Hilltops aiming for 23rd Canadian junior football title

On Saturday, the Saskatoon Hilltops will look to add to their 22 national junior football championships as they prepare to face the Westshore Rebels in the Canadian Bowl in Langford, B.C.

This is the first time the Hilltops have played in a Canadian Bowl game since 2019, when they beat the Langley Rams 11-6.

This Saturday is also a rematch of the 2016 Canadian Bowl in which the Hilltops prevailed.

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said he’s expecting the BCFC-champion Rebels to be a very athletic team.

“You break down their defence (and) they’re very aggressive. They love to make plays,” Sargeant said. “They’ve been flipping games (and) putting their offence in great positions.

“Then you go to their offensive side (and) their quarterback set some record, throwing for over 40 touchdowns this year.”

Sargeant said despite the Hilltops’ undefeated regular-season and playoff record this season, the team has had to overcome a lot.

“We faced adversity right off the bat. We forget about the alumni game,” said Sargeant. “We got a lesson by the alumni and as coaches, we stopped, dropped and rolled. We challenged our football players.”

The Hilltops saw 23 fifth-year players leave the team after last season.

The Rebels present a new challenge for the PFC champions.

“We have a good sense or reality of what they’re going to do, just like they’re going to have of us,” Sargeant said. “The Saskatoon Hilltops football club has been an open book since I’ve been here.

“Our players are going to play hard, keep their mouths shut and they’re going to have their nose to the grindstone for 60 minutes. That I will guarantee.”

Both teams are going into the Canadian Bowl well rested after getting an extra week off. Sargeant said it’s always good to get some players rested up.

“We were in a grind. We were going for about six weeks straight,” he said. “When you get there, it’s always nice to take that dip, but now we’ve got to start building that up again.”

After shutting out Ontario’s St. Clair Saints 43-0 in a CJFL semifinal, Sargeant said his defence proved a lot to him.

“Our defence has been off the charts this year. There’s no answer to that, just the 12 of them playing together,” he said. “We never worry about getting too high or too low, we’re just going to show up.”

Hilltops running back Boston Davidsen has been a force all season long and always seems to have an answer to the opposing defence, Sargeant credits that to Davidsen’s work behind the scenes.

“No one’s working harder than him for the last five years. Each year he’s gotten incrementally bigger, stronger (and) faster,” said Sargeant. “We’re not in this game without him …

“You’ve just got to see the character within the individual. He’s an outstanding individual, humble as could be, but I guarantee you when the lights are on, no one’s going to play harder than him.”

Davidsen is a fifth-year player, meaning Saturday will be his final game in the blue and gold. Davidsen said it sucks knowing this will be his last game with the Hilltops.

“That’s the biggest thing, above anything else. This great group of guys in the locker room, it’ll never be exactly like that again,” said Davidsen. “You’ve got one last chance to embrace it all, come together as a team and shoot for that goal we’ve been going for all year.”

Davidsen was a rookie on the Hilltops team that won the 2019 Canadian Bowl, and said that experience has helped him to prepare for this year’s CJFL final.

“Those vets when I was a rookie were a real class act, they showed the way,” said Davidsen. “I think that’s why the Hilltops have had such a sustained period of success, because of those leadership roles of the veterans that come before them.”

Hilltops receiver Drake Douglas said he’s very excited for Saturday’s game.

“This is probably the biggest game I’ll play in my football career,” said Douglas. “(I’m) definitely really looking forward to it. It’s always a dream to play in big games like this.”

Douglas said it would mean a lot to bring the Canadian Bowl back to Saskatoon.

“Sarge keeps saying we’ve got the trophy shelf in the entrance and that’s what they built it for, for that national championship,” said Douglas. “That’s just our goal to get that thing back in there.”

Quarterback Trey Reider has deep ties with the Hilltops organization. His father Shane was the Hilltops quarterback in the 1980s and is now the team’s offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The younger Reider said it’s a surreal moment to go from watching the Hilltops to playing for them.

“Growing up, I used to watch the Hilltops and come to every game,” said Reider. “It’s a bit surreal to be playing now but it’s a pretty cool experience overall.”

The Hilltops’ history could add a bit of pressure for any Saskatoon squad that makes it to the Canadian Bowl.

“There’s always a little bit of pressure because the Hilltops have always won in the past,” said Reider.