Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

Winnipeg Rifles @ Saskatoon Hilltops – Sunday October 19, 1:00pm – SMF Field | WATCH HERE

The Hilltops and Rifles meet in a Prairie Conference semi-final on Sunday afternoon, and it will act as the seasonal series rubber match after both teams have beaten each other this year.

In the first game of the season the Rifles shocked the Hilltops in Winnipeg and beat them 31-11.  Their offence recorded over 300 yards while the Rifles defence held the Hilltops to just 170 yards and forced four turnovers.  Quarterback Riley Element threw two touchdown passes while defensive back Liam Southcombe had two interceptions. 

Two weeks later the tables were turned, and the Hilltops blasted the Rifles 42-15 in Saskatoon.  The run game was dominant, chewing up 345 yards led by David Collins and his eye-popping 262 yards on 33 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.  Meanwhile Charles Sawi tallied three more touchdowns on seven carries.  Defensively they picked off Element three times, but he still managed to throw for 342 yards.

Coming into the playoffs the Hilltops have won six of their last seven games averaging over 37 points a game.   Collins has been a major part of their offence rushing for 1028 yards and a Conference high 13 touchdowns and Sawi added six majors.  

On the defensive side the Hilltops are a scary unit to play against.  Their pass rush causes timing issues led by Isaac Michayluk who leads the team with 32 tackles and even has three interceptions.  Not only this, but the Toppers are excellent at home and protect SMF Field very well.

Meanwhile the Rifles won two straight coming into postseason play including a massive win last weekend in Edmonton to clinch the third seed. Their defence is solid and didn’t allow a point in the final three quarters against the Huskies.  Kyler Banfield is seemingly everywhere on the field and again led the Conference with 37 tackles and added two sacks this year.

Offensively when the Rifles are locked in they can score a lot of points and can score in a hurry.  Running back Kaiden Banfield is one of the best in the business and rushed for 519 yards on 107 carries while scoring nine touchdowns.   Element has emerged this year as a gun slinging quarterback completing a Conference high 159 passes, 2394 yards and was tied with 11 touchdown passes.  Receiver Jarome Penner is the third part of a three-headed offensive monster leading the Conference with 794 receiving yards on 40 receptions and three touchdowns. 

These two teams last met in the postseason in 2018 when the Hilltops beat the Rifles 58-5.

Head-to-Head against each other

Records: Rifles 1-1 – Hilltops 1-1
Avg Points For: Rifles 46 – Hilltops 53
Avg Points Allowed: Rifles 53 – Rifles 46

Passing Leaders: Riley Element – 41-67 for 557 yards and 4 touchdowns (Rifles) – Hayden McMahon – 21-39 for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns (Hilltops)

Rushing Leaders: Kaiden Banfield – 36 carries for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns (Rifles) – David Collins – 43 carries for 423 yards and 2 touchdowns (Hilltops) 

Receiving Leaders: Cole Davies – 10 receptions for 101 yards (Rifles) – David Boyd Jr – 4 receptions for 64 yards (Hilltops) 

Leading Tacklers: Kyler Banfield – 14 tackles (Rifles) – Isaac Michayluk – 7 tackles (Hilltops)