Saskatoon Hilltops

PFC New Year Resolutions

By CJFL Media 01/07/2026, 7:00am PST

A 2026 resolution for each of the six Prairie teams

Photo courtesy of Gord Mellor

The New Year is here and for most of us it’s a time to reset, refocus and try once again to hang onto our resolutions for the next 12 months. For the 19 CJFL teams, preparation for the 2026 season is well underway as they hope their own New Years resolutions will help them to success by holding the Canadian Bowl trophy over their head in November.

With resolutions fresh on your mind, here is just one for each of the six teams in the Prairie Conference.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS

Rinse and repeat

The Saskatoon Hilltops won the 2025 CJFL Canadian Bowl on their home turf in a classic three-point victory to capture their 24th national crown. This happened despite losing two games in the regular season and needing to claim a road win in the Conference final which they did in dramatic fashion. This year they will look to repeat as champs as they have done before winning six straight from 2014-2019 and had a three-peat from 2010-2012. Regardless of who graduates from their program, the Hilltops seemingly have another player just waiting patiently for their turn to be the “next person up” as they look for a repeat.

REGINA THUNDER

Ground and pound

All-Canadian running back Peter Boersch returns to the Thunder and will no doubt be the featured offensive weapon like he was in 2025 rushing for 1327 yards. With the departure of Carter Ashman, the Thunder will need to find another rusher to step up when Boersch comes out of the game to keep the opposition guessing. It remains to be seen if the offensive line will be as dominant as they were in 2025 allowing the running backs to chew up yards and score 19 rushing touchdowns. The returning players will be very hungry after letting an opportunity to host the Canadian Bowl slip through their fingers last year.

WINNIPEG RIFLES

Add more building blocks

The Rifles opened last year with two straight wins, then won their final two games to clinch the third seed in the Conference. They continue to lay down the building blocks and develop players to attend the Blue Bombers camp, but it hasn’t translated into winning or even hosting a playoff game. They graduate 12 very talented players following 2025 and will need to once again find some foundational building blocks to take another run in the highly competitive Prairie Conference. The players that do return this season will be key pieces to building strong facets of the game.

EDMONTON HUSKIES

Step up young guns

They were one of the youngest teams in the CJFL last season led by a pair of Conference Rookies of the Year. Quarterback Wesley Neitz threw for over 1400 yards while linebacker Chris Mattiello was named CJFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after 33 solo tackles. These two will need to lead the rest of the youth movement and show what they learned for their sophomore season to help get the Huskies back into contention. Head coach Marshal Klein also enters his second campaign and will no doubt be better prepared for the grueling PFC schedule.

EDMONTON WILDCATS

Beef up the defensive line

If the Wildcats want to get back to the Canadian Bowl playoffs, they will need to find some big bodies to beef up in the trenches on the defensive line. Of their five graduates following the 2025 season, four of them are from the defensive line including All-Star D’Wayne Williams who had 27 solo tackles and 12 assists in his final year. They also lose Dreyden Schlecht, an emotional leader on and off the field that meant so much to their club on the D-Line. This will need to be a main focus in 2026.

CALGARY COLTS

Take care of the football

Last season the Colts themselves were a large part of their undoing by not being able to protect the football coughing up a Conference high 49 turnovers including 17 interceptions, 16 fumbles and 16 turnovers on downs. They finished with a -23 in takeaway-giveaways. They certainly have the pieces to be competitive in the Prairies, but they need to cut down on turnovers, something new interim head coach Reyd Kessler will no doubt focus on during the offseason.

A View From the TOP

By CJFL Media 12/11/2025, 6:30am PST

The Saskatoon Hilltops captured their 24th national crown

Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

This past season the Saskatoon Hilltops won their 24th CJFL Canadian Bowl continuing to add to their storied and celebrated franchise, but it wasn’t overly easy in 2025.

For the first time in recent memory the Hilltops lost their very first game of the season, dropping a 31-11 score at the Winnipeg Rifles. Following the setback, they rattled off five straight wins including a three-point victory at Regina, their provincial rivals.

The Thunder responded however and handed the Hilltops their second loss of the season to snap their five-game winning streak. The loss also kept the Hilltops from earning homefield advantage in the Prairie Conference meaning if they wanted to advance, they would need to find a way to win on the road in the playoffs.

All season long the Hilltops looked for consistency at the quarterback position. Unlike previous years, they didn’t have one pivot that stepped up to really take the reigns. Hayden McMahon opened the season in Winnipeg before losing the starting role to Brexton Elias at Regina in their three-point win. However, Elias was somewhat inconsistent, so the team turned to Griffin Sander who took over in a big way in the Conference final leading to a start in the Canadian Bowl.

Despite all the movement under the centre, the offensive line and running attack remained the focal point. Running back David Collins began to emerge as one of the top runners in the CJFL and would finish the season with 1028 yards and led the Conference with 13 rushing touchdowns. Charles Sawi provided the Hilltops with an outstanding 1-2 punch as he collected an impactful 356 yards and scored six more touchdowns on the ground. They were able to run behind another big, tough offensive line led by First Team All-Canadian Jack Erlandson and All-Rookie Team member Matt Elash.

The run game definitely made up for any lack of aerial assault but make no mistake when the Hilltops needed yards through the air, they were able to succeed with excellent play calling. The best example of this was during the Conference championship game in a fourth quarter comeback.

After losing twice during the regular season the Hilltops needed to visit the Thunder in Regina with not only the Conference title on the line, but the right to host the 2025 Canadian Bowl. Heading into the fourth quarter they found themselves down by 10-points and needed to score quickly so went to the air. With Sander under centre he began to work methodically finding holes in the Thunder secondary to move the ball down the field. He and the offence executed and put up 15 points in the quarter forcing the game into overtime with a touchdown pass and successful two-point conversion through the air with under a minute to play. Then in the extra session it was another passing play into the end zone to capture the victory and the berth in the Canadian Bowl. Sander finished with 206 passing yards playing about a quarter and a half.

The success through the air late in the season gave the Hilltops an excellent balanced offence heading into the national championship game on their home field and ultimately their 24th Canadian Bowl title.

While plenty was made about their offence, the Hilltops defence didn’t give up many easy points following the first game of the year when they coughed up 31. After that loss they locked in and held teams in their next seven games to 13 points a game.

They were loaded on the defensive side giving up the fewest amount of points in the Conference and recorded 36 turnovers. Three members of the defence were named a CJFL All-Canadian showing that this was a “team first minded” defence with hard hitting, talented players at each position. Perhaps the two players that stood out the most were defensive lineman Johnathon Stevens and linebacker Isaac Michayluk.

Stevens started the season with the eventual Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Rough Riders playing in an exhibition game. He finished the CJFL season with three sacks, 11 tackles, 18 assists and a fumble recovery. Michayluk had an incredible final season making 32 tackles, had 22 assists and intercepted three passes. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Canadian Bowl making a game high nine solo tackles. Both players were named an All-Canadian in 2025.

It was another storied season for the Hilltops as they captured their 24th Canadian Bowl title and 11th since 2010…truly remarkable. When the season opens in 2026 the Hilltops will be the #1 ranked team on the CJFL Power Rankings as they begin their quest to win back-to-back championships.

Canadian Bowl Hero

By CJFL Media 11/25/2025, 10:45am PST

Kicker Ryden Gratton hit the game winning field goal

Photo courtesy of Louis Christ Photography

The Saskatoon Hilltops are the 2025 Canadian Bowl champions after a thrilling victory over the Okanagan Sun on November 9th.

One of the heroes of the national championship game was kicker Ryden Gratton who nailed a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter for the winning score. It was his only field goal attempt of the game, and he made it count.

He catches up with Ryan Watters and shares what he was thinking with time winding down and an opportunity to help his team capture their 24th Canadian Bowl title.