Okanagan Sun @ Saskatoon Hilltops – Sunday November 9, 1:00pm CST / 11:00am PST | WATCH HERE

For the fourth time in CJFL history the Saskatoon Hilltops and Okanagan Sun will meet in the Canadian Bowl, and first time in 10 years.

The two teams come into this game featuring a pair of lethal running attacks on the offensive side and a very talented and strong defensive core that could slow the run game.  Both sides of the ball are littered with All-Canadians, 17 as a matter of fact, all hungry to hoist the 117th Canadian Bowl.

Both teams have a 1000-yard rusher in Gerren Hardisty and David Collins who benefited from a big, strong offensive line.  In eight games Collins finished with 1028 yards on 126 carries, averaging over eight yards per and scored a Prairie Conference high 13 touchdowns.  He was named the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.  The Sun counter with Hardisty and his 1022 yards on 163 carries and nine touchdowns.  He’s used in various ways on the Sun offence leaking out of the backfield to catch a screen pass or utilizing his blocking ability in the passing game. 

Speaking of passing, many believe the Sun has the advantage when it comes to the quarterbacks.  Liam Kroeger has been the consistent pivot in the BC Conference throwing for 2883 yards and 26 touchdowns, completing 67.5% of his passes.  He has a very good receiver core to throw to, all with the ability to gobble up yards in a hurry.  Seth Famakinde averaged 21.9 yards a catch this season and caught seven touchdowns, Vincent Chuoi caught a team high 36 passes for 557 yards and six majors and Jordayne Falconer hauled in 27 passes for 489 yards and two touchdowns.  He’s also used in the return game and was named the Return Specialist of the Year in BC.

The Hilltops used three quarterbacks over the course of the season and didn’t really need to rely on their pivot with their run game.  Brexton Elias took the majority of the snaps completing 56.6% of his passes for 809 yards and five touchdowns.  Recently however, Griffin Sander led his club back to win the Prairie Conference title in overtime on the road in Regina two weeks ago, which could have won him the starting role in the national championship game.  Regardless of who is under centre, their top target all year is All-Canadian Isaiah Vallderruten who averaged 24.5 yards a catch and four touchdowns.  He also caught the game winning touchdown in OT two weeks ago.

The big question in this game is, will the offences be able to move the ball against the two defences?  They are fast, talented and have a nose for the football.  The Hilltops faced an outstanding running attack in the Conference final and were able to slow the Thunder, preparing them for Hardisty and company.  All the Sun defence did two weeks ago was a pitch a second half shutout in the National Semi-Final game and scored two touchdowns to re-energize the club and lead them to the victory. 

The front seven on both teams is scary and can get to the quarterback disrupting timing on each play.  The Sun ends in JaQuintis Summers and Jarveon Williams combined for 24 sacks while Johnathon Stevens led the Toppers in pressure and was an absolute menace for the opposition.  The Hilltops secondary will no doubt be busy this afternoon as the Sun offence likes to throw so look for Jace Mowles to play an important role trying to remove Famakinde or Chuoi with his coverage.

If this Canadian Bowl comes down to the kicking game, the Sun have the advantage with the Special Teams Player of the Year in kicker Liam Attwood.  He knocked through 13 field goals this year and showed he can hit from 51 yards.  The cold temperatures could play a factor in distance on Sunday, but Attwood has shown consistency all year.  Kicker Ryden Gratton has also been solid for the Hilltops connecting on 12 field goals, his longest from 39-yards.  
It will be interesting to see if both kickers shy away from Falconer and/or Charles Sawi.  These returners have the talent to take a kick back the other direction for a touchdown at any moment.  

Bottom line, these two teams are very even, and it will be a highly competitive game and will simply come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes on Sunday afternoon in a chilly Saskatoon.  Environment Canada is calling for a mix of sun and cloud with a high of -3 with a southeast wind that could be gusty during the game making it feel more like -9.