Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

The defending Canadian Bowl champion Saskatoon Hilltops will once again be a force in the Prairie Conference again this season as several of their weapons on both sides of the ball are returning.

One of those weapons is receiver Noah Flaman.  Last season he led the Conference with an average of 20.1 yards a catch hauling in 21 passes for 422 yards and had six touchdowns during the regular season.  Then in the Canadian Bowl he made three receptions for 94 yards and had the opening touchdown of the game in a rain drenched national championship in Westshore last November. 

He will return for his fourth season hoping to build off of last year.  His biggest strength is his knowledge of the opposing defences and how he can exploit holes to get open.  His ability to find the open spot and give his quarterback a target to throw to is something every receiver needs to be successful and Flaman does it with ease.

Coming into this season his goal is to keep improving.  Everything player has a team goal to win the Canadian Bowl and for Flaman that is most definitely the same as he would love for his Hilltops to win a back-to-back championship. However personally, he is honing in on skill development and will try to be the best teammate he can be.

When he looks back at his previous three seasons in the CJFL, the game that stands out is without a doubt last year’s Canadian Bowl in Westshore.  He and the Hilltops set the goal of a national championship at the beginning of the year and they worked hard to not only reach that game, but win it as well.  

He has been part of some very memorable plays throughout his career, but his favourite play of all time didn’t really involve him.  In his rookie season his Hilltops were playing the Edmonton Huskies in a semi-final with their season on the line.  During one play the Hilltops fumbled the ball, but All-Canadian offensive lineman Mason Ochs jumped on it and in turn saved their season.  It’s a play that Flaman will never forget. 

Now in his fourth year, Flaman is inherently a leader particularly within the receiver corps and will try and lend his knowledge to the younger players coming up.  

The Hilltops open defence of their national championship on August 11th when they host the Huskies at SMF Field.

Receiver Noah Flaman is a CJFL Player to Watch.

Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

It was another outstanding season for the Saskatoon Hilltops in 2023.

Following their Prairie Conference final loss the season before, the Hilltops came back with a vengeance in 2023 and left every opponent in their dust en route to the national championship title.

They put together one of the most impressive seasons in CJFL history with an offence that could score points and a defence that didn’t give up much.  They had weapons on both sides of the ball that could take over a game at any moment.

The offence averaged over 41-points a game and was led by their All-Canadian running back Boston Davidsen.  Running behind a big, talented offensive line, Davidsen rushed for 1184 yards on 170 carries good for a seven-yard average.  He tallied nine touchdowns on the ground while also making four receptions.  Overall as a team they rushed for 1753 yards, well above the league average of 1234. 

In the Canadian Bowl, Davidsen was just as dominate galloping 158 yards in the pouring rain on 25 carries and scored a third quarter  touchdown.  He was named the Offensive Player of the Game. 

During the regular season the play of quarterback Trey Reider gave the Hilltops much more then a one-dimensional offensive push.  He completed almost 65% of his passes for 1571 yards and threw a Conference high 16 touchdowns and had a passer efficiency rating of 114.6.  He completed passes to 15 different receivers during the regular season, but by far his favourite target was Drake Douglas.  The veteran made 42 receptions for 591 yards and caught four touchdown passes.  Noah Flaman was also an important piece of their puzzle making 21 receptions for 422 yards and had a team high six majors and had a score in the Canadian Bowl. 

That’s just the offence.

Over on the defensive side, they turned in one of the most dominating performances of all-time.  In eight regular season games they gave up 51 points, an eye-popping average of 6.3 points a game.  Including the Canadian Bowl playoffs, the defence pitched two shut outs and three times kept a team at 2-points or under. 

They were simply scary to play against.  Their speed, talent and anticipation made them very difficult for an opposing offence. On average they kept teams to under 100 yards a game on the ground and under 150 yards through the air.  

Unbelievably the Hilltops offence ran for more yards then their defence allowed in passing!

They forced teams on average to turn the ball over 5.1 times a game.  In total they took the ball away 41 times, including 20 interceptions led by Dalton Urban’s five. 

Up and down their defensive roster, players contributed.  Riece Kack had 7.5 sacks in the regular season, then in the national semi-final against the St. Clair Saints, he finished with six, setting a new CJFL playoff record.  Matt Wist had a team high 22 solo tackles and was incredible during the Canadian Bowl making nine tackles and had three interceptions tying a national championship record.   He finished the game with 36 defensive points setting a new record and was named the Defensive Player of the Game.  Oh, and he also doubled as the punter. 

It was indeed a magical run for the undefeated Hilltops who looked destined to win their 23rd national title in 2023 behind the magnificent career of head coach Tom Sargeant.

Now the question is, will they go for more in 2024?