Thunder upsets Hilltops 24-19 in PFC championship game

The Regina Thunder are champions of the Prairie Football Conference for the first time since 2022.

The Thunder went on the road and stunned the Saskatoon Hilltops — defeating them 24-19 to win the championship and earn a spot in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) semifinal next Sunday in Regina.

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“It means a lot,” said running back Sadik Sadik, who had tears in his eyes after winning the title.

“(There’s) a lot of work that went into this. Lot of ups and downs, and at the end of the day we came out here and did what we had to do and we came out with the win.”

“It feels fantastic,” said Thunder head coach Scott MacAulay.

“It wasn’t an easy season, we had to do a lot of changes and stuff and I think the turning point was the last time we played against the Hilltops. We had to go back and take a look at what our assets were on our team and make sure we try to use them a little bit more and put the ball in the boys hands a let them do the job.”

‘The guys just believed in each other’

In the regular season, the Hilltops were 2-0 against the Thunder. The changes MacAulay talked about came after a 36-11 thumping by the Hilltops in Saskatoon on Sep. 28.

He credits his team for figuring everything out in the biggest game of the season.

“The guys just believed in each other. We’ve been working hard the last three weeks to prepare for this game and we just kind of looked back at what we were good at and what were we not. We worked hard and it wasn’t easy. The guys worked hard to get to this point,” he explained.

THUNDER WIN THE PFC championship! 24-19 in another thriller over the Saskatoon Hilltops! pic.twitter.com/ZJFFnRdttq

— Shane (@ShaneC06) October 20, 2024

Where the Thunder had the most success on the afternoon was running the football. Both Sadik and Rylan Leichert ran the football for a combined 321 yards in Sunday’s championship game.

Sadik said from the perspective of the Thunder, their goal was to come out and get the first hit and make the Hilltops adjust to their game.

“We came out and we dominated from the beginning,” Sadik said.

“Defensively, they (the Hilltops) called us out, they wanted it. So we gave it to them and did what we did. It was a great game on all three facets of the ball.”

On the other side of the football, the Hilltops left the field disappointed with how the season finished after going undefeated in the regular season and being the reigning Canadian champions.

The better team won, says Hilltops coach

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant acknowledged the better team won the game.

“We didn’t play well enough at the end of the day. Full credit to the Regina Thunder, they battled, they competed for 60 minutes,” he said.

Despite trailing 17-3 at one point the third quarter, Sargeant credits his team for not giving up and fighting back.

“(I’m) proud of my kids. At the end of the first half they took it to us, but we responded and regrouped — but we didn’t make the right plays at the right time and it just wasn’t enough,” Sargeant said.

The Hilltops finished the game with 455 yards total in net offense compared to the 380 yards for the Thunder.

There was some controversy at the end of the game as the Hilltops looked poised to win the championship on the final play.

Down 24-19 with only seconds on the clock, the Hilltops called a trick play that led to quarterback Trey Reider getting a big gain on the ground and a first down. As Reider dove for the first down, a Thunder player made contact with his head. The Hilltops bench was irate andwanted a call to advance the ball an extra 15 yards, but the refs didn’t throw a flag.

Before that final play, the Hilltops were marching down the field hoping for a last second TD.

Tre Reider and the Hilltops called a trick play and this hit at the end on Reider went uncalled. pic.twitter.com/uIDN0YFmJE

— Shane (@ShaneC06) October 20, 2024

After the game, Sargeant said the call is something they as coaches can’t control.

“That’s a variable we don’t control. At the end of the day, referees are working hard doing their job and I got a lot of respect for what they do being in these big games,” he said.

The Thunder will host the CJFL semifinal next Sunday at Libel Field.

MacAulay is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m super excited! I’m going to enjoy tonight … I don’t want the season to end. I’m enjoying this year and it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “We just want to keep on going.”

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