Hilltops dominate Wildcats 44-16 in playoff opener to advance to PFC championship

The Saskatoon Hilltops left no doubt in their first Prairie Football Conference playoff game with their biggest offensive outburst of the season on Sunday afternoon.

Led by quarterbacks Griffin Sander and Sam Bazarkiewicz splitting time under centre, the Hilltops scored 28 points in the second quarter alone to beat the visiting Edmonton Wildcats 44-16 at SMF Field in PFC semifinals.

“We knew we had something to prove,” Bazarkiewicz said. “The league’s been kind of pushing us down. We only have two PFC all-stars and I felt like we had a couple more, tons more. We need to show the league who we are.”

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Sunday’s win was a big response for a Hilltops team which entered playoffs with a 4-4 regular season record, their worst in 36 years, and three losses over their last four games.

“The boys delivered today,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.

“They got between the lines, they had purpose, they were motivated and they had something to prove. You know what? There’s been a lot of talk and it’s good to see this team rally around each other, respond the way they did.”

Saskatoon’s defence also stepped up with their season on the line, as they picked off four Wildcats passes and only allowed two touchdowns against all afternoon.

That included two interceptions by linebacker Carson Holcomb, who felt it was their most complete performance of the season.

“That feeling of beating up everyone else, just having that dominance is a great feeling,” Holcomb said.

The Hilltops have advanced to the conference championship game next Sunday at 1 p.m., where they’ll visit the Regina Thunder who beat the Calgary Colts 40-11 in the other semifinal this weekend.

Dreams of a national title repeat remain alive for @SaskHilltops with a 44-16 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats. They’ll advance to face @reginathunder next weekend in Regina for the Prairie Football Conference championship. @CKOMNews @CJMENews https://t.co/xajfIvk14o
— Scott Roblin (@ScottRoblin) October 11, 2026

Even with all the trials and tribulations they’ve faced this season, Sargeant said it’s right where they want to be.

“That was the goal all year to get to the PFC championship,” Sargeant said. “It doesn’t matter how you get there, we’re there.”

A quiet first quarter for both teams nearly turned into a late turnover by the Hilltops, as Edmonton’s Eric Butler dropped an interception off Sander in the end zone.

The Hilltops had to settle for an 18-yard field goal from Ryden Gratton to end the first quarter with a 3-0 lead.

Bazarkiewicz, who is in his first season with the Hilltops, took over from Sander to begin the second quarter after a long punt return by Charles Sawi got Saskatoon into the red zone.

On second down at the seven-yard line, Bazarkiewicz kept the ball on a run for Saskatoon’s first touchdown of the day and a 10-0 lead.

“(Bazarkiewicz) gives us some opportunities to have a different look, different offence,” Sargeant said. “He can move, he can run.”

After making a trio of big tackles in the first quarter, Holcomb picked off Edmonton quarterback Marcos Soltero and returned the ball down to the one-yard line.

Saskatoon running back Brody Komarnicki plunged into the end zone on the ensuing play for the touchdown and a 17-2 lead with 7:19 left in the second quarter.

Special teams stepped up for the Hilltops before the end of the first half, with the punt unit forcing a bobble of the football by the Wildcats, which was tipped out of bounds by Nate Gallant to keep possession for Saskatoon.

Seven yards from pay dirt, Bazarkiewicz took the snap and threw over the pile to receiver Donovan Harkness on first down for the 24-2 touchdown.

The Hilltops closed out the second quarter with another interception by Gallant to set up a three-yard pass from Bazarkiewicz to running back Corbin Ebben, who hauled in the touchdown but came up favouring his leg and did not return.

Saskatoon outscored Edmonton by a 28-2 margin in the second quarter alone, which Sargeant said was an offensive explosion the coaching staff has been waiting all year for.

“I haven’t seen that many points all year and now we got lots to build on,” Sargeant said.

“The kids got belief now, they know they’re a good football team and they know they can play. We’ve been pushing them to play better and better, and they did it today. They shut us up today.”

Edmonton got their first touchdown of the day early in the third quarter with a long drive of the field finished off by a two-yard score from Ladainian Okorodudu to make it a 31-9 game.

The Wildcats got a bit of momentum back with a touchdown from Carson Elkew with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, until the Hilltops put the game away on the next series with a 61-yard touchdown run by Brody Nelson.

According to Holcomb, it was important to get back to a punishing brand of football which their opponents hadn’t seen through eight regular season meetings.

“That sent a message out to the league that the Hilltops are back,” Holcomb said.

With their season still alive, the Hilltops will now prepare to battle a powerhouse Thunder team which went 7-1 in the regular season and earned a pair of victories against Saskatoon last month.

Bazarkiewicz feels this group has earned some needed confidence ahead of next weekend’s conference title game.

“It’s hard to beat a good football team three times in a row,” Bazarkiewicz said. “We’re ready to give it to them.”

Since 2009, the PFC championship has been captured by either the Hilltops or Thunder, with the provincial rivals set to write another chapter.

Sargeant said it’s going to be an even bigger test for his group next weekend when they hit the highway to face the team they’ve been chasing all year.

“That’s what we expected when we started the year,” Sargeant said.

“If we were saying, ‘Hey, we’re playing Regina in the PFC final, it doesn’t matter where.’ We’d sign up all day, every day. We’re playing the team we want to play, great league this year. Two best teams out of Saskatchewan, nothing better than that.”

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