for this team,” said Sargeant. “The growth potential of this team is high. It is exciting. I can’t wait to make them better.”

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