SASKATOON – The Saskatoon Hilltops are one of the last teams in the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) to get a bye this season. But before they could enjoy their week off, the team had some business to take care of.
After punting on their first offensive series, the Toppers found the end zone on their next five possessions en route to a 49-17 blowout victory over the Edmonton Huskies at SMF Field Sunday.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Hilltops improve to 6-0 in the Prairie Football Conference
Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk certainly did his part, completing 13 of 20 passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns.
“Jared, every game he plays is getting better. As a fourth-year player, he’s just got such a command of the offence, knows who to get the ball to, what to do, how to do it,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.
The quarterback was quick to credit his defence for giving him a short field to work with.
“The defence made a couple huge stops at the start that gave us unreal field position and it’s hard not to capitalize on those … it’s just a big win,” said Andreychuk.
“They’ve been dominant all year … they stopped the run unbelievably and that was the plan coming in for the defence and they did their job.”
READ MORE: Saskatoon Hilltops come back to beat Regina Thunder 26-25
Following a pair of victories over their archrival, the Regina Thunder, the Hilltops’ quick start Sunday erased any fears of an emotional letdown. For the second time in four games, the Toppers rested many of their starters in the second half.
“We’re getting better, now we got a bye and we all need to sort of chill out, enjoy where we’re at, refocus and get ready for the stretch run,” said Sargeant.
While the Hilltops will undoubtedly enjoy a break, it wasn’t exactly the playoff tune-up Andreychuk was looking for. He says he would have preferred a closer game.
“It would have been nice to get a more challenging game going into the bye week, just to keep our competitive drive going but we’ll go into the bye week strong and hopefully come out strong as well,” said Andreychuk.
Saskatoon sits at a perfect 6-0 in the PFC standings and are looking to defend their 2014 national title. Next, they’ll visit the Edmonton Wildcats on Oct. 4.
Ryan Flaherty contributed to this story
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