Hilltops’ Davidsen on cusp of 1,000 yards rushing for season

Boston Davidsen has rushed for 891 yards this season.

Boston Davidsen will always be a team first guy, even when he is close to a big personal milestone.

Through seven games of the CJFL regular season, the Saskatoon Hilltops star power running back has carried the ball 133 times for 891 yards and five touchdowns. He needs to run for 109 yards in the Hilltops final regular season game to achieve the milestone of rushing for 1000 yards in one season.

The Hilltops, who are 4-3, also need to win their last game of the regular season to keep the possibility of hosting a PFC semifinal playoff game alive. They close the regular season hosting the Calgary Colts (2-5) on Sunday, October 16 at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

At the same time when the Hilltops are facing the Colts, the Edmonton Huskies (5-2) travel to Regina to take on the Thunder (7-0) at Leibel Field. A Hilltops victory combined with a Huskies loss will see both club sport 5-3 records and give Saskatoon second place in the PFC and the right to host a PFC semifinal against the Huskies.

The ’Toppers hold the head-to-head standings tiebreaker with the Huskies having won the lone regular season encounter between the two sides 38-10 back on August 21 at SMF Field.

Davidsen is aware how close he is to 1,000-yards rushing, but he said his mind is focused on helping the Hilltops secure a win against the Colts.

“It is far from a guarantee that we will get there (to 1,000-yards rushing),” said Davidsen, who leads the PFC in rushing. “I think more importantly we have a game (against the Calgary Colts) that we have to win.

Boston Davidsen (#24) hits a hole created by his offensive line.

“If we win and things go our way, we’ll get a home playoff game in the first round. That is what we are focused on. If I can contribute to that win by running the ball, then I am all for it.

“If I need to block, I’ll do whatever it takes. That win comes first.”

As Saskatoon leads the PFC in rushing with 1,463 yards, Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant knows his team’s path to victory calls for being strong on the ground. The legendary sideline boss said his team will be trying to get Davidsen to 1,000 yards rushing for the season, because his success along the ground gives the Hilltops a better chance to win.

While Davidsen has had a good season, Sargeant believes his standout has found another gear in recent weeks.

“The last couple of games we’ve played better, and one of the reasons is because Boston (Davidsen) and the O-line are playing better,” said Sargeant. “He (Davidsen) is doing a heck of a job reading his holes and making good decisions.

“You look at his performance he did last year he is a heck of a runner there. We know what he is all about. We’ll rally around that, and that will be one of our goals as we head into our last game of the year of trying to get Boston (Davidsen) over that mountaintop, because he deserves it, the O-line deserves it and the offence deserves it and the team deserves it.”

Last season, Davidsen had a breakout campaign finishing second in the PFC with 634 yards rushing coming on 98 carries, where he scored six touchdowns. The graduate of the Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints football program is aware that the players on the offensive line would be pretty pumped, if they could say they blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher.

Boston Davidsen can pile up the yards in traffic.

“It might even show more success on their part than it does on mine,” said Davidsen, whose father, Donnie, is the Hilltops offensive line coach. “Without a successful O-line, you’re not going anywhere.

“They’re the ones creating the lanes for you allowing you to get your yards. They’re the ones that take a lot of pride in it too. They’ve been keeping me I guess updated with the stats even maybe more than myself just trying to I guess motivate me to hit that mark.”

The last Hilltops player to hit the 1000-yard plateau in rushing was Ben Abrook, who accomplished the feat in 2019 when Saskatoon capped a run of winning the CJFL title in six straight years. That season, Abrook ran the ball 199 times for 1,215 yards and eight touchdowns.

During the Hilltops 2018 CJFL championship season, Josh Ewanchyna hit the 1,000-yard plateau. Suiting up in seven regular season games, Ewanchyna carried the ball 134 times for 1,007 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Wayndel Lewis is currently the third last player to hit 1,000-yards rushing in a season. During the Hilltops 2014 CJFL championship season, Lewis carried the ball 130 times for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns while being named the CJFL’s offensive player of the year.

Current Hilltops running backs coach Andre Lalonde holds the Hilltops team record for most rushing yards in one season set in his final campaign as a player in 2013. In that season, Lalonde carried the ball 182 times for 1,367 yards and seven touchdowns while being named the CJFL’s offensive player of the year.

Boston Davidsen can power his way through attempted tacklers.

Davidsen said one of his biggest influences on his career is Lalonde.

“I owe a tonne of my success to him,” said Davidsen. “He’s led the way.

“He has been a good leader for me, a good coach and a good example to follow. All of the technique and stuff we use, it is taught by him. He is a major part of our team’s success and the running backs’ success.”

Looking towards the Hilltops final regular season game, Sargeant said it is special when a running back can reach 1,000 yards rushing in a season. With the PFC traditionally being the CJFL’s toughest conference, Sargeant said that makes getting to 1,000-yards rushing that much more impressive a milestone on top of the fact the Hilltops have had their struggles this season.

The sideline boss said it would be a memorable moment, if the Hilltops could get Davidsen to 1,000-yards rushing.

“When you break this league down, it is not easy, especially with the way we’ve been playing,” said Sargeant. “It is credit to everybody that he is in this situation, but most importantly him.

“He has put in the time. He does everything right, and as I said, everyone is going to rally around him.

Boston Davidsen, left, is focused on helping the Hilltops win games.

“He’d be embarrassed if we’re talking like this behind him with these accolades. That is just who he is. At the end of the day, he is one heck of a football player, and he makes the Saskatoon Hilltops better.”

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Ewanchyna hits 1,000-yard mark in Hilltops’ regular season finale

Josh Ewanchyna surpasses 1,000 rushing on this carry.

    Josh Ewanchyna obtained what seemed like the unachievable milestone.

    On Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the third-year Saskatoon Hilltops running back piled up 177 yards rushing on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Hilltops romped to a 48-7 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles in the CJFL regular season finale for both sides. Thanks to that effort, Ewanchyna eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the season.

    The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team carried the ball 134 times for 1,007 yards and scored 14 touchdowns appearing in seven of the Hilltops eight regular season games. He missed the Toppers first regular season game with a minor injury.

    After eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing near the midway point of the fourth quarter, Ewanchyna was taken out of the game to polite applause, and he received an embrace from Hilltops receiver, former Holy Cross teammate and good friend David Solie.

    “I didn’t think it was a realistic at the start of the season,” said Ewanchyna, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 195 pounds. “With our O-line up front, they made it happen for me, so it was awesome.”

David Solie (#2) embraces Josh Ewanchyna.

    Having missed the Hilltops regular season opener, Ewanchyna’s odds of rushing for over 1,000 yards were long, but could be accomplished with some big outings. He made the big games happen being named the offensive player of the week three times in the Prairie Football Conference.

    With those efforts, the 20-year-old still needed to gain 170 yards rushing on Sunday to hit the 1,000 yard rushing mark. 
    After hitting that accomplishment, Ewanchyna was pumped about that development and the fact the team’s coaches let him go after that milestone.

    “It feels unreal,” said Ewanchyna, who led the PFC in rushing yards. “I expected it to happen a little sooner.

    “I wanted to get off as soon as possible. We ended up getting it. It was a great feeling.

    “My O-line stayed out there with me to help us get to that milestone. I can’t thank those guys enough for doing that, and even the coaches putting enough trust in me just to get those yards and get out of there without any injuries or anything extra done to me.”

Josh Ewanchyna ran for 177 yards and four TDs on Sunday.

    Ewanchyna became the first Hilltops running back to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Wayndel Lewis in 2014. Lewis was in his fifth and final season with the Hilltops in that campaign, and he carried the ball 130 times for 1063 yards and scored nine touchdowns. He was named the offensive player of the year for the CJFL in 2014.

    Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said it isn’t easy to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

    “It is real special in the fact that he didn’t play in the first game,” said Sargeant. “He got hurt in the alumni game, so he has been battling an injury all year.

    “The look in his eye he really wanted it. It is my job as a coach when players want things you coach into it.

    “The offensive line wanted it just as bad for Josh (Ewanchyna). It is a team accomplishment. It is something that people can put on the mantle.”

    The Hilltops piled up a number of milestones with Sunday’s victory. With the win, they finish the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record having outscored the opposition 402-70 in those contests.

QB Jordan Walls (#19) surpassed 2,000 yards passing.

    In 2018, Saskatoon has trailed on the scoreboard for just a total of 81 seconds.

    Star quarterback Jordan Walls completed 15-of-20 passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on Sunday. On the season, Walls surpassed 2,000 yards in passing completing 122-of-197 passes for 2,010 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.

    Solie, who is the Hilltops kicker, surpassed 100 points in scoring piling up 107 points coming off two touchdowns for 12 points, 16 field goals for 48 points, 46 converts worth one point and one rouge.

    Fifth-year star receiver Jason Price hauled in five passes for 123 yards. He topped the PFC in receiving yards at 709 coming off 31 catches, and he scored four touchdowns.

    On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Garth Knittig had a pair of sacks on Sunday, while defensive tackle Jesse McNabb, and defensive ends Tristan Hering, Connor Guillet and Connor Delahey each had one sack.

    Knittig, who has been dubbed “the Delisle Destroyer” by Hilltops play-by-play voice Drew Wilson, has 3.5 sacks this season to go with 19 solo tackles, and he has enjoyed the fact he has made those contributions to the team.

DT Garth Knittig, left, tracks down a sack for the Hilltops on Sunday.

    “It was fun,” said Knittig. “I have to give thanks to my partner inside there Jesse (McNabb).

    “We take turns flushing each other to the quarterback. It just works out.”

    McNabb lead the Hilltops with 4.5 sacks this season.

    The Hilltops led Sunday’s game 27-0 at halftime and 48-0 by the end of the third quarter. Ewanchyna ran in touchdowns from three, 24, 16 and one yards out. Walls hit Solie with a three-yard touchdown pass, John Brown with a 14-yard touchdown toss and Rylan Kleiter with a 50-yard touchdown strike.

    The Rifles got on the board when fifth string quarterback and regular receiver Gabriel Grenier broke a run 91 yards for a touchdown with 74 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. 

Rylan Kleiter (#7) tears downfield on a 50-yard TD reception.

    Due to injuries at the quarterback position, the Rifles started Grenier and substituted defensive back Troy Wilson in a quarterback.

    Grenier completed 12-of-27 passes for 145 yards and ran the ball eight times for 118 yards including his long touchdown scamper.

    The Rifles finished fourth in the PFC with a 3-5 record.

    The Hilltops, who topped the PFC, and Rifles will go at it again in a conference semifinal playoff game this coming Sunday at SFM Field at 1 p.m.

    Also on Sunday, the Hilltops honoured fifth-year players Adam Benkic, Adam Ewanchyna, Bobby Ehman, Cody Peters, Guillet, Price, Walls and Kirk Simonsen with the team’s traditional walk out of the tunnel with their parents.

OL Kirk Simonsen (#51) walks out of the tunnel with his parents.

    In the two other PFC games on Sunday, the Regina Thunder traveled to Calgary and dumped the Colts 70-6, and the Huskies downed the Wildcats 42-17 in an all-Edmonton clash in the Alberta capital.

    The Huskies (6-2) finish second in the PFC and will host the Thunder (5-3) in the other conference semifinal this coming Sunday.

    The Wildcats (2-6) and Colts (0-8) finish out of the playoff picture at fifth and sixth in the conference respectively.

    The Hilltops are trying to win the CJFL title for an unprecedented fifth straight year and for the seventh time in the last eight years. Knittig can’t wait to start playing in the single elimination post-season games.

The Hilltops celebrate finishing the regular season 8-0.

    “It definitely amps it up a little bit,” said Knittig. “You get a little more nervous for games, but we’ve been in these situations before. We’re ready to go.”

    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 champs again

Storied franchise concludes memorable season with 17^th CJFL title

Jared Andreychuk unloads a pass for the Hilltops.

            The Saskatoon Hilltops capitalized on their date with destiny, and the Canadian Bowl returned to the Bridge City once again.

            The storied Canadian Junior Football League franchise marched into McLeod Stadium in Langley, B.C., and weren’t going to be denied their 17^th national title. They built a 25-7 halftime lead against the host Langley Rams scoring 24 points off four turnovers.

            When the dust settled, the Hilltops came away with a convincing 39-14 victory.

            Quarterback Jared Andreychuk accounted for the first major on a 14-yard run in the first quarter. With 8.6 seconds to play in the first half, the signal caller put a big dagger into the Rams hopes hooking up with receiver Evan Kopchynski on a 16-yard TD strike.

            Saskatoon piled up 458 yards on offence. Langley outgained the visitors with 467 yards of offence, but the Hilltops defence proved to be opportunistic causing the Rams to turn the ball over six times.

            On Sunday, the Toppers arrived back in Saskatoon a bit tired but in high spirits after celebrating their championship win well into the night.

            The season started out rocky. Having started 1-2 thanks to two heartbreaking losses to their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder, the Hilltops faced a gut check time.

They closed off the campaign in fine style with eight straight victories for a 9-2 overall record. The only contest that was close was a 28-23 regular season closing victory over the Edmonton Wildcats back on Oct. 12.

            The Hilltops improved as the season went on. As they marched to a Canadian title, it was apparent the team still held a deep warm spot in the hearts of the citizens of Saskatoon.

            When they claimed the Prairie Football Conference title with a 27-7 victory over the Calgary Colts on Oct. 26, word spread quickly over social media lines. A day after that win, the Hilltops in conjunction with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders hosted the Riderville North Quarterback Luncheon at TCU Place.

The event was packed and it marked a kickoff to send the junior squad forward for two weeks of preparation for the CJFL title game.

            At McLeod Stadium on Saturday, the Hilltops had a healthy group of followers in the stands, who made the trip from Saskatoon to Langley for the game.

            The win marked the eighth CJFL championship for Tom Sargeant as Hilltops head coach. Former Saskatoon StarPhoenix star sports reporter Cory Wolfe added on social media the victory marked the 11^th CJFL title Sargeant has been part of with the Hilltops franchise. He also won one championship ring as a player and two more as an assistant coach.

            The Sarge has seen almost two-thirds of the Hilltops national title wins first hand.

Logan Fischer runs the ball for the Hilltops.

            At the CJFL awards ceremony on Friday, Wayndel Lewis, the Hilltops dynamic running back, was named the offensive player of the year. He rushed for 1,063 yards on 130 carries during the regular season scoring nine touchdowns.

            Due to an injured left ankle, Lewis wasn’t able to play Saturday for the Toppers, but he was still on the sidelines offering support for his teammates.

            Logan Fischer performed admirably in Lewis’s absence rushing for 94 yards on 19 carries scoring one major. He also hauled in four passes for another 37 yards.

            Andreychuk arguably showed the most improvement over the campaign. The third-year signal caller was on fire on Saturday completing 17 of 27 passes for 343 yards, three touchdown strikes and no interceptions.

            Receiver Evan Turkington, who was the offensive player the game, caught five passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and Kopchynski had five catches for 126 yards including his one TD catch.

            Defensive back Dylan Larson, who was the defensive player of the game, had 11 tackles and one tackle assist.

            In 2014, the Hilltops faced adversity with the slow start and losing Lewis to injury in a 43-13 PFC semifinal victory over the Winnipeg Rifles on Oct. 19.

            The fact the Hilltops overcame those setbacks makes the team’s 17^th CJFL title that much more sweet.

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Who hoo! It is playoff time

Drew Burko (#2) slings a pass for the Huskies.

            Playoffs! Please tell me about playoffs.

            I don’t know how someone could not be excited when post-season play arrives for football. With my sporting background being linked to football, I am likely biased that way. On the other hand, this is Saskatchewan, and football is number one.

            The next couple of days are going to be fun. Tonight at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (6-2) host the University of Manitoba Bisons (4-4) in one Canada West semifinal playoff match.

            On Saturday, the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops are in Langley, B.C., to take on the host Langley Rams for the Canadian Junior Football League championship, the Canadian Bowl. The Toppers are in quest of their 17^th national title, and kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

            First up is the Huskies and their intriguing match with the Bisons. Last year in Winnipeg, the Bisons slipped past the Huskies in a Canada West semifinal 37-36.

            As strange as this sounds, the Huskies will be hosting their first home playoff game since 2010. They haven’t won a playoff contest since defeating the University of Regina Rams at Griffiths back in 2009.

            In other words, there is pretty much a whole generation of students at the University of Saskatchewan that have never seen the Huskies football team win a playoff contest, and a small representation of that current student body likely remembers the 2010 home post-season game, where the Huskies fell 31-30 to the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies are also 1-7 in post-season play over the past seven campaigns.

            The team’s three Vanier Cup titles in the 1990s and the four Vanier Cup appearances between 2002 to 2006 seem like a distant memory.

            The Huskies recent troubles in the post-season also coincide with the run of the University of Calgary Dinos winning the last six straight Canada West titles under head coach Blake Nill. In Canada West, you have the Dinos and then everyone else.

            This season has the potential to be different. Huskies have had some up and down games, but they managed a 6-2 finish. They enter the playoffs with solid back-to-back wins downing the Golden Bears 41-23 on Oct. 25 at Griffiths and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 38-18 last Saturday in Vancouver.

            The win over the Thunderbirds was a good one, because the Huskies had nothing to gain in the standings, and they played that contest out hard.

            The Bisons are the last team from Canada West to win the Vanier Cup back in 2007, which was the year before the Dinos began their current conference title run. This season, the Bisons have been all over the map posting a 4-4 mark looking impressive one week and then a question mark the next week.

            In Week One, the Huskies downed the Bisons 44-24 at Griffiths. On Oct. 17, the blowout margin went the other way as the Bisons stomped the Huskies 41-8 in Winnipeg.

            It will be interesting to see which team advances tonight. The other Canada West semifinal features the heavily favoured Dinos (6-2) against the Rams (3-5). Barring something unforeseen, the winner of the tilt versus the Bisons and Huskies will be traveling to Calgary in a week’s time.

Jared Andreychuk gets set to unload a pass for the Hilltops.

            In the CJFL, the Hilltops (8-2 overall) roll into the Canadian Bowl riding a seven-game winning streak. The Rams (9-3 overall) have won three straight.

            Saskatoon has improved significantly as the season has gone on. The Rams have 15 players in their 22-year-old graduation year and experience will be on their side. The Hilltops have only five graduating players.

            These teams met in the Canadian Bowl two years ago, and the Hilltops battled back from a 15-point third quarter deficit to pull out a 23-21 victory. Expect this year’s game to likely be as close.

            The Hilltops will have veteran receive Chad Braun back in the lineup, who missed five games due to foot and knee injuries. Dynamic running back Wayndel Lewis, who rushed for 1,063 yards in the regular season, will be out for a second straight game with his injured left ankle.

            The one weird thing with the CJFL was the fact the Ontario Football Conference wasn’t eligible to compete for the Canadian Bowl this season. The OFC changed it age rules, which has provisions to allow players to play until the age of 24.

            With that development, the Canadian Bowl doesn’t have the national championship title feel like it did in past years.

            Despite that fact, the Hilltops and Rams both earned their way into the title game, and a championship victory is always a great thing to achieve.

A salute to Huskies men’s soccer squad

Brett Levis motors down the pitch for the Huskies.

            The Canadian Interuniversity Sports men’s soccer championships turned out to be a heartbreaker for the U of S Huskies men’s soccer team.

On Thursday night, the host University of Prince Edward Island Panthers downed the Huskies 2-0 in extra time in Charlottetown. Jared Murphy scored at the 110^th minute and Logan Dawson tallied at the 119^th minute to lift the host Panthers to victory.

Brett MacDonald earned the win in goal for the Panthers, while Michal Bandula was saddled with the loss for the Huskies.
            On Friday, the Huskies were eliminated from the tournament dropping a 4-3 decision after penalty kicks to the Universite de Montreal Carabins.
            Bryce Marinus, Garrett Peters and Sam Whiting netted singles in regulation for the Huskies. Bandula again took the loss in goal. Vincent Perret, Alan Torrent and Louis Simard picked up singles for the Carabins. Simard and Samuel Dufort both saw action in goal for Montreal.
           The Carabins took the shootout 3-2, with Maxime Laurey, Mircea Ilcu and Fernando Herrera picking up goals. Luigi Bekwayo and Carson MacDonald netted the Huskies markers in the shootout.
           After they get over those two setbacks, the Huskies can reflect on what was a special season. A program best 9-1-2 record in the regular season and the team's first ever Canada West title were impressive accomplishments.
           Also, a few more casual local spectators have taken notice of the Huskies soccer program. The team would have loved to have sent fifth-year captain Jordain Farahani into graduation as a national champ.

The Huskies could potentially return the rest of their roster next season. One can already imagine the exciting possibilities that await this club a year from now.

 

Goals dry up

 

 

Ryan Holfeld tends goal for the Huskies.

             It appears all the graduations up front are catching up to the Huskies men’s Hockey team.

            After opening the regular season with four straight wins, the Huskies have lost six straight in the ultra-competitive Canada West Conference. During the skid, the Huskies have managed to score just eight goals. The losses have come at the hands of the Golden Bears (9-1), the Dinos (8-2) and the Bisons (5-5), with the last four setbacks coming on the road.

            The Huskies return home to face the Mount Royal University Cougars (6-4) at 7 p.m. both tonight and Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

            As far as preventing goals goes, not much more can be asked of the Huskies. Fifth-year goaltender Ryan Holfeld has stellar numbers with a 1.78 goals against average, a .938 save percentage and one shutout. Rookie Jordon Cooke has a 2.63 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout.

            The Huskies graduated their top four scorers last season in forwards Derek Hulak, Kenton Dulle, Andrew Bailey and Brennan Bosch. Hulak was the Canada West MVP last season and is now playing for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

            That foursome just doesn’t get replaced right away. At this point, a goal gusher would go a long way to restoring confidence offensively for the Huskies. Getting just three goals in a game might be enough to get a win with the way the goaltending and defence has played.

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Hilltops Canadian Bowl bound

Outstanding coaches help keep Saskatoon on top

The Hilltops celebrate with the PFC championship trophy.

            It was Sunday beautiful Sunday for the Saskatoon Hilltops.

            The venerable Canadian Junior Football League franchise had a day that was as picture perfect as the weather at the club’s long time home the Saskatoon Minor Football Field, which is formerly known as Gordie Howe Bowl.

            Quarterback Jared Andreychuk came out gunning the ball all over the field staking his club out to a 24-7 lead against the visiting Calgary Colts. The Toppers cruised to a 27-7 victory, which allowed them to capture another Prairie Football Conference title.

            With the win, the Hilltops advanced to the CJFL title game, the Canadian Bowl, on November 8 in Langley, B.C., against the host Rams.

            After starting the season 1-2, the Hilltops rolled into the PFC final riding a six-game winning streak. The Colts had won four in a row, so the two hottest teams in the conference were battling for spot in the national final.

            Calgary went 0-8 in 2013, which saw the club hire legendary British Columbia Football Conference head coach Matthew “Snoop” Blokker. Blokker guided the Colts to a 4-4 regular season record and a playoff win.

            Unfortunately for Calgary’s bench boss, Sunday belonged to Saskatoon’s stellar coaching staff.

            The energetic Tom Sargeant has been guiding the Hilltops as head coach since 1998. During his time, the team has won seven CJFL championships, and he has become the iconic standard to which all other Hilltops bench bosses past and present are measured. “The Sarge” has almost seen it all, and his teams always improve as the season goes on.

When he comes out fired up for a practice or a game, it is hard not to get pumped up too. Sargeant always seems to know the right things to say. He has also surrounded himself with some outstanding coaches.

One of the best known is defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie, who is the executive director of Football Saskatchewan and the head coach of the powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries women’s football team. Yausie’s defences are always aggressive, tough and opportunistic when it comes to forcing turnovers.

A key takeaway came on the Colts first drive of the second half. Calgary drove down to about the Saskatoon 11 yard line and was going for a quarterback sneak on a third-and-one gamble. At the time, the Hilltops led 24-7, but a Calgary major would make it game on again.

Colts quarterback Brett Hunchak fumbled the ball away into the hands of a Hilltops defender to bring an end to the scoring threat. Saskatoon got a field goal on that cough up to go up 27-7.

Evan Kopchynski takes off to score a first quarter TD.

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Sheldon Ball might be one of the more underrated coaches on the Saskatoon staff. “Coach Goose” had a masterful game plan drawn up, which allowed the offence to land a lot of huge early body blows.

Andreychuk completed 20 of 31 passes for 329 yards and three touchdown strikes. The best throw was a 54-yard pass and run strike to Evan Kopchynski that put Saskatoon up 14-7 in the first quarter.

The Colts managed to get a couple of picks including an acrobatic end zone pick by Dylan Niedermaier in the second quarter. Andreychuk wasn’t deterred and proceeded to calmly drive his squad.

            Running back Logan Fischer, who was filling in for injured starter Wayndel Lewis, rolled off 183 yards rushing on 28 carries. Fischer will have to carry the load again in the Canadian Bowl, as Lewis’s ankle won’t be healed up by that time.

            The offence showed huge improvement under Ball’s guidance, and his influence on Andreychuk, who showed really good vision on Sunday, was obvious. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ball quarterbacked the Hilltops and then the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, and he developed a great analytical understanding of the game during that time.

            With their outstanding coaching staff, the Hilltops will likely be favoured to claim their 17^th CJFL championship in team history. The Hilltops claimed their 16^th CJFL title downing the Rams in Langley 23-21 in the 2012 Canadian Bowl.

            It seems like the blue and gold are in perfect position to add another sweet close to their already storied history.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.