Saskatoon Hilltops dominate PFC all-star selections
The Saskatoon Hilltops didn’t earn much love from their coach following their Prairie Football Conference semifinal against the Winnipeg Rifles, but they have since garnered 10 Prairie Football Conference all-star selections.
Six of them were named defensive all-stars Tuesday by the Canadian Junior Football League and PFC.
“Holy cow — I left that game over the weekend not so happy with those guys on defence,” Toppers head coach Tom Sargeant said prior to practice Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, I don’t worry about recognition and those type of things. Our team is measured by performance and success we have on and off the field. We’ve got a mighty opponent in the Regina Thunder this weekend, so we need to come out and play like allstars because Regina’s going to be locked and loaded.”
Saskatoon plays host to the provincial rivals from Regina on Sunday afternoon in the PFC championship final at SMF Field. Game time is 1 p.m.
The winner moves on to host the CJFL semifinal Oct. 29.
THE ALL-STARS
Defensive linemen Tom Schnitzler (10 tackles, five assisted tackles, one sack, two blocked kicks, three knockdowns, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two interceptions) and Riley Pickett (15 tackles, eight assisted tackles, nine sacks and one knockdown) were named PFC all-stars on defence Tuesday along with linebackers Cameron Schnitzler (33 tackles, 20 assisted tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception) and Cody Peters (30 tackles, 12 assisted tackles and one knockdown), plus defensive backs Colton Holmes (22 tackles, nine assisted tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and one knockdown) and James Vause (18 tackles, 10 assisted tackles, two knockdowns and one fumble recovery).
The reigning PFC and Canadian Bowl champion Hilltops also had four players named PFC offensive all-stars this week. They are led by a trio of offensive linemen, Kirk Simonsen, Mason Ochs and Taylor Elderkin, plus running back Logan Fischer, who is leading the PFC this season with 121 carries and 11 touchdowns to go along with 804 yards rushing and 11 catches for 86 yards.
“I guess the league has voted and this is as good as we’ve done in a long time with all-stars,” said Sargeant. “We usually don’t get this type of recognitions, so I’m very happy for the players and coaches who put a lot into the process. Any time players are recognized, it makes you pretty excited about it.”