Hilltops earn seventh straight PFC title, defeat Thunder 29-9

The Saskatoon Hilltops beat the Regina Thunder for the first time in 2021 in the biggest game of the year so far, winning the Prairie Football Conference title 29-9 at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday.

The Thunder came into the game undefeated on the year, including two wins in the regular season against Saskatoon, earning the right to host the PFC title game for the first time in team history.

But it was the Hilltops who emerged victorious to win a seventh straight PFC championship.

“The playoffs are a totally different animal. Think of our pedigree — we play in finals all the time so for us, this wasn’t a moment but just the next opportunity. It happened to be the Regina Thunder,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said at Mosaic Stadium.

“We have great respect for them — they bring out the best in us and I hope we bring out the best in them and at the end of the day, we executed our plan better than they did.”

The rushing attack was the key to the game for the Hilltops. They amassed around 390 yards on the ground, with 201 coming from running back Carter McLean.

“This is so sweet. Regina’s a tough team and they played us well throughout the regular season,” McLean said. “We came out and got the hardest win that mattered most for sure.”

While McLean had a bulk of the yards for the Hilltops’ rushing attack, it was fellow running back Boston Davidsen who found the end zone while adding 143 yards on the ground.

Hilltops quarterback Damon Dutton had two rushing touchdowns as well in the win. Hilltops kicker Teijon Abel-Douglas was good on one of his three field goal attempts.

But while the Hilltops celebrated, it was the feeling of defeat on the Thunder sideline.

“To be 9-0, I could care less about that. I just wanted this damn thing today and it is what it is,” Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay said. “I’m proud of everyone to get to this point. It ain’t easy, right? No games in the PFC are easy and to be 9-0, at least we were doing something right for a while there.”

MacAulay said it was “unbelievable” the Hilltops managed to have such success on the ground because Regina felt its run defence was one of its strengths coming into the game.

“It’s demoralizing when you know a team is going to run on you, so we just weren’t able to answer the bell,” MacAulay said. “At the end of the day, if you want to be a championship team, people have to make plays.

“You have to put them in spots to make plays, but when you have three or four dropped balls that end drives where they are clearly wide open and you’re able to continue on drives, there’s an issue.

“When you have things like guys are getting tackled to the ground and they are running down your throats and you aren’t making tackles, you’ve got to expect your players to make plays.”

The Thunder couldn’t find the end zone in the game, with its nine points coming from three Eric Maximuik field goals, all in the first half.

Regina defensive back Branden Janotta was emotional after the loss after another tough outing against the Hilltops in the playoffs.

“We worked so hard for this and to just come up short, it has to happen to somebody. It hurts now but we will use it as fuel and we will be back,” Janotta said. “It’s a huge accomplishment to go undefeated in a season but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t finish the job.”

While the Thunder’s season has come to an end, the Hilltops will advance to the Canadian Junior Football League semifinal. Saskatoon is to face the Langley Rams on the road on Nov. 20.

“Every year, we want to win a national championship for our fifth-year players and right now we get to move forward,” Sargeant said.