Hilltops might seem a contradictory nickname for any team from the prairies. But there is no more famous name in Canadian junior football than that attached to the team from Saskatoon.
The Hilltops, founded in 1947, will be going for their 23rd national junior title when they meet the sa国际传媒 Football Conference-champion Westshore Rebels at 3 p.m. Saturday at Starlight Stadium in the 115th Canadian Bowl.
Westshore head coach Dexter Janke played for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon for four seasons and had a front-row seat to the Hilltops dynasty as there was an active player pipeline between the teams.
“I saw first-hand what it means to be a Hilltopper. The ‘Toppers have cultivated a great culture and great community support,” said Janke.
“They have found sustainable success and have been consistently a powerhouse on the national junior stage.”
What a first national championship would mean for Westshore is validation, said Janke, who as a CFL pro played in two Grey Cup games with the Calgary Stampeders and hoisted the Grey Cup in 2019 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Both the Rebels and Hilltops are undefeated through the regular season and playoffs. Saskatoon beat the Ontario-champion St. Clair Saints of Windsor 43-0 in the national semifinals. The three Canadian junior football leagues host the Canadian Bowl in rotation.
The last time the Westshore and Saskatoon clubs met was in the 2016 Canadian Bowl when the Hilltops beat Westshore 37-25 at Starlight Stadium as part of their run of six consecutive national championships from 2014 to 2019.
This will be the Rebels’ third trip to the Canadian Bowl after also losing 59-0 to the Hilltops in 2003.
The Rebels will be attempting to give the BCFC the national championship three-peat after the Okanagan Sun beat the Regina Thunder 21-19 in last year’s Canadian Bowl at Mosaic Stadium in the Saskatchewan capital and the Langley Rams blanked the London Beefeaters 37-0 in the 2021 Canadian Bowl at TD Stadium in London, Ont.
Hilltops standout defensive lineman Riece Kack set a Canadian junior football playoff record with six sacks against the Ontario-champion Saints in the national semifinal game.
“The Hilltops are a disciplined group that doesn’t commit a lot of penalties or turnovers. They don’t hurt themselves,” said Janke.
It’s details like that which win games and championships, added the Rebels bench boss.
“It’s not always about talent. The most bonded group will go furthest. And we are that. We believe and we believe in each other. That’s what has got us here.”
Westshore trailed the defending 2022 national-champion Okanagan Sun 12-4 at half-time of the Cullen Cup BCFC championship game two weeks ago at Starlight Stadium but rallied in the second half for a 33-19 victory.
“This group does not panic,” said Janke.
The last Island team to win the Canadian Bowl was the Nanaimo-based Vancouver Island Raiders in 2006, 2008 and 2009 powered by eventual CFL star and four-time Grey Cup champion Andrew Harris.
