CJFL: Canadian Bowl Preview – Saskatoon Hilltops vs. Hamilton Hurricanes

For the first time in 3 seasons, it will be an East-West battle as the Prairie Football Conference Champions Saskatoon Hilltops and Ontario Football Conference titleholders Hamilton Hurricanes meet for the national title November 12 at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Both teams come into the national title tilt after getting huge road wins. The Hilltops walked into Nanaimo and snapped the Vancouver Island Raiders 44-game home field win streak in the Jostens Cup Game, while the Hurricanes strolled into Windsor and steamrolled the Fratmen in the OFC Championship Game.

Here’s a look at the teams in this year’s edition of the grand finale.

SASKATOON HILLTOPS:

Head Coach: Tom Sargeant
Regular Season Record: 7-1 1st, 212 PF, 139 PA
The Road To Canadian Bowl ‘11: Defeated Winnipeg Rifles 36-34 in the semi-final; Won 32-3 over Calgary in PFC
Championship Game; Won Jostens Cup 38-28 over Vancouver Island Raiders.

Who to Keep an Eye On:

QB Chase Bradshaw

The 5th-year passer hasn’t had overly impressive numbers in the last two weeks (He threw for 209 in last week’s win), but he has turned into a pretty decent run threat as he’s scored 3 touchdowns.

RB Regan Schuler

The 5th-year back has racked up nearly 400 yards along the ground in the playoffs, including a 152-yard, 3 touchdown effort in the 38-28 win in Nanaimo. Schuler won his second conference rushing title in 2011 with 836 yards.

LB Donovan Dale

He picked up Defensive Player of the Game honors in the Jostens Cup win. He got in on 5 total tackles and sacked Raiders pivot Jordan Yantz once.

REC Kyle McGinnis

McGinnis led all pass-catchers with 5 receptions for 98 yards in the win over the Raiders. McGinnis does double-duty as one of the best punt returners in the PFC, as he placed 2nd only to Winnipeg’s Kyle Willis with 324 return yards.

The Wildcard:

SB John Trumpy
Trumpy had another big game in the Jostens Cup win, only a pair of catches and a 29-yard touchdown reception for a major score. That’s been the story of his season, as he averaged nearly 30 yards per catch.

The Skinny:

Bradshaw & company line up against a fierce defense for the third successive week. Don’t be surprised at all to see Schuler run the rock most of the day. If Schuler comes up huge in his final junior game as he’s had all through the playoffs, then make it back-to-back national titles for the Toppers.

HAMILTON HURRICANES

Head Coach: Jason Hayes
Regular Season Record: 7-1, 1st 254 PF, 68 PA
The Road To Canadian Bowl ‘11: Downed Ste. Leonard Cougars 43-3 in semi-final; Defeated Windsor AKO Fratmen 42-6 in OFC Championship Game

Who to Keep an Eye on:

RB Troy Croonen
The veteran back will be playing his final junior game in the championship clash. Croonen ran for 802 yards & 5 touchdowns and is a two-time OFC Offensive Player of the Year.
REC Matt Coates
Coates led the OFC in receiving with 30 catches for 629 and found the end zone 6 times.
REC Dan Iafrate
The 5th-year pass catcher tied his teammate Coates in catches and had 547 yards.
LB John Hornby
The 5- year veteran is the OFC Defensive Player of the Year and was in on 30 combined tackles during the OFC campaign and had 66 points.

The Wildcard:

QB Matt Francis Francis was 2nd in passing yards in the OFC with 1655 yards & 16 touchdown passes. In the championship win in Windsor, he threw a pair of touchdown tosses.

The Skinny:

The Canadian Bowl shapes up as a battle featuring two of the premier defenses in the country as the Hurricanes surrendered only 68 points in the OFC season & the Hilltops gave up only 139. The task for Matt Francis & mates will be to have the Hurricanes offense in gear from the get-go as was the case in Windsor. If that’s the case on the 12th, then the Hurricanes should be celebrating a Canadian Bowl victory.

ONLINE BROADCAST:
[url]www.cjwwradio.com 1:30PM LOCAL (SASKATOON)
[url]www.ofcfootball.com 1:00PM LOCAL (HAMILTON)
TELEVISION: Cable 14 Hamilton 1:00 pm Simulcast to Saskatoon