Another bowl win would be final brick in the Walls for Hilltops quarterback
Jordan Walls is coming off an MVP season in which he was also the most outstanding offensive player in the Prairie Football Conference.
But he’s also coming off a notso-mvp passing game in the PFC championship final against the Edmonton Huskies.
Walls — as a graduating fifth-year Hilltop — is in the final countdown of his Canadian Junior Football League career. The second-year starter wants to go out on top as the Toppers take aim at a record fifth straight Canadian Bowl title.
“This is what you want to do in your fifth year,” Walls said before practice Wednesday evening.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to see the last four groups go out with a championship. We want to continue that and, for me, it’s everything. It’s what I’ve wanted my entire career and to be able to get a fifth one would be incredible.”
He knows he’ll have to be better Saturday against British Columbia’s Langley Rams than he was in the PFC final. Game time is 1 p.m. at SMF Field. “I was pretty disappointed with the way I played in the PFC final,” said Walls.
“It definitely made us one-dimensional and it was entirely on me. But I’ve had a couple of weeks now. We’ve been practising a little differently, not trying to force everything and just reading the defence. I feel good going into this game.”
A year ago, Walls led the Hilltops to their fourth consecutive Canadian Bowl title over Ontario’s Windsor AKO Fratmen.
That experience can only help.
“Just being comfortable with being in this situation, a game we always want to get to,” said Walls. “I think, just from last year, knowing what to expect a little bit, from what the other conferences are going to bring and what you need to do to execute the game plan.”
Walls finished the regular season with a career-high 2,010 passing yards and 18 touchdowns on a league-leading 122 completions.
He completed 62 per cent of his passes. In the playoffs thus far, Walls has completed 29 of 54 passing attempts for 618 yards and four touchdowns.
He was good on just 11 of 25 passes for 145 yards and zero touchdowns against the Huskies in the PFC final.
“The film we sent out from the last time we played, we showed a real strong run presence, but didn’t throw the ball as well as we liked. But we’ve certainly had a lot of time to focus on that, about getting things right, and I think we’ve done a better job of preparing Jordan and the receivers for what is in front of us,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.
“It still comes down to execution. No. 1, you’ve got to create that great pocket with great pass protection and then Jordan’s got to keep his eyes down the field and trust what he sees and let it rip. If he’s confident and able to do that, then we’ve got the receivers to make plays and Jordan’s the guy to get them the ball.
“It’s just a confidence thing and trust. If we’re able to do all that, then our passing will be excellent.”
We’ve been fortunate enough to see the last four groups go out with a championship.