The Saskatoon Hilltops remain undefeated since September 2017.
The five-time defending Canadian Bowl champions emerged with a 28-21 win over the Regina Thunder in Saskatoon’s home opener in front of an S-M-F Field crowd of close to 2-thousand.
Ben Abrook’s one-yard touchdown plunge with :33 left proved to be the winning score to cap a wild ending to a physical clash between the two provincial rivals.
After each team turned the ball over on downs in Regina territory late in the fourth quarter, the Thunder marched to the Hilltops 38 yard line with Eric Maximuik nailing a 45 yard field goal with about a minute and a half remaining to give the Thunder a 21-20 lead.
Matt Turple set the stage for the Hilltops final drive returning the ensuing kick-off to the Saskatoon 45 yard line.
The critical play of the drive came on second-and-two from the Regina 24 yard line. Following a time-out, quarterback Tyler Herman completed a pinpoint pass into triple coverage that receiver Connor Graham caught while falling backward giving the Toppers first and goal from the Regina one yard line.
Herman told the post-game show audience on 92.9 THE BULL they used the time out to spell out the assignments for each player. He said they chose that play instead of setting up a potential winning field goal because they are an aggressive offense and were focused on scoring a touchdown.
It looked as if the Thunder’s recovery of back-up quarterback Doug Fleming’s fumble on the next play sealed the game for the visitors, but an offside call against Regina gave the Hilltops a second life. There was more drama as the Hilltops alertly called time out before getting called with illegal procedure as they were a player short.
The next play saw Abrook score his second touchdown of the game as he hurdled the line into the Regina end zone with Carter McLean hauling in a Tyler Herman pass for the two-point convert to seal Saskatoon’s 23rd straight victory.
McLean also scored a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter running in the four-yard jet sweep to give the Hilltops a 14-4 lead. Abrook got the first major early in the opening quarter on a three-yard run.
The Thunder battled back into the game in the second quarter when holder Issac Ford ran a fake field goal attempt to the Toppers five yard line and quarterback Blake Scherle found Ethan Douglas in the end zone with a touchdown toss to reduce the Hilltops lead to 17-11 at the half. The visitors would take an 18-17 lead late in the third quarter on Maxwell Foerster’s one-yard dive on third and goal.
Rylan Kleiter rounded out the Hilltops scoring with a pair of field goals. Maximuik also had two field goals for the Thunder.
Head coach Tom Sergeant again credited his players for showing character and making big plays when they had to but told the post game show listeners the team is still making some of the same mistakes they were at the beginning of the season and vowed to continue addressing them. Sergeant said the game film doesn’t lie and the first order of business as they head into a bye-week is to go over it extensively with the players.
Herman has guided game winning touchdown drives in two straight games. The 65 yard drive against the Thunder Saturday followed the 105 yard masterpiece Sept 1 in Edmonton against the Huskies. Herman said the offense is becoming battled tested and succeeding when games are on the line.
The Hilltops who are riding a 23 game winning streak are 4-0 in 2019 while the Thunder who are the last team to beat the Hilltops are 2-2 with both losses this season coming against Saskatoon.
Both are heading into bye-week’s with the Toppers hosting Calgary on Sept 22 and the Thunder hosting the Edmonton Huskies. The Hilltops-Colts game can be heard on 92.9 THE BULL beginning with the pregame show at 12:30. Opening kick-off is at 1 p.m.
End Zone party guest speaker Chris Getzlaf and former Hilltops quarterback Jordan Walls were guest colour commentators during the broadcast and Walls’ impressive debut on the radio means he will be back on the air later in the season. Stay tuned.
