Hilltops’ Komarnicki brings the boom on the ground

Power running back breaks out in third year with team

Brody Komarnicki is having a breakout season with the Hilltops.

Running with power will always be in Brody Komarnicki’s football DNA.

The third-year running back is having a breakout season with the defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops. After the team’s first six games, Komarnicki has carried the ball 86 times for 435 yards and five touchdowns.

Komarnicki’s style is unmistakable. He hits the hole hard and runs over and through the opposition. The style goes back to Komarnicki’s roots in the game when he played for the Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints Football team, whose head coach at the time is current Hilltops offensive line coach Donnie Davidsen. 

“When I first started playing, I always wanted like those big runs, and it is good to still have those big runs,” said Komanicki, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 205 pounds. “I was just dancing around a little too much.

“He (Davidsen) basically is just like you see that first hole and you hit it hard and north-south always. Then after that once you get into the open room, then you can start kind of dancing a little bit and make your cuts and all that. You always want positive yards.

“If you can hit that gap hard and get a couple of yards there, then you can dance. You don’t want to be dancing in that backfield and get negative yards. Donnie definitely put that into my head in high school and it worked out then, so I’m trying to apply it to Hilltops now.”

Komanicki, who resides in Warman, focused on playing basketball until his Grade 10 year starting in September of 2021. At that time, he wanted to give football a try and enrolled at Bishop James Mahoney as Warman High School didn’t have an outlet to play high school football.

At Bishop James Mahoney, Komanicki started playing on the Saints junior team before moving up to the senior team before the end of his Grade 10 season. He was ecstatic that he gave football a try.

“It was just the team,” said Komarnicki. “You have 12 guys out there and all working together.

“Obviously, I like the physicality. I hadn’t played a physical sport like a contact sport until football. It was just unique having special teams and all that.

“It was just all around the whole just the makeup of football was definitely what caught my eyes.”

Komarnicki would help the Saints advance to the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s 5A 12-a-side football provincial championship game in his Grade 11 season on November 11, 2022. The host Saints prevailed over the Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles 18-15 in that contest at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Komarnicki said his love for football was built due to the great experience he had with the Saints. As Davidsen was serving as the Hilltops offensive line coach while coaching the Saints, Komarnicki said the wheels were put in motion to join the Hilltops.

Brody Komarnicki in action for the Saints in 2022.

“He (Davidsen) didn’t influence it directly,” said Komarnicki. “I looked up to Donnie in high school, and we always talked about Hilltops being like a future opportunity.

“I would come to the high school camps, and I loved the coaching style. Whenever I did talk to “Sarge” (Hilltops legendary head coach Tom Sargeant), I loved everything I heard and his style of the game and his views. I agree with it a lot.

“Definitely, it helped like influence in a sense. It is just they’re so similar. It is just what I know.”

Komarnicki joined the Hilltops following his high school graduation for the 2024 campaign. By the campaign’s end, he was awarded the team’s Past Presidents Trophy as the club’s rookie of the year, while also being named to the PFC’s all-rookie team.

Sargeant said Komarnicki was a pretty natural fit.

“He is one of our toughest football players,” said Sargeant. “He certainly plays the game the way I appreciate it and the way we appreciate it.

“What a hard-nosed individual, and he motivates the team around him. The game plan is going to centre around him at times just like it will (star running back) Corbin (Ebben). We believe with those two guys being heavily involved in that run game it is only going to make it better instead of having one of them on the bench.”

Sargeant said Komarnicki came to the Hilltops with a solid base in the game having played for the Saints.

“He (Komarnicki) got coached the right way,” said Sargeant. “Any BJM player that has come into our system, boy, they’ve been game ready, and they’ve been able to handle all the moments.

“It has been great to have high school coaches coach with you. It keeps you connected to what is going on there as well. When you have a coach that has coached him, it helps you recruit him here as well.”

Sargeant added Komarnicki continued to improve working with Hilltops running backs coach Andre Lalonde. Back in the day when Lalonde was a Hilltops running back graduating as a player in 2013, he earned the nickname “the Bowling Ball” playing the same physical style Komarnicki does.

“Andre is an outstanding running backs coach,” said Sargeant. “You just can tell by the development of our running backs over the years.

“He (Lalonde) has got a system. He has got a format that week in and week out is tried and true. It is tested on game days.

“They (the Hilltops running backs) have got the right mentor in Andre. If we’re talking about special teams, Andre is my special teams coordinator, and Brody has been one of our top special teams players too. Not only does he (Komarnicki) play well on offence, he plays outstanding on special teams too, so what a true football player.”

Brody Komarnicki (#20) dives over a pile for a first down.

Komarnicki has a pretty lengthy thank you list when it comes to those who have helped him during his time with the Hilltops. It includes Sargeant, Davidson, Lalonde, Ebben and David Collins, who was a star running back who graduated from the team after last season.

The 20-year-old power back said Lalonde has been helping him refine his game while continuing to emphasize Komarnicki’s strength in hitting the hole hard.

“I never had seen his film, but I have heard that me and him are pretty similar in that sense,” said Komarnicki. “He definitely encourages it.

“He adds just little things, little details that might take that five-yard gain, six-yard gain to like a 15-to-20-yard gain. That is what I’ve been trying to add in the most is the next step, because you can always improve.”

Komarnicki said his sophomore season last year was an amazing highlight. He was proud of how his team persevered in the campaign.

That included going through an opening game blowout loss to the Rifles in Winnipeg and making a 30-27 comeback overtime victory in the PFC final over the Thunder in Regina after falling behind 24-9 to their provincial rivals with 10:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.

After the win over the Thunder, the Hilltops returned home to SMF Field and downed the Kelowna, B.C., based Okanagan Sun 21-18 in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl. That marked the Hilltops 24^th CJFL title.

“Last year, it was an insane feeling,” said Komarnicki. “(We had) ups and downs.

“That Regina game was insane. There was definitely a lot that we faced, but we overcame it. That is kind of what our coaches train us to do.

“They do a great job doing that and teach us not to give up.”

This season, Komarnicki has become a one-two punch at running back with Ebben, who is playing out his final season of CJFL eligibility. Komarnicki said it has been a good development year as he picks up more work in the running game compared to past seasons.

“I’m just trying to apply all that I’ve learned in the past couple of years here,” said Komarnicki. “It is like trial and error for me right now just seeing what works, what I see out there and getting the vision working.”

As the Hilltops set to embark in playing the CJFL’s post-season in 2026, they have once again encountered their share of adversity. Komarnicki believes his squad will rally together to make another run at a CJFL title.

“I know that we’ll put it together, because we’re putting in that work now and putting in all that stuff behind the scenes that people don’t see,” said Komarnicki. “It is not just confidence, because I’m saying it is.

Brody Komarnicki believe the Hilltops can make a long playoff run.

“I have total confidence from what I see from the coaches in the past few years and how everyone here talks and meetings and film. You can just tell everyone here knows we have it. We just need to put it together.”

This piece first appeared in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program on October 4, 2026.

Horsley at home with Hilltops

Saskatoon ends three game skid with win in Calgary

Lachlan Horsley has made some big catches for the Hilltops.

Lachlan Horsley found a new sense of belonging when he joined the Saskatoon Hilltops.

Looking back on his entire football career from when he first started playing the game, the 22-year-old receiver said the best experiences he has had in the game have come from being a member of the storied CJFL club.

“I always played flag when I was young,” said Horsley, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds. “It was just natural that I was going to play tackle in peewee six-a-side.

“I think I’ve played ever since I was seven and just kept going. After high school, I had the opportunity to go play post-secondary with the (University of Saskatchewan) Huskies and now here. I’ve been playing my whole life and really found a home here with the Saskatoon Hilltops.”

On Sunday, Horsley and the Hilltops ended a three game losing streak posting a 35-17 victory in a CJFL regular season contest over the Colts at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary. The Hilltops improved to 3-3 and moved into third place in the PFC after the Winnipeg Rifles fell at home 29-23 at IG Field Sunday to the visiting Regina Thunder.

While both the Hilltops and Rifles have identical 3-3 regular season records and they split their two head-to-head regular season games, Saskatoon holds the standing tiebreaker having outscored Winnipeg 35-29 head-to-head. The Rifles sit fourth in the PFC, and the Colts fell to 2-4 with their loss to the Hilltops to occupy fifth in the PFC.

The Thunder sit first in the PFC with a 6-0 mark and need to win one of their last two games to lock up top spot in the conference. On Saturday, the Edmonton Huskies thumped the Edmonton Wildcats 48-14 in Sherwood Park, Alta.

The Huskies have won three straight and improved to 4-2 to sit second in the PFC. The Wildcats fell to 0-6 and were officially eliminated from contention for a post-season berth.

As for Horsley, he graduated from Warman High School in June of 2018, and he first joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in the U Sports ranks. 

Lachlan Horsley had a big day in a PFC semifinal win last year.

The skill pass catcher was a red shirt for the 2018 as the Huskies would win the Hardy Cup as the Canada West Conference champions and bow out of the post-season falling 47-24 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl U Sports semifinal contest.

While going through that campaign just practicing with the Huskies, Horsley found he was jumping to get back into game action. He thought that in his personal situation joining the Hilltops would allow him to get on the field in game situations quicker than if he remained with the Huskies.

“I was originally just OK to red shirt and have like this long played out career there,” said Horsley, who is playing through his final campaign of CJFL eligibility. “Then, I was pretty eager to start playing again and to actually start.

“I was climbing the depth chart quite a bit, but I made the decision to come over to the Hilltops here. Then, I was kind of a scout team guy the first year, but I took the time to develop and kind of flourish a bit.”

Horsley joined the Hilltops for the 2019 CJFL campaign. He got to see the field for limited game action that season catching two passes for 10 yards and returning two kicks for 14 yards in regular season play.

During what was a learning campaign for Horsley, the Hilltops posted a perfect 12-0 record in 2019 winning the Canadian Bowl as CJFL champions for a sixth straight year. He made enough progress that the coaches were tabbing him for a starting role in 2020.

The 2020 CJFL campaign was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. The Hilltops did practise as team for six weeks in September and October of that year.

Last season, Horsley’s hard work and perseverance paid off as he hit the field as a starter. During the Hilltops eight regular season games, he hauled in 24 passes for 365 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Lachlan Horsley, left, had a big game versus the Thunder on Sept. 10.

Horsley had another 10 catches for 152 yards in the Hilltops three outings in the 2021 postseason.

“Finally last year, I got my first real taste of the starting life,” said Horsley. “I got two years now here.

“I love it. I feel like I fell in love with football when I came here.”

Horsley’s growth has been noticed by the Saskatoon coaching staff too. Hilltops legendary head coach Tom Sargeant said Horsley is a prime time player who is getting rewarded for the hard work he has put in over the years.

“He was a quality player coming out of high school,” said Sargeant. “He was a quality player when he got here.

“He paid his dues. He waited his time, and he is taking advantage of his situation.”

Sargeant said he wishes Horsley could have had a better opportunity to make a key play in the Hilltops 29-21 overtime loss to their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder on September 10, 2022. In that contest, Horsley caught nine passes for 122 yards.

The Hilltops had the first possession in the extra session played under the CFL’s shootout rules format. They gambled on a third and goal situation from the Regina six yard line and Horsley came open in the end zone, but the pass that came his way was thrown behind him.

“He’s got a lot of gifts, so that is why we threw him the ball a lot, and he made his plays,” said Sargeant. “It is too bad we didn’t get him the ball in a better spot for him to make that play at the end of the game, because I believe if it was a good throw he makes the play and maybe the outcome is a little different.”

Lachlan Horsley has come up clutch in big situations.

To date, Horsley’s most memorable game came in the Hilltops 33-31 PFC semifinal win on November 7, 2021 against the Edmonton Huskies at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. In an all-time CJFL classic, Horsley caught six passes for 106 yards.

After the Huskies scored to go ahead 27-24 with 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, Horsley made three key catches on the Hilltops final drive to set up quarterback Damon Dutton hitting veteran receiver Dillan Heintz with a five-yard touchdown toss to win the game by two points with 21.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

“To be honest, the stadium energy was low,” said Horsley. “Our sideline energy was low.

“As much as we went out there and, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win this game,’ I didn’t feel like the expectations were that high. Then a couple of guys made a play or two and that switch just flipped, and it was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this.’ I got a couple of balls thrown my way and made all my catches.

“We’re matching the field, and then, it became a reality you know what we were actually going to do this. We finished it off. That is probably my favourite football moment of my life so far.”

While the Hilltops hit a rough stretch losing three in a row after starting out 2-0, Horsley believes his squad has the players to end the campaign on a high note. He is focused on doing his part to write a good end to his final CJFL season.

“I suppose I am a fifth year, but regardless of what year you are in when you play for the Saskatoon Hilltops, you’re expected to win the Canadian championship for the fifth years regardless,” said Horsley, who travel to Edmonton next weekend to face the Wildcats. “It is my last year.

“It would be terrific to win, but right now, we have our work cut out for us. I’m excited, because I am a workaholic if you ask any of our coaches. We’re going to get to work, and we’ll get this thing figured out.

Lachlan Horsley and the Hilltops face the Wildcats next.

“It should be exciting soon to watch.”

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