Saskatoon Hilltops, Regina Thunder set for battle of the undefeated

The Saskatoon Hilltops are back.

A year after the Prairie Football Conference was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Toppers are back at SMF Field Saturday night for another national championship homecoming.

Saskatoon (2-0) hasn’t played in front of its home fans since Oct. 27, 2019 when they won the PFC title with a 30-14 win over the Edmonton Huskies en route to a sixth straight national championship in an 11-6 win over the Langley Rams.

The matchup couldn’t be any sweeter for head coach Tom Sargeant and the rest of the team with their archrival Regina Thunder (2-0) coming to town as the only other undefeated team in the league.

“At the end of the day, it’s here. We get to play our rivalry team. We got a young team that’s excited for the opportunity. I’m sure they’re ready and let’s see what happens,” Sergeant said ahead of the game.

The Hilltops come into the game following two road victories over the Edmonton Huskies and Calgary Colts.

The Thunder arrive in Saskatoon confident and eager to crash the party after two lopsided wins over the Winnipeg Rifles with a combined score of 101-19.

Head coach Scott MacAulay doesn’t want his team to get too bold after the first two weeks of the year.

“It’s going to be our first real test,” MacAulay said. “We’re excited. We always feel confident going into Saskatoon. There’s no other team we’d rather play.”

Both coaches see the trenches playing an important role in Saturday’s contest.

MacAulay wants to see how his defensive front seven matches up against the Hilltops offensive line and its traditional power running offense.

While Sargeant wants to see what his side can do to limit the Thunder air attack that has Regina quarterback Carter Shewchuk clicking with receivers Isaac Foord and Rylan Sokul early in the season.

“We’re just going to come after you. We’re very physical … we dare you to try and stop us,” Sergeant said. “He’s the no. 1 quarterback in the league. We got to get after him and make him uncomfortable in that pocket.”

Hilltops running back Carter McLean leads the conference with 243 rushing yards on 44 carries in the first two weeks.

Shewchuck has thrown for 439 yards and a league-leading six touchdowns to go along with a 75 per cent completion rating over his two starts.

His two biggest weapons, Foord and Sokul, were on the receiving end of five of those touchdown passes.

MacAulay is depending on that chemistry to shine through once again.

“God knows he’s going to get the ball thrown definitely his way,” MacAulay said of Sokul, expecting him to have blanket coverage for most of the game.

“Carter and Isaac went to high school together and they’re very close friends as well. There’s definitely a connection there.”

Injuries are forcing the Hilltops to play only two fifth-year players Saturday with a potent Regina offence on its way.

“The tape they’ve put out is better than our tape, there’s no question,” Sergeant said. “They probably play us better in our place than they do at their own place for crying out loud.”

Hilltops quarterback Doug Fleming has had an up-and-down start to his season after being pulled at halftime in the team’s opening week win.

With an intense focus on ball security — Regina has 12 takeaways compared to Saskatoon’s four — Fleming knows there isn’t much room for errors Saturday.

“That’s the biggest part of the game. That will make it or break it,” Fleming said.

Saskatoon’s win streak stands at 32 games. The last loss was against Regina on Sept. 9, 2017.

“The environment in Saskatoon is electrifying. It’s going to be wild,” MacAulay said.