Football rematch 26 years in the making

Hilltops to open 2017 home schedule against 1991 Canadian Bowl opponents

It was 1991.

Tom Sargeant — who would go on to become head coach of the Saskatoon Hilltops seven years later — was then merely a rookie assistant under head coach Dave Hardy.

The Hilltops were hosting the Ottawa Sooners in the Canadian Bowl at what was then still known as Gordie Howe Bowl.

The Hilltops ended up winning 41-27.

Fast-forward to Aug. 26, some 26 years later.

The Hilltops and Sargeant, now a veteran head coach of 19 seasons, will host the Sooners in a rematch that has taken nearly three decades to develop.

For the three-time reigning Canadian Bowl champion Hilltops, the featured game against Ottawa will act as their 2017 home opener at SMF Field.

“I think it’s great,” said Hilltops president Eric Nimilowich. “I feel that the league is expanding and (the interlocking schedule) is a great asset.

“It’ll be a Saturday night and it’s a real draw. We haven’t had them (the Sooners) for so long. We’re looking for good attendance.”

It’ll be one of six Canadian Junior Football League games between the Prairie Football Conference and Ontario Football Conference and the first time these two conferences will meet during the regular season.

“It’s just another vehicle for our players and coaches to develop through new opponents and to see how the competition is across the country and, at the end of the day, it’s about giving the players an opportunity to develop themselves and increasing the exposure of the players in our league,” says CJFL commissioner Jim Pankovich.

Last season, the CJFL hosted a pair of successful interconference games between British Columbia Conference and PFC teams.

“We saw it from last year that it does create extra interest, both for players and coaches’ perspective, along with the fans,” noted Pankovich, adding the game last year in Kelowna between the Okanagan Sun and Hilltops had a “tremendous” turnout.

“There’s always, ‘Can we put the logistics together? Can we make it work? Can we make it work financially and logistically?’ We want to make sure we have good matchups so we can have really good football games.

“It’s a complicated process to put a schedule like this together. It took several months, but I think we have six exciting matches of interest. We looked for either firsttime matchups or ones with some historical significance.”

During the CJFL opening weekend, the Winnipeg Rifles will head east to face the Sooners in the nation’s capital, while the Edmonton Huskies travel to Windsor to face the AKO Fratmen for the first time.

Two weeks later on Aug. 26 — on the same night the Sooners are in Saskatoon to face the Hilltops — the Regina Thunder will meet the reigning OFC champion Hamilton Hurricanes for the first time in 25 years since the Regina Rams defeated Hamilton 23-11 in the 1993 Canadian Bowl in Regina.

On Sept. 23, the Hurricanes travel west to meet the Edmonton Wildcats for the first time in exactly 40 years since the Wildcats blanked the Hurricanes 28-0 in their only other meeting to win the 1977 Armadale Cup and national title.

Then, on Sept. 24, the Calgary Colts will host the London Beefeaters for the first time in CJFL history

The full CJFL schedule will be released Thursday.