Tom Sargeant has coached the Saskatoon Hilltops for 26 years, 19 as a head man, and he vividly recalls the 59-0 beating his Prairie Football Conference club put on the former Victoria Rebels in the 2003 Canadian Bowl in Chilliwack.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I coached a better game or team on a certain day. Everything went our way from the opening kickoff to the last whistle, a 60-minute affair with high energy and high focus. I still remember it like it was yesterday,鈥� he said, recalling the win.
But that was then and this is now and Sargeant is taking nothing for granted when the two-time defending national champion Hilltops meet the now Westshore Rebels in the 2016 championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Westhills Stadium.
The Hilltops have also won five of the last six national titles and are clearly favourites, even with the Rebels as the home team.
鈥淲e just live for today and realize this is another great opportunity for this team. Every year is a different year and 2016 is a different team from 2015, 2014 and 2012,鈥� said Sargeant, who has his team prepared for Westshore鈥檚 running offence.
The Rebels feature Jamel Lyles and Trey Campbell in the backfield and quarterback Ashton Mackinnon is more than capable of running the ball.
鈥淚t stands to reason. You follow statistics, they have Lyles as a feature back, but they also have Trey 鈥� who is an outstanding player himself 鈥� and the quarterback is a good runner, too,鈥� said Sargeant. 鈥淎nd forget about that for a second because it all starts up front, with their centre [Christian Krause] and work through 鈥� that鈥檚 a great offensive line and if I had that, I鈥檇 run the ball, too.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 get enough recognition,鈥� Sargeant said of the Rebels鈥� O-line. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e a real good group that gets off the ball and you see why they do the things that they do. They can only do it if they have a strong offensive line.
鈥淏ut we pride ourselves in the trenches, too. When you look at our league standings, we were the toughest team to run against in the PFC. We have a system and belief in how we need to play. It鈥檚 all hands on deck. We have to be sharp and ready and execute our game plan and react to what they do a little bit.鈥�
The Hilltops defence is led by All-Canadians Blake Hermann on the defensive line and linebacker Cameron Schnitzler.
Offensively, they have a quarterback in Jared Andreychuk who will be competing in his fourth Canadian Bowl.
鈥淚t sure makes you feel confident,鈥� Sargeant said of his pivot. 鈥淭his is his fourth Canadian final so you don鈥檛 just buy that kind of pedigree. He鈥檚 a natural playmaker and we鈥檙e excited that Jared is at the helm on Saturday.鈥�
They also have running back Logan Fischer, the MVP of Canadian Bowl last year.
鈥淚n the big games, he鈥檚 been our best player. He rises to the situation and everyone rallies around him. Just like Lyles gets his 20-25 touches, Logan is going to get his 20-25 touches,鈥� said Sargeant. 鈥淚f you want to jam him on the run, then we鈥檒l put the ball in Jared鈥檚 arms a bit more. If you worry about Jared鈥檚 arm, then we run the ball. We鈥檒l play the landscape.鈥�
Andreychuk鈥檚 favourite receivers were Jason Price (28 catches for 763 yards and seven TDs) and All-Canadian Sam Mike (35 catches for 558 yards and eight TDs).
POINT AFTER: Saskatoon lineman Drayke Unger was aso recognized as an offensive All-Canadian, as were Westshore lineman Krause and Lyles.
