CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK ENDS
Regina rivals end champs’ season
Thunder 21, Hilltops 16
The Regina Thunder gave the Saskatoon Hilltops a gentle wake-up call when they handed them a 29-28 defeat on Sept. 7.
Sunday’s result in the Prairie Football Conference championship game was more akin to a screeching alarm.
The Thunder beat the Hilltops 21-16 — a game that wasn’t close until the very end — preventing Saska - toon from claiming its fourth conference championship in a row.
The Hilltops’ dreams of a record-setting fourthstraight national title were also dashed.
The victory gave the Thunder won its first PFC crown. Regina hadn’t captured the conference title since 1998 when the Rams walloped the Hilltops 48-10.
“In the past, they never had anything we wanted. Now they have something that we dearly wanted,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said. “For our fifthyear players, we have a lot of players leaving this field today that have had years of pretty good success. You get used to that.
“The reality is we don’t have that anymore.”
The Hilltops creamed the Thunder 37-0 in the PFC final last year.
It was the sixth time the Hilltops had beaten the Thunder in as many playoff games, the first coming in 2000.
The tables turned on Sunday.
“It’s unbelievable. I think you can finally call it a rivalry,” said Thunder quarterback Asher Hastings, the PFC co-MVP this season. “We really haven’t competed with them until this year. They’ve always kicked our asses.
“It sure feels nice to come out here and win one for once.”
Hastings threw for 316 yards and a touchdown, guiding a well balanced Thunder attack that was missing stalwart receiver Mitch Thompson due to injury.
His main target was Will Heward. The pair connected 10 times for 167 yards as Hastings set a PFC record with 25 completions in a conference championship game.
“We took what they gave us. We just put the ball underneath,” Hastings said. “With the game plan, I didn’t have to make many hard decisions.
“It was really easy. I didn’t have to be that accurate either. It was just zone defence and there was lots of space. I think we kind of showed their weaknesses.”
“Their defence is pretty vanilla,” added running back Nick Brown, who had 108 yards and a major on the ground and another 42 yards through the air.
“We know what they’re going to do. It’s a great squad, but we’re confident we can run our stuff against them.”
The Thunder played nearly flawlessly in the first half. They built up a 14-2 lead while controlling the football.
Regina had 17 first downs by halftime, compared to just three for Saskatoon.
A 43-yard Heward touchdown, Hastings’s longest completion of the game, put the Thunder up 21-2 after three quarters.
The Hilltops scored a single on the opening kickoff of the game, but never led the rest of the way.
They had allowed their opponents to score first in five of nine games this season before Sunday’s affair.
The Hilltops tried desperately to recover in the fourth quarter.
Fifth-year running back Andre Lalonde scored twice, his second major coming with 1:07 left to close the gap to five points.
The Hilltops would eventually get the ball back for two quick plays, both proving fruitless.
“That’s been our weakness this season. We haven’t started well,” said safety Chris Friesen, who was one of 16 Hilltops to play his final game wearing blue and gold.
“They came out with more energy and fire than we did. We put ourselves in a deficit. We couldn’t overcome that.”
The Hilltops also had injuries, playing without centre Kyle Gordon, right tackle Tanner Cooke, defensive lineman Derrick Sorenson and receiver John Trumpy.
Then quarterback Matt Karpinka had to come out of the game after taking a late hit in the second quarter. He didn’t return.
Jared Andreychuk replaced him, throwing for 151 yards and rushing for 64.
“If we’re getting hurt, that’s because they’re physically taking it to us,” Sargeant said. “They came out and really wanted this game today. We can learn from that.
“It was too much for us to handle today, bottom line.”
It all led to a shocking outcome.
The Thunder now host the Vancouver Island Raiders, who beat the Windsor AKO Fratmen 50-3 in the Jostens Cup game on Saturday, in the Canadian Bowl on Nov. 9.
The Hilltops’ season is suddenly over.
“I really believed this team was going to find a way because that’s what they always did,” Sargeant said. “When the reality hits, it’s a tough one.
“I know the players gave us everything they had. As coaches you have to be extremely proud of that.”