Hilltops clinch first in PFC with 36-11 victory over Thunder

The Saskatoon Hilltops have once again clinched first-place in the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) after defeating the Regina Thunder 36-11 on Saturday night at the SMF Field in Saskatoon.

The Hilltops were clicking on all cylinders to start the game on Saturday and never looked back.

The Toppers scored a touchdown on their opening position and were able to kick their way to a 16-3 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Hilltops were able to collect another 20 points in order to help them secure the 36-11 victory.

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant was thrilled with how his team played on the big stage Saturday night.

“Our offensive line played outstanding today and it just came together tonight. This is the best we’ve played all year. Regina is a formidable opponent – they’re well coached – they know us well and they play hard. We had to come out, play hard and play aggressive and that’s what we did today. Super happy with what took place, but now we’ve got to keep building,” he said.

Hilltops quarterback Trey Reider was sensational throwing for three touchdown passes. He too credited his offensive line for letting him have time to make big plays throughout the game.

“Our o-line played great today. They controlled the line of scrimmage. I’ve got to shout-out Corban Ebben – he ran the ball great and Drake Douglas came down with every ball,” he explained.

“When you have time to throw it makes the whole game open up for you and my receivers all got open for me, so it’s great,” Reider added.

Sargeant also had nothing but praise for this fifth-year quarterback.

“It’s just the evolution of what he’s become,” Sargeant said. “He’s a dominant football player, he runs our systems exactly how they need to be done, he’s on point with all his throws. Everything is coming at the right time and we’re just grinding – practicing hard and we got the two points today. That’s why we showed up.”

On the other side of the football field, the Thunder finished their regular-season series against their provincial rivals 0-2. Their previous meeting saw the Hilltops win 29-15 at Mosaic Stadium earlier in the month.

Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay was disappointed in the outcome.

“We felt pretty confident. We had a good week of practice and felt like we had a good game plan. You know, they got a lot of good receivers, (they) got some one on one situations, and were able to come down with the ball, and obviously their running back had a real good game,” he said. “We got to get back to learning how to tackle properly. You know, I thought our offense moved the ball fairly well with running it, but they definitely struggled passing.”

MacAulay and the Thunder could possibly see the Hilltops again in a couple weeks time in the playoffs. MacAulay suggests they’ve learned a couple things from their two meetings against the Hilltops, but his message for how to beat them is pretty simple.

“I think the bottom line is guys have to do their job. You have a couple mental breakdowns and that’s when they expose you. And, you know, they got great players, and we got to try to make sure we match up our personnel accordingly. And, you know, like, their receivers are awesome,” MacAulay said. “Like, our guys are all over them, and thought we had some great coverage, and they come down with the ball. Like, kudos to them. Like, Drake Douglas is a stud, and number five (Trey Reider) is a stud and the running back (Corban Ebben) had a hell of a game and believed in his o-line. So like, you know, we got to figure out a way to solve that.”

Next Sunday, the Hilltops will head to Edmonton to play the Huskies. For the Thunder, it will return home to face the Calgary Colts at Leibel Field.