No longer shouting from mountains, Hilltops prepare for provincial rival
The Saskatoon Hilltops must have felt like the Saskatoon Mountaintops after crushing the 2015 Canadian Bowl finalist Okanagan Sun 58-2.
If the Toppers were on a mountain-high during their bye week, they grounded themselves in a hurry as they head into Regina on Saturday to play the provincial rival Regina Thunder at the old Mosaic Stadium.
The game could have a huge bearing on home-field advantage for the Canadian Junior Football League playoffs.
With a win, Saskatoon (5-1-0) can clinch a semifinal playoff berth and possibly seal a home game as well, depending on what the Edmonton Huskies do down the stretch.
“I’m worried that we had the bye,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant admitted this week. “Sometimes, you lull a little bit. It’s up to us as coaches to get these guys back on the bean and try to get to that level we played a couple of weeks ago because that’s as good as I’ve seen us play all year. We finally hit that point. So it’s all about momentum, and, more importantly, it’s about us continuing the path of playing high-end, high-tempo football.
“If we can do that, whoever we play ain’t going to matter.”
The Hilltops have only three games left on the schedule, including games against the provincial rival Regina Thunder (3-3-0), Edmonton Wildcats (0-6-0) and Winnipeg Rifles (2-4-0). Only the Wildcats game is on home turf at Saskatoon Minor Football (SMF) Field. TOPPING IT OFF: Running back Logan Fischer is averaging over 100 yards per game. He has carried the ball 90 times for 521 yards and six touchdowns ... Sam Mike has 25 catches for 395 yards and four TD majors. Jason Price has added 14 receptions for 352 yards and six TDs ... QB Jared Andreychuk has completed 83 of 135 passes for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns in six games ... Defensively, middle linebacker Cameron Schnitzler leads the Hilltops with 32 defensive tackles, nine assists, a quarterback sack and two forced fumbles.