TOPPERS HEAD TO CJFL FINAL
Blow out Raiders 48-0 in semis
The post-game chant in the Saskatoon Hilltops’ huddle said it all:
“We’re going to the (champion)’ship! … We’re going to the ’ship! … We’re going to the ’ship!”
For the Vancouver Island Raiders, that ship has sailed.
For the Hilltops, it’s a fourthstraight Canadian Bowl championship berth in the making.
Saskatoon — which has won the last three Canadian Bowls and six of the last seven — will now be looking for a record-setting fourth-straight title after toppling the visiting Raiders 48-0 in Canadian Junior Football League semifinal action Sunday afternoon at SMF Field.
Next up are the Windsor AKO Fratman in the 2017 Canadian Bowl to be played on Remembrance Day at Windsor.
“Our guys are just hungry right now,” said the always exuberant Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.
“We’re playing fast, aggressive and with a lot of trust. It’s a much different team than it maybe was a month ago. The coaches are starting to get out of the way because they’re playing at such a high level.”
Indeed, it was a rather dominating performance by Saskatoon, which racked up 385 yards in net offence and 26 first downs compared to only 125 yards offence and nine first downs by Vancouver Island, which trailed 37-0 at halftime.
The Toppers were red-hot on an otherwise miserably cold and blustery day.
“We like playing in the cold,” offered Toppers linebacker Cody Peters. “It could be warm, too. It doesn’t matter to us. We just want to play.”
The Toppers’ defence continues to matter the most, posting yet another shutout victory.
“That was our game plan from the get-go,” said Peters. “That’s what we wanted to do, come out and play strong Hilltops football.”
On Sunday, it took the Hilltops only five seconds to get onto the scoreboard, which they virtually owned after that.
The Raiders conceded the lead on the opening kickoff by giving up a single. From there, the Hilltops rolled on for five unanswered touchdown majors in the first half.
Joshua Ewanchyna, on a pair of TD runs from two yards and 20 yards out, Ryan Turple, with a 10yard catch, and Colin Stumborg, with two TD majors on a one-yard run and a 15-yard catch on a thirdand-three gamble, scored for Saskatoon in the first half.
For Stumborg, two majors in one game marked a career-high. It couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Honestly, we knew it was going to be a battle and it was,” said Stumborg. “They played hard all game. They had an unreal season and came in and beat two teams (Okanagan and Westshore). It feels really good to put up points and play Hilltop football. Our defence played unreal.
“That was one of the best games we played all year.”
The Hilltops continued their dominance in the third quarter with an opening-drive TD run by Logan Fischer. James Vause added a 42-yard field goal with 4:08 remaining to to close out the scoring.
Jordan Walls completed nine of 13 passes for 153 yards and two TDs before being replaced by backup Tyler Hermann in the fourth quarter. Turple led the way with four catches for 51 yards. Mike and Fischer added two receptions each.
Adam Machart rushed the ball 19 times for 84 yards. Josh Ewanchyna added 62 yards on eight carries. Fischer, who came into the game in the third quarter, added 56 yards on eight carries. Liam Murphy chipped in with 45 yards on nine carries.
Defensively, Tom Schnitzler had four tackles and two quarterback sacks. Defensive lineman Jesse McNabb added six tackles and Logan Bitz had two sacks and three tackles.
Vancouver Island mustered only 56 yards in net offence and two first downs in the opening half.
“One great first quarter led to a second one, too, and at halftime, it’s 37-nothing, so you know you executed the plan pretty well,” noted Sargeant.
“It was a great day for the Saskatoon Hilltops.”
Honestly, we knew it was going to be a battle and it was … It feels really good to put up points and play Hilltop football. Our defence played unreal.