Photo courtesy of Wanda Harron Photography

#2 Saskatoon Hilltops @ #1 Regina Thunder – Sunday November 14, 1:00pm | WATCH HERE

For the first time since 2017 the Thunder and Hilltops will battle for the Prairie Conference title.  It seems all season these two teams were on a collision course to this very game.  The winner will move onto the CJFL National Semi-Final next weekend in BC.

These two teams are no stranger to facing each other the playoffs.  Since the Thunder were born in 2000 they have met eight times in the post-season with the Hilltops winning seven of them.  The only Thunder victory came in the Conference title game in 2013 when they won 21-16 and went onto host and win the Canadian Bowl.  All previous eight meeting were played in Saskatoon.

During the regular season the Thunder won both meeting, but just barely.  In the first meeting on September 11th Eric Maximuik connected on a 51-yard field goal at the final buzzer to give his club a 16-13 victory.  

The very next weekend in Regina the Thunder were able to hold onto a 30-27 victory scoring a touchdown in the dying minutes to take the lead. The Hilltops had a chance to win the game, but the Thunder defence intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal the win.

Don’t expect Sunday’s championship game to be any different and will no doubt come down the wire at Mosaic Stadium.

In order to play in this championship both teams had to win their semi-finals last weekend.  The Thunder took down the Winnipeg Rifles 45-26 while the Hilltops came back to beat the Edmonton Huskies 33-31.

Head to Head (regular season)

Records: Hilltops 6-2 – Thunder 8-0
Points For: Hilltops 228 – Thunder 293
Points Allowed: Hilltops 135 – Thunder 144

Passing Leaders: Damon Dutton – 127 of 183 (69%) for 1528 yards and 12 touchdowns (Hilltops) – Carter Shewchuk - 104 of 164 (63%) for 1630 yards and 14 touchdowns (Thunder)

Rushing Leaders: Boston Davidsen – 98 carries for 634 yards and 6 touchdowns (Hilltops) – Ryland Leichert - 86 carries for 498 yards and 4 touchdowns (Thunder)

Receiving Leaders: Ethan Godson – 30 receptions for 524 yards and 6 touchdowns (Hilltops) – Rylan Sokul - 38 receptions for 621 yards and 6 touchdowns (Thunder)

Leading Tackers: Matt Wist – 31 tackles (Hilltops) – Stephen Smith – 32 tackles (Thunder)

Turnovers: Hilltops +11 – Thunder +15