Under the lights on Saturday night, Saskatoon prevailed with a 36-11 victory over the Thunder to clinch first place and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a perfect 7-0 record
Hilltops 36, Thunder 11
This was not your typical Saskatoon Hilltops-Regina Thunder clash.
No nail-biting, game-ending drama. No last-second field goals or touchdowns.
Finger-nails, for once, were spared. Surprisingly, this game did not go down to the wire like so many contests between the two provincial rivals in the Canadian Junior Football League’s Prairie Football Conference.
Under the lights on Saturday night, Saskatoon prevailed with a 36-11 victory over the Thunder to clinch first place and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a perfect 7-0 record. Regina fell to 5-2 but still holds onto second place in the PFC and potential home-field advantage for the upcoming PFC semifinal playoffs.
“Our defence really showed up,” said graduating middle linebacker Noah Gedir, who had his hand in seven tackles to go along with two pass knockdowns in the win.
“We had 12 guys were executing their jobs and, at the end of the day, football’s a team sport so we just rely on each other and that’s the result that we wanted.
“It feels good. It always feels good to have home-field advantage and stay at home and have that home crowd behind our backs for the whole playoffs. Hopefully we just keep moving forward.”
It was a big relief for Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant while both disappointing and frustrating for Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay.
“Our line of scrimmage — our offensive line — played outstanding and our defensive line, it just came together,” said Sargeant.
“This is the best we’ve played all year. Obviously Regina is a formidable opponent. They’re well coached and they know us well. They play hard. We had to go in and play hard and play aggressive, and that’s what we did. I’m super happy with what took place. Now we’ve got to keep building.
“We clinched first. Now we’ve got to keep moving.”
Overall, Regina was held to 281 yards in total offence while Saskatoon racked up 493 yards.
“Saskatoon had a really great game plan,” acknowledged MacAulay, whose team trailed 10-0 after the opening quarter and 16-6 at half-time.
“And they put us in situations with a lot of one-on-one situations with our DBs and their receivers came up with some key catches and obviously we struggled to throw the ball but we were able to run the ball — so there’s a positive there.”
Hilltops veteran quarterback Trey Reider shone in the win, slinging the football for 14 completions, 272 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball four times for 26 yards.
“It’s just the evolution of what he (Reider) has become,” noted Sargeant. “He’s a dominant football player. He runs our systems exactly how they need to be run. He’s on point with all of his throws.”
The prime targets were Datiel Fountaine, who caught six passes for 106 yards and two TD majors, and leading PFC receiver Drake Douglas, who had five receptions for 132 yards.
Running back Corbin Ebben had his best night as a Hilltop, running the ball 29 times for 196 yards and a TD. He also caught one pass for 14 yards.
“How about that?” pointed out Sargeant. “Look at what that’s become.”
Five field-goals for Abel Douglas
Place-kicker Teijon Abel-Douglas nailed five of five field-goal attempts for Saskatoon. Shawn Green was good on one of two tries for Regina.
“Everything’s coming at the right time,” said Sargeant. “Coaches are coaching hard. We’re just grinding. We’re practicing hard. Hey, it was a good day today, a good night for the Hilltops. Great crowd. Great energy. We got the two points.”
Thunder quarterback Carter Moberg completed 17 of 31 passes for 156 yards and one TD, giving up a pair of interceptions to Zaden Taylor and Justin Adamko along the way.
Ben Walz had six receptions for 55 yards, including a 16-yard TD for Regina’s lone major.
Ryland Leichert rushed the ball 15 times for 88 yards. Sadik Sadik added 52 yards on seven carries.
Saskatoon secured home-field for the entire PFC playoffs and is in the position to host both the CJFL national semifinal and Canadian Bowl.
“We love playing at home,” said Sargeant. “We played hard to be in this spot we’re in. Now we’ve got to take advantage of it.
“We’re off to the Edmonton Huskies (to close out the regular season). We could be playing them two weeks in a row. You know what? We can’t get used to anything or anyone. This is the type of group that’s pretty locked and loaded right now. I’m very pleased with the performance of all 65 players that we dressed tonight. It was outstanding.”
Defensively, Taylor led the Hilltops with a game-high eight solo tackles to go along with a special teams assist and interception.
Hilltops defensive lineman Kai Kukurudza put the exclamation mark on the win. He had a pair of quarterback sacks to cause turnovers on downs in the final minutes to snuff out potential Thunder offensive drives.
It was the final regular-season home game for graduating senior players on the Hilltops who were honoured, along with their parents, prior to Saturday’s contest.
“It’s good to have that fifth-year appreciation night with the parents and really take this moment because you only get so many opportunities to play,” said Gedir. “Enjoy it while it lasts and we’re going to enjoy it now. It was a good hard-fought game.”
It may not have been the last game between these two provincial rivals in 2024.
“We’re hoping to be back here (Saskatoon) in three weeks (for the PFC final),” said MacAulay. “We put ourselves a little bit in the back of the corner. We have to figure out how we’re going to answer next week and make sure we secure that home playoff game, learn from this and try and make the appropriate changes.
“We love playing them. We love playing here (SMF Field). We’ve had some great games. You know, it’s tough to beat the same team three times so we’ll get ready.”
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