Saskatoon Hilltops best Okanagan Sun with last-minute field goal in Canadian Junior Football national final
CBC
Save for a couple of extra points, Ryden Gratton hung around on the Saskatoon Hilltops sidelines trying to stay warm for almost 60 minutes.
But when he was needed most, the Hilltops kicker nailed a 37-yard field goal to give the Hilltops a hard-fought 21-18 win over the Okanagan Sun in the Canadian Junior Football League final at SMF Field in Saskatoon.
“We got the ball there with a few minutes left, I think, and then I was warming up and I did my best to get ready and I'm just happy it went in,” said Gratton, who's from Lloydminster and is in his first year with the Hilltops.
This is the Hilltops 24th national title.
“This has been us all year,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “Nothing was easy.
“There are two great teams on the field today, great representation for the CJFL,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the Hilltop tradition shines through again.”
After both teams conceded safeties to make it 2-2 after the first quarter, Hilltops running back David Collins took over in the second quarter.
Collins, who was named offensive player of the game, scored on a seven-yard run at 2:55 of the second quarter.
Then at 11:01 Collins dodged and weaved his way for a 23-yard TD to give the Hilltops an 16-4 half-time lead.
The Sun would storm back in the third quarter with running back Marcus Christos crashing in from the one to make it 16-11.
After the Sun gave up another safety to make it 18-11 Hilltops, Okanagan drove the field late in the quarter capped off by quarterback Liam Kroeger’s 18-year run to tie the game at 18-18 with just 1:33 left on the clock.
But the Hilltops were able to drive down to the Okanagan’s 30-yard line behind a couple of big runs by Collins to set up the winning field goal.
“We were just telling the O-line, if we get another chance, let's not take it for granted,” Collins said.
“When we get on that field, you are going to hold your blocks for as long as you can. I'm gonna hit the hole as hard as I can and we're gonna get in field goal range and our kicker is going to do the rest.”
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