Crazy final week of regular season sees Hilltops host PFC semifinal

Luke Bednarek finished third in the PFC with 563 receiving yards.

Anyone who was able to predict how the final week of the CJFL’s Prairie Football Conference regular season played out should bet on a major money lottery.

Entering the final week of the regular season for the PFC, the Saskatoon Hilltops needed to beat the visiting Winnipeg Rifles at Saskatoon Minor Football Field to lock up second place in the conference and the right to host a PFC semifinal contest. If the Hilltops lost, it opened the door to them slipping to third place and starting the post-season on the road for the first time since 1990.

On Saturday, October 3, the final week of the PFC regular season opened with the Edmonton Wildcats hosting the Edmonton Huskies at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta. If the Wildcats lost, the Hilltops would lock up second place in the conference.

In a back-and-forth contest, Huskies kicker Lorenzo Monus booted a 47-yard field goal to put the Huskies up 31-28 with 2:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. Inside the final 20 seconds of the fourth, Wildcats star running back Darien Currie ran in a touchdown from 10 yards out to give the Wildcats a 35-31 victory.

That result officially eliminated the Huskies and Rifles from post-season contention.

One day later on Sunday, October 4, the Hilltops stepped on to SMF Field knowing that if they didn’t beat the Rifles they could be going to Sherwood Park to face the Wildcats. The Hilltops jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter but fell behind the Rifles 22-10 at halftime. The Rifles, who knew they were playing their last game of the 2026 CJFL campaign, would pull out a surprising 27-11 victory.

When that contest ended, everyone with the Hilltops thought they were going on the road to face the Wildcats in Sherwood Park to open the CJFL playoffs. The only thing that could throw a wrench into that development was if the Calgary Colts could defeat the undefeated Regina Thunder at Leibel Field in the Saskatchewan capital.

Entering that game, the Thunder were 7-0, had outscored all their opponents 304 to 78 and were rated first in the CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings. At halftime, the Thunder were up on the Colts 28-7, and it is safe to assume most in Saskatoon who saw that score thought that contest was a done deal.

The Hilltops celebrate an interception from Hudson Arneson.

While the Thunder played a large contingent of their reserve players in the second half, the unfathomable happened. The Colts outscored the Thunder 39-2 in the second half to post a shocking 46-30 victory.

That win allowed the Colts to improve to 4-4 to force a three-way tie in the standings with the Hilltops (4-4) and Wildcats (4-4) for second to fourth in the conference.

Had the Hilltops and Wildcats finished tied in the standings, the Wildcats would have finished second. The two sides split their two head-to-head regular season meetings, but the Wildcats held the standings tiebreaker having outscored the Hilltops 41-39 in those two encounters.

It seemed like no one knew how the standings tiebreaker would play out for a three-way tie due to the fact the Hilltops, Wildcats and Colts didn’t play a balanced schedule between themselves. Section 7 of the PFC Rules and Regulations stated a percentage formula of points for and against in the head-to-head games between the three squads determines placing in the standings.

The formula is:

Percentage = Total Points For ÷ (Total Points For +Total Points Against)

That formula is often used in standings tiebreakers in minor hockey. Under that formula, the Hilltops placed second in the conference with a percentage of 52.8 per cent followed by the Wildcats at 51.2 per cent and the Colts coming in at 46.0 per cent.

As a result, the Hilltops host the Wildcats in one PFC semifinal today at 1 p.m. at SMF Field. The Colts again hit the road to take on the Thunder (7-1) in the other PFC semifinal today at 1 p.m. at Leibel Field.

For the Hilltops, the road to success in the post-season is anything but guaranteed. The Hilltops are the defending CJFL champions, but after starting out 3-1, they have gone 1-3 over their final four contests.

The two head-to-head clashes between the Hilltops and Wildcats were held back in August. On August 16 at SMF Field, the Wildcats downed the Hilltops 28-22. On August 30 at Emerald Hills Regional Park, the Hilltops prevailed 17-13 over the Wildcats.

Corbin Ebben finished fifth in the PFC with 607 yards rushing.

On defence, the Hilltops have given up the second fewest points in the PFC at 184. Unlike past years, the Hilltops haven’t dominated in the turnover battle.

Under defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie, the Hilltops are notorious for having a 3-to-1 or a 4-to-1 edge in the turnover battle. Usually, that turns into anywhere from 14 to 28 points on the scoreboard for the Hilltops when that happens.

This season the Hilltops have 18 total takeaways and 16 total giveaways for a plus-two rating in the takeaway-giveaway category. In the 2025 regular season, the Hilltops had 36 total takeaways and 24 total giveaways for a plus-12 rating in that statistic.

Opposing teams in 2026 have given themselves much better shots at gaining victory over the Hilltops by not turning the ball over.

Offensively, the Hilltops have still picked up yards. Star running back Corbin Ebben finished fifth in the PFC with 607 rushing yards coming off 95 carries including two that went for touchdowns. Breakout running back Brody Komarnicki finished sixth in the PFC with 483 yards rushing coming off 101 carries including five that went for major scores.

Starting quarterback Griffin Sander completed 151-of-239 passes for 1,871 yard and six touchdowns, while throwing seven interceptions.

Receiver Luke Bednarek finished third in the PFC with 563 yards receiving coming on 35 catches including two that went for touchdowns. Charles Sawi had 41 catches for 447 yards and one touchdown. His receiving yardage total was good for seventh best in the PFC.

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant is still the all-time wins leader in Canadian post-secondary amateur football with 258 victories between the regular season and post-season. While the Hilltops 4-4 record is their worst in the regular season since going 4-4 in 1983, the potential is still there for the current Hilltops to have a memorable finish in the post-season.

There is a cliché that exists that says, “Legends are made in the playoffs.”

The Hilltops hope to get excited for a few post-season games in 2026.

The Hilltops have seen lots of legends get made in the playoffs since this current modern version of the club was created in 1947. If they can get one or two more turnovers and get one or two more major scores in a game, that might make the difference in more Hilltops players become team legends in 2026.

This piece first appeared in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program on October 11, 2026.

Not pretty – Hilltops grind out 18-15 win over Thunder

Brexton Elias made his first CJFL start at QB on Saturday.

As far as clashes between the Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder go, Saturday’s regular season contest at Mosaic Stadium in Regina was not a football Mona Lisa.

Both CJFL powerhouses tried to do their best to emulate the NFL’s 2000 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens won the Super Bowl in that campaign leaning on a ferocious defence led by middle linebacker Ray Lewis and game managing quarterback Trent Dilfer, who focused on not turning the ball over.

Going at it in a defensive slugfest, the Hilltops found a way to get past the Thunder 18-15. The result saw the records of both clubs move to identical 3-1 marks, where the Hilltops hold the standings tiebreaker for first place in the CJFL’s Prairie Football Conference due to their head-to-head win over the Thunder.

Hilltops fifth-year quarterback Brexton Elias returned from injury and made his first career CJFL start on Saturday. Elias was penciled in as the club’s starter going into the campaign but got injured during the pre-season and missed the team’s first three regular season games.

The Thunder countered with 20-year-old signal caller Adam Mosher, who is playing out his first campaign as Regina’s starter.

Both Elias and Mosher successfully filled their respective roles as game managers and didn’t make any mistakes to cost their respective club’s the contest. They did not in any way emulate classic head-to-head encounters between NFL icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

With 3:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, Thunder kicker Shawn Green booted a 40-yard field goal to push his club’s 12-11 lead out to 15-11. At that point in time with how the contest was going, it appeared that Thunder advantage would hold up to be the winning score.

The Hilltops took the ball on the ensuing series on their own 35 yard line. On the first play of that drive, they got a beneficial defensive pass interference call on a 50-50 jump pass toss to receiver Luke Bednarek as he was covered by Thunder defensive back Lorrin LeBlanc.

Just two plays after that call, Elias hit Bednarek for a 34-yard completion that got the Hilltops down to the Thunder 22 yard line. As the march continued, the Hilltops found themselves facing a third and goal at the Thunder 10 yard line.

Isaac Michayluk returned from injury for the Hilltops.

Elias threw the ball into the end zone to receiver Isaiah Vallderruten drawing a legitimist defensive pass interference call on Thunder defensive back Jake Mayo, who both arrived early and wrapped his arms around Vallderruten’s head.

Hilltops breakout star running back David Collins ran home a touchdown from one yard out on the ensuing play to put the Hilltops up 18-15 with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. The major score was his second of the contest.

The visitors preserved victory forcing the Thunder to go scoreless on their final two offensive series. With the Hilltops facing a third down with three seconds to play, Elias pulled out a Henry Burris game style closing play by bombing the ball downfield to successfully run out the final three seconds on the clock.

The scoring buildup to the final 3:33 of the fourth quarter was a slow one. The two sides exited the first quarter locked in a 2-2 tie after the Hilltops conceded a safety and then the Thunder conceded a safety.

Regina proceeded to conceded another safety early in the second quarter to allow the Hilltops to take a 4-2 lead. With 4:24 remaining in the second quarter, Collins ran home a touchdown from three yards out for his first major score of the night to push Saskatoon’s lead out to 11-2.

Before the second quarter ended, Green hit a 29-yard field goal for the Thunder to trim Saskatoon’s lead to 11-5.

With about 5:24 to play in the third quarter, Thunder breakout star running back Peter Boersch broke off a 51-yard run on a fake punt to get the ball down to the Hilltops eight yard line.

After gaining two yards on the next two plays, the Thunder faced a third and goal from the Hilltops six yard line. Mosher proceeded to hit receiver Lucas DI Iorio with a six-yard touchdown pass to push the Thunder ahead on the scoreboard 12-11.

That set the scene for the dramatics in the final 3:33 of the fourth quarter.

After returning from injury, Elias wasn’t spectacular, but he gave the Hilltops their most sound performance from the quarterback position of the 2025 campaign. The Hilltops also benefitted from returning star running back Corbin Ebben and star middle linebacker Isaac Michayluk from injury.

David Collins ran in two touchdowns for the Hilltops.

The Hilltops, who were rated fifth in the CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings that were released this past Thursday, have now won three straight games. They return to action on Sunday, September 14, when they travel to Calgary to face the Colts (1 p.m. local time, Shouldice Athletic Park).

The Thunder, who were rated third in the CJFL Top 10 Power Rankings and are the defending PFC champions, saw a three game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Hilltops. The Regina side will also get back to it on Sunday, September 14, by hosting the Winnipeg Rifles (1 p.m., Leibel Field).

As the 2025 CJFL campaign moves on, you can expect both the Hilltops and Thunder will improve a lot. When it came to Saturday’s head-to-head encounter, the Hilltops found a way to grind out a win, and sometimes grinding out a win is good enough on that particular day.

Johnson to speak at End Zone Dinner

Evan Johnson in action for the Roughriders on July 15, 2023.

One of the CFL’s all-time steady veterans on the offensive line is coming to the Saskatoon Hilltops End Zone Dinner.

Evan Johnson, who played seven CFL seasons from 2017 to 2024, will be the guest speaker for the annual event that raises money for the Hilltops scholarships and bursaries. The End Zone Dinner is slated for Saturday, September 27, at the main hall in the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building located on the south end zone of Saskatoon Minor Football Field on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.

The doors open at 4:15 p.m. and the dinner follows at 5 p.m. A ticket to the End Zone Dinner includes a ticket to that night’s regular season contest against the Hilltops provincial rivals the Regina Thunder. That game is slated for 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Johnson graduated high school from Regina’s Campbell Collegiate and moved on to play football in the U Sports ranks from 2012 to 2016 with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He would be selected in the first round and ninth overall by the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2017 CFL Draft.

From 2017 to 2019, Johnson played 52 regular season games with the Redblacks making starts at left guard, right tackle and left tackle. He suited up for the Redblacks in their 27-16 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the 2018 Grey Cup played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alta.

From 2021 to 2023, Johnson played 48 regular season contests with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He moved on from the Roughriders to appear in 10 games with the Hamilton Tigers-Cats in 2024.

Johnson, who is 31-years-old, is married to Dallis (Aiken) Johnson, who is a former defensive back with the powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL. They reside in Saskatoon where Evan Johnson works for an engineering firm.

Tickets for the Hilltops End Zone Dinner can be purchased 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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