For a Saskatoon Hilltops team that began its season with a loss in Winnipeg way back on Aug. 10, a touch of adversity has made a Canadian Bowl championship even sweeter in retrospect.
The Hilltops claimed the program’s 24th national championship at SMF Field in Saskatoon on Sunday afternoon, knocking off the previously undefeated Okanagan Sun 21-18 to be crowned Canadian champions in 2025.
“Coming into this season, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Hilltops star running back David Collins. “I didn’t have very much expectations, but to leave as a national champion, it feels unreal. I’ve never been on this side of things, so I’m just glad and grateful that we exceeded our expectations.”
Saskatoon’s far-from-perfect season got its perfect ending on Sunday, capping off a year that featured a great deal of resiliency shown from a usually dominant Hilltops team.
Following a 0-1 start with their season-opening loss to the Winnipeg Rifles, the Hilltops would rotate through a number of quarterbacks early in the summer with injuries to Brexton Elias and Charlie Molder.
On Sept. 27, Saskatoon faced another bump in the road with a 24-21 loss to the rival Regina Thunder to drop their record to 5-2 at the time, which would eventually mean a second seed entering the playoffs for the Hilltops.
A fourth-quarter deficit to the Thunder in the Prairie Football Conference championship game on Oct. 26 gave the Hilltops their biggest test of the season at that point, however the team rallied with Isaiah Vallderruten hauling in both the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns to seal the 30-27 win and a spot in the Canadian Bowl title game.
“It doesn’t feel real,” said Hilltops quarterback Griffin Sander, who formed an effective duo with Elias in the backfield. “So much hard work in the off-season, during the season. It’s really great to get the win.”
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The Hilltops and Sun exchanged safeties to begin Sunday’s championship game, before Collins would break open a large run early in the second quarter to get Saskatoon into the red zone, which was followed up by a seven-yard touchdown scamper for the 9-2 lead.
Collins’ standout game on the ground would continue before halftime, taking off for a 23-yard touchdown run to find the end zone for his second score of the day and a 16-4 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, however, the British Columbia champions began to chip away with Marcus Christos punching the ball in from the one-yard line, which would be followed later in the quarter by another conceded safety from Saskatoon.
Trailing 18-11 with under two minutes left on the clock, Okanagan carved up the Hilltops’ defence with quarterback Liam Kroeger scrambling 18 yards to cross the goal line and stun the Saskatoon crowd for the 18-18 tie.
That left the Hilltops with one final chance to put a drive together before time expired, with Collins being a big part in picking up yardage with 143 yards on the ground Sunday.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” said Collins. “When we get on that field … if you get one more shot to get on that field, you got to execute. We can’t leave anything on the field, can’t go to sleep tonight and feel like I could have done this much more. You got to leave it all out here and I’m glad that we did that tonight.”
Saskatoon moved the ball down to Okanagan’s 37-yard line with 29 seconds left on the clock, setting up Ryden Gratton for the biggest kick of his life, drilling the ball through the uprights for the 21-18 lead.
“It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been,” said Gratton. “I know our offence worked hard and drove down the field, all I had to do was put my head down and kick the ball.”
Okanagan was given one last opportunity with the football, but Kroeger threw a pass that was jumped on by Hilltops linebacker Zaden Taylor, an interception that secured the national championship.
Raising the Canadian Bowl at midfield minutes later, the win marks Saskatoon’s second national championship in three years after winning it all in 2023 with a 17-10 victory on Vancouver Island over the Westshore Rebels.
Despite the team’s ongoing success as the most winning junior program in the country, Sunday’s championship marked the Hilltops’ first win in front of supporters at SMF Field since 2018.
“It’s super sweet just having this win at home,” said Sander. “Just being with our family and friends, it’s pretty awesome.”
Moving north of the border from his home state of Minnesota this summer to play out his final year of junior eligibility, Collins said all the uncertainty ended up being worth it to join the Hilltops.
That decision has made him a Canadian Junior Football League champion in his one and only season in blue and gold.
“It’s probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life, truth be told,” said Collins. “I’m really glad that I ended up taking the risk and making this decision, because now we’re walking away national champions.”
Collins was named the Canadian Bowl’s offensive player of the game, while defensive player of the game and special teams player of the game honours went to fellow Hilltops Isaac Michayluk and Charles Sawi.
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