Labour Day weekend in the Prairie Football Conference means bye-week. And for one Saskatoon Hilltop player, it means an opportunity to check in with family in Minnesota. More on that in the Junior Football Report in a moment.
First, a look back at week three in the Prairie Football Conference. We start here in the Queen City, where the Regina Thunder played their home opener on Sunday and scored a dominant 57-7 win over the Edmonton Huskies, a team that the Thunder came from behind to beat in week one. Defensive back Jake Mayo had four tackles and an interception in the victory. So what changed from week one to week three?
Mayo said, “We’re a young team. We have lots of guys who haven’t had much experience playing in the CJFL or starting, and I'm included. And I think we weren’t ready to go right off the start. Coming into this third game, we had a good game plan. Our coaches put us in a great spot. And I think we’re just getting so much better every week with the experience that we get.”
Mayo came to the Thunder after a standout high school career at North Valley High School in Lemberg, where he played six-man football. He admits it was a big change moving up to the 12-man game with the Thunder.
“It’s a completely different game. You have to break one tackle, two tackles, to get to the end zone. On defence, you have so much open field to cover, and if you miss a tackle, it’s going to be a big play. It’s a completely different game, but I think there are lots of things that six-man taught me that helped me in 12-man.”
Mayo’s dad is the coach in Lemberg. So what were the drives home with dad, the coach, like?
“I loved it so much. You get that extra aspect, especially for high school, where you can trust each other. I know what adjustments he wants to make. I know what he’s looking for, and he understands me well. He knows how to help me relax or help me get going. He knows what works best, and we work super well together. It was awesome to have him as a coach and a parent.”
“I’ll get you out on this. You get an opportunity to play at Mosaic Stadium when you take on the Saskatoon Hilltops after the bye week. What does it mean to play there? And this rivalry game, how big is it?”
“Oh, it’s huge. It’s the game that I’ve been looking forward to all year. It’s a game that our whole team’s been looking forward to. It’s one of those big rivalry games. You know how it is. Everyone’s super excited, super fired up. I’ve been working hard for it, looking forward to it.”
More on that matchup at Mosaic in a moment. First, speaking of the Saskatoon Hilltops, running back David Collins is the PFC’s offensive player of the week after carrying the ball 33 times for 262 yards in Saskatoon’s 42-15 Week 3 win over Winnipeg. Collins, a Minnesota native, was recruited to the PFC by an old teammate and former Regina Thunder receiver David Boyd Jr.
So far, Collins is adapting well to the game north of the 49th.
“I love it. I’m still trying to get used to the extra man on the field, the motion before the snap, and only having three downs. Other than that, it’s still football. I mean, I love the bigger field. I feel like I got way more space to play with and do a lot more crafty things. So it’s really fun.”
When it comes to the pre-snap motion, Collins admits that it is still a learning process.
“I’m still trying to get used to it. We have some plays to practice that require that, and I’m just trying to remember that it’s not a false start and that I can do such a thing. So just remembering the game, honestly.”
The Hilltops' next game out of the bye week will be in Regina against the Thunder, a rivalry that Collins is learning about.
“I know the rivalry runs deep. I know these two teams have been the powerhouses of the league. So it will be fun going into the game and seeing how the outcome will be.”
Collins admits that the dislike is genuine despite the two teams knowing one another so well.
“It’s bad. I didn’t know it was this bad. They keep telling me that we don’t like these guys.”
The Thunder and Hilltops will renew their rivalry when the Prairie Football Conference returns from its bye week.
And that’s the Junior Football Report. I’m Dave Thomas
