Connor Graham caught three touchdown passes but it was his first that broke the CJFL semi-final wide open.
He connected with Tyler Herman on a 75 yard pass and run play in the first quarter giving the Saskatoon Hilltops a 17-1 lead and they seized the momentum rolling up a 51-1 victory over the Ontario Champion London Beefeaters to advance to the Canadian Bowl.
Graham and Herman hooked up on a 51 yard scoring play early in the second quarter as Graham caught the pass in full flight, stopped for a split second fooling the defensive back trying the chase him down and sprinted into the end zone.
Keegan Dicks also caught a touchdown toss from Herman in tight coverage extending the lead to 31-7. Ben Abrook’s four yard touchdown run early in the first quarter and two of Rylan Kleiter’s three field goals gave the Toppers an insurmountable 34-1 halftime lead.
The evening ended for the most of the Hilltop’s starters early in the second half but Graham put an exclamation point on his performance catching a Doug Fleming pass late in the third quarter.
Fleming actually dropped the snap but picked up the ball off the wet turf and fired a low pass in the end zone that only Graham could catch.
Jordan Tabin got the other Hilltops major on a nine yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
As good as the offense was on a wet, rainy night in London Ontario, the defense was stellar.
Bailey Taylor set up Kleiter’s first field goal picking off a Jake Pow pass on London’s first possession. Jared Giddings also had an interception. However it was the Toppers defensive line that set the table. They kept constant pressure on Pow with Caleb Haight, Jesse McNabb, Jordan Seipp and Tristan Hering all recording at least one sack.
The Beefeaters lone point came on a missed field goal in the first quarter.
Head coach Tom Sergeant told the post game show audience on 92.9 THE BULL he thought this was their best overall performance of the season and they battled through some early adversity.
The Beefeater’s defense shut down the Toppers running game during their early possessions but Sergeant said their areal attack forced the London defense to stop keying on the run which also helped create space for Abrook to rumble for big yardage.
Graham said Herman’s long passes were perfectly placed on the two long touchdown plays while McNabb said their fast and aggressive defense limited London’s offensive attack.
The Hilltops will try to capture a record sixth straight Canadian Bowl championship Nov. 16 in Langley B.C. in a rematch of last year’s title game at SMF Field. The Toppers recorded a 58-21 victory on a cold Saskatoon afternoon. The conditions will be a lot different in the B.C. lower mainland.
The Rams finished off an unbeaten season in the B.C. Conference with a 35-12 victory over the Westshore Rebels in Saturday’s championship game. The Rams including playoffs are 12-0 in 2019.
The Hilltops take an 11-0 mark including playoffs into the national championship game as well as an overall winning streak of 30 games.
Opening kickoff will be at 3 p.m. Saskatchewan time with the broadcast on 92.9 THE BULL beginning at 2:30.
