Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot, and who's not. This week's list in...
It was a brisk Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon as the Hilltops and Winnipeg Rifles lined up against each other at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
Despite having very different records, the Rifles came into the match up posing a legitimate threat, having beat the Hilltops in the opening week 31-11.
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The Hilltops did get revenge in week three as they beat the Rifles 42-15.
This time it was Saskatoon Hilltops who got the last laugh, as they beat the Winnipeg Rifles 60-26.
In the first quarter it was all Hilltops as they pounded the ground game, scoring three rushing touchdowns.
Hilltops running backs Corbin Ebben and David Collins each ran in a touchdown, and Hilltops quarterback Brexton Elias also ran one in.
“They all had good years,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “David Collins is a pretty unique player and certainly set the tone for this team.”
The Rifles scored when running back Kaiden Banfield ran in their only touchdown of the half.
Heading into the second quarter it was 21-7 Hilltops, the Rifles grabbed the first points after a Hilltops safety.
The Hilltops then scored a single point before running back Charles Sawi made it 29-9 with his first touchdown of the game.
A Rifles field goal wrapped up the scoring in the second half, making the score 29-12.
Sergeant said he knew his team had to make some changes on their toughness against the Rifles.
“I knew we needed to get tough from the line of scrimmage on both ends,” he said.
“(Winnipeg’s) quarterback (Riley) Element does a great job of throwing the ball down the field … you can tell we got him a little more uncomfortable as the game went along.”
Once the second half began it was all about the Hilltops, as they ran home three touchdowns, adding a passing touchdown for good measure. Sawi, Collins and Ebben all recorded their second touchdowns of the game, and backup quarterback Griffin Sander connected with receiver David Boyd Jr.
The Rifles scored a touchdown, but by the end of the quarter the Hilltops were up by a landslide 57-18.
In the fourth quarter the Hilltops managed a field goal, and the Rifles scored a touchdown, and got two points off a safety, making the final score 60-26.
“That’s as good as we played all year,” Sargeant said. “For 45 minutes I was very happy with who and what we are… we learned a lot about ourselves and as a coach, very proud of the effort that I saw on this field.”
The Hilltops will now face Regina Thunder in the Prairie Football Conference Final on Oct. 26, after they beat the Edmonton Huskies 49-10.
“This ain’t nothing new, we know them as well as they know us,” Sergeant said.
“(It’s) going to come down to who puts together a better game plan and what players come out and execute.”
For the Hilltops, it’s an attempt at redemption after Regina beat them last year, but they’ll have to do so as the underdog, a role Sargeant said his team is excited to embrace.
“We got to do what we need to do, we know we’re the underdog,” he said.
“We’re going to embrace that role and, as I said, once you get this blue and gold uniform in big games, good things seem to happen.”
This is the fifth time in a row the two sides have met in the final, each team has won two and lost two.
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