Saskatoon Hilltops host undefeated Regina Thunder in All-Saskatchewan PFC rematch

Saskatoon versus Regina always has a little bit of extra spice in the Prairie Football Conference.

With just a handful of weeks left before playoffs, Hilltops running back Corbin Ebben is feeling the buzz ahead of their second meeting of the Canadian Junior Football League season against the Regina Thunder.

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“It’s always just the most exciting game,” Ebben said. “We try to think of it as just another game, but at the same time it’s hard not to see Regina on the schedule and start getting excited.”

The 6-0 Thunder and 4-2 Hilltops will hit the turf at SMF Field in Saskatoon on Saturday night in a meeting of the conference’s top two teams.

Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay said it’s always one of the team’s favourite road games each season getting to play under the lights against their biggest rivals.

“Our whole team and organization is excited to get up to Saskatoon on Saturday night,” MacAulay said.

“We love playing in that stadium. There’s a lot of energy, there will be a lot of fans and it will be a great experience for everybody.”

It’s the second meeting in three weeks between the Saskatchewan combatants, as the Thunder pulled off a 37-13 victory over the Hilltops at Leibel Field on Sept. 12.

MacAulay said the win showcased the team’s ability to rise to the occasion with a youthful roster that remains undefeated on the season.

“We are a young team and these guys were able to step up,” MacAulay said.

“It’s a big time game right? A lot of times when we got young guys in there, you want to make sure the game is not too big for them or the moment is not too big for them. Those guys were able to be present and focus on what was happening during the play.”

As for the Hilltops, they will look to close the gap on Regina for first place in the conference while inching closer to a playoff spot themselves.

“We’re still fighting for a good playoff position,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.

“That’s why Saturday is so important. You got your arch rival coming in and you throw out all the records. We’re going to coach hard, they’re going to practice hard, and we got to come out and play our best game of the year.”

Saskatoon rebounded from its loss to Regina earlier this month with a 30-21 victory over the Edmonton Huskies on Sunday.

In his best performance of the season, Ebben rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown in the win, which he said came at the perfect time for a Hilltops team trying to get back on track.

“It was a much-needed win against a very good Huskies team,” Ebben said.

“We’re just focusing on getting better every day. We got to get on the same page a little bit better every day and that’s what it’s going to take to beat Regina.”

The Thunder are fresh off one of their most decisive wins of the season last week, 61-10 over the Winnipeg Rifles, to move to 6-0 on the year, with wide receiver Lucas Di Iorio hauling in 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

MacAulay didn’t love Regina’s first 15 minutes, as they took a 10-10 tie into the second quarter, but said the Thunder were able to execute to their full capabilities as the game went on.

“The game went well in the end,” MacAulay said. “I thought we had a bit of a slow start, so that’s something that we need to address. Once everybody kind of zoned in and got dialled in, then obviously great things started happening.”

Both Regina and Saskatoon are on short weeks with just six days between games, which MacAulay added meant a bit of a tweak to their practice schedule.

“You have a little bit of a shorter week,” MacAulay said. “We still want to make sure guys are able to rest their bodies. So you have to adjust your practices accordingly and make sure we’re ready to rock and roll.”

In their previous meeting in Regina, it was the run game which made the biggest difference with the Thunder putting up 259 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, in comparison with Saskatoon’s 77 yards rushing.

Ebben said that will have to change if Saskatoon wants to hand the Thunder their first loss of the season on Saturday night.

“We didn’t really show them that we could run the ball,” Ebben said. “I didn’t feel like we played as well on offence as we know that we can be. As long as we keep grinding it out every single day, then I think we’ll be all right.”

Regina can clinch first place in the conference with a victory at SMF Field, while the Hilltops are still trying to put the pieces together to become a threat once playoffs arrive.

The clock is ticking according to Sargeant with their biggest test of the season upon them.

“We’re still not the team we need to be to go win a national championship,” Sargeant said.

“I’m aware of that, but the most important factor we have right now is timing. We got to take advantage of each second that we have to grow this football team.”

Kickoff under the lights at SMF Field in Saskatoon is scheduled for 7 p.m. between the Hilltops and Thunder on Saturday.