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With four games down on the Canadian Junior Football League season, the Saskatoon Hilltops admitted practice this week has felt a little different.
On the other side of a two and a half hour bus ride today sits the Hilltops’ biggest rival and the Prairie Football Conference’s top team in the Regina Thunder.
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“It’s always higher intensity,” said Hilltops defensive lineman Noah Chelsom.
“We always come out here, we run a little bit faster, we’re hitting a little bit harder. (Sargeant) always gives us a great game plan to come into the week with.”
The Hilltops and Thunder will meet under the lights for the first time this season at Leibel Field in a battle of the conference’s top two teams.
Regina has roared out of the gates with a perfect 4-0 record, while the Hilltops are not far behind them at 3-1 on the year with first place in the PFC on the line Saturday.
“We’ve certainly had lots of time to prepare and get ready for this big match,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.
“Anytime you head to Regina, you know it’s a game of importance no matter what the records are.”
Both the Hilltops and Thunder are fresh off bye weeks, with Saskatoon last playing on Aug. 30 where they earned a 17-13 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats.
While the Hilltops dominated time of possession and offensive yards gained, they failed to find the end zone and relied on four field goals by Ryden Gratton to pull out the victory.
Sargeant said the team is far from executing on all cylinders and believes this weekend’s test against their provincial rival will show where the team is at.
“We have a long ways to go as a football team,” Sargeant said.
“We’re not quite where we need to be and the film doesn’t lie. There’s a lot of work that needs to get done in our execution and our performance.”
Regina Thunder running back Peter Boersch (26) has dominated the ground game this season averaging a whopping 9.1 yards per carry through four games. (Regina Thunder/Facebook)
Priority for Saskatoon will be slowing down all-Canadian running back Peter Boersch, who has posted gaudy numbers offensively for the Thunder this season.
Through just four games, Boersch has rushed for 749 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a stunning 9.1 yards per carry on 82 rushing attempts.
“I don’t think you stop that,” Sargeant said.
“Anytime you’re running in our league nine yards per clip, that’s pretty outstanding. We know we got some heavy lifting to do there.”
Boersch is no stranger to the Hilltops over the years, but defensive veterans like Chelsom said it’s a different level he’s been playing at this season.
Combined with strong blocking by the Regina offensive line, there’s little room for error on Saturday.
“Just slow down a little bit, stop getting too far up field,” Chelsom said. “They’re a great offence and they have an incredible run game with great blockers. Just sit down, absorb some blocks and get in your gaps.”
Sargeant said run defence will be a key focus when the Hilltops and Thunder meet for the first time this season, as he expects every player to have Boersch keyed in on every snap.
“Wherever (number) 26 is, we better have 12 sets of eyes knowing where he’s at,” Sargeant said. “If he’s going to touch the ball, we better have lots of tacklers around him because he’s an outstanding football player.”
Finding the end zone has been a struggle for Saskatoon relative to their ability to move the ball, as they’ve scored 10 offensive touchdowns this season compared to Regina’s 20.
According to Sargeant, that will need to be addressed if they want to have a shot at securing first place in the conference by the end of the season.
“That’s the biggest thing that’s in our way right now,” Sargeant said.
“We’re getting lots of yards per game, but we’re not getting that ball in the end zone. That just makes life more difficult and that’s why we’re 3-1.”
While Saskatoon quarterback Griffin Sander has only thrown four touchdown passes in four games, he has been the conference’s most accurate passer with 67.6 per cent of his throws being caught.
Also holding the second-most passing yards in the PFC with 1,174 yards already under his belt this year, he said it’s up to the offence to get the job done and put points on the board against the Thunder.
“Regina or not, the biggest thing is always time of possession,” Sander said.
“Staying on the field, keeping our defence off the field and just having nice, long, sustained drives.”
Sargeant did not confirm whether starting running back Corbin Ebben would be available for the Hilltops today, after he missed the team’s victory in Edmonton due to an injury suffered on Aug. 23 against the Calgary Colts.
If Ebben isn’t able to go again, Sargeant said the team has confidence in backup Brody Komarnicki, who is tied for the conference’s lead with five rushing touchdowns and 320 yards on the ground.
“We got two outstanding running backs,” Sargeant said.
“Corbin is working hard to try and get himself ready, but in the meantime Brody is just eating all the reps.”
The Hilltops (3-1) and Thunder (4-0) get their first meeting of the CJFL season underway at 7 p.m. at Leibel Field.
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