Dominant Hilltops take down London 51-1 in CJFL national semifinal

So, they meet again.

Two undefeated teams — Saskatoon Hilltops (11-0) and Langley Rams (12-0) — will battle for supremacy in this year’s Canadian Bowl.

The Hilltops and Rams will play each other in the Canadian Junior Football League’s national championship final for the second straight year and fourth time in eight years.

Only this year, the final will be held in Langley, B.C., and not Saskatoon, like it was in 2018 when the Hilltops toppled the Rams 58-21.

The five-time reigning Canadian junior football champion Hilltops knocked off the host London

Beefeaters 51-1 in CJFL national semifinal action Saturday night at London, Ont.

“They (Beefeaters) are wellcoached, but we just made some big plays and found some opportunities,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said in a post-game interview on The Bull, 92.9 FM.

“I loved how the boys executed. That’s about as free and easy as it looked. That tells me that there’s a lot of confidence out there and a lot of support for what we’re doing.”

Connor Graham scored three touchdown majors to lead the Hilltops in London.

Ben Abrook, Keegan Dicks and Jordan Tabin also had TDS for the Toppers, who led 17-1 after the first quarter and 34-1 at halftime.

“We started throwing the ball a little bit and that sort of loosened them up,” Sargeant said. “Then we got Ben (Abrook) going again.”

The game was tight at the start but the visitors eventually ran away with it.

“A lot of it was them (Beefeaters) being physical and understanding what we were doing,” Sargeant said of his team’s slow start offensively. “You could tell they had a good week of prepping and practicing. They got after us, but there was a big interception, a big turnover for us, and we run a fake on a field goal, which we haven’t done all year, so we did some things we hadn’t done and it helped us flip the switch a little bit and then we stared making plays. And then the reality set in that maybe the Hilltops aren’t that bad of a football team. They (Beefeaters) were doing a lot of talking and chirping early in the game, when they had some energy, but we know it’s a 60-minute game and we’ve been in these games a lot and certainly proved to be a worthy thing for us.”

Meanwhile, out in British Columbia, the Rams defeated the Westshore Rebels 35-12 in the other national semifinal.

The 2019 Canadian Bowl national championship final will be played Saturday, Nov. 16 in Langley, B.C.

The Hilltops won their fifth straight Canadian Bowl title a year ago over the Rams and also beat them out in Langley in both 2012 and 2014.

“We know we’re hitting Langley and we’re real excited about that,” Sargeant said. “Hopefully we can get a few more guys healthy and they’ll hopefully help us change the depth chart. The team that was out there (Saturday in London, Ont.) was a pretty darn good football team.

“That was a pretty locked-in team, dialed in. The boys were sharp. They executed. It was a lot of fun. The coaches had fun and the players had fun. When you do that, you’re going to win games 51-1. We like hearing that, seeing that. We feel real good.

“Probably our best game of the year.”