Visions of watching the Regina Thunder celebrate a Prairie Football Conference title on his home turf of SMF Field still haunt Saskatoon Hilltops veteran defensive lineman Johnathon Stevens.
Fast forward 10 months later after that devastating loss, it’s a feeling that’s motivating the two-time conference all-star heading into the 2025 season.
“To an extent it’s good to have that taste in your mouth just to remember how it felt,” said Stevens. “It’s just figuring out what we did wrong and also expanding on the things that we did right.”
The Hilltops are ready to kick off their 2025 Canadian Junior Football League season on Sunday, hitting the road to battle the Winnipeg Rifles.
Saskatoon’s defence will be led by Stevens once again, entering a brand new season as a key member of the Hilltops defensive line and being named a second-team All-Canadian at his position.
That dominance last season caught the attention of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, who invited Stevens and Hilltops teammate Dalton Urban to the team’s rookie and main training camps in May.
That stint at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus included several memorable moments, including a one-on-one matchup with Grey Cup champion and four-time CFL all-star Micah Johnson which became the focal point of practice.
“He’s strong,” said Stevens. “He’s strong and he knows some tips there. I know for a fact when we went against each other he was probably licking his lips like, ‘Oh I know I’m going to beat him.’ Ultimately he did, but I still got something out of it even though I lost.”
Stevens was able to parlay that experience towards joining the Roughriders’ practice squad, competing on the field nearly every day at Mosaic Stadium over the past two months.
It’s an experience he said was a highlight of his football career, with lessons he’s aiming to share with his teammates back on the Hilltops.
“I was blessed to have that opportunity,” said Stevens. “It’s only right that I try to at least share that with lots of my teammates, if I ever can.”
Tom Sargeant has watched the Eatonia product develop into one of the top defensive linemen in western Canada, a fact which the Roughriders have also identified in their conversations with the Hilltops head coach.
“Talking to the brass down in ‘Riderville’ he took full advantage of it,” said Sargeant. “He’s a great kid, a character guy, he shows up every day and just works hard. He’s brought the same mentality back here. He’s working hard, he’s a playmaker and he just makes us better. He’s educating and working with some of the younger players, providing that valuable experience.”
While Stevens will help provide a veteran presence on the Saskatoon defence this season, it will be a much younger Hilltops team taking the field compared to their 2024 roster with nine graduates leaving the program.
The most notable of which being Hilltops quarterback and PFC most valuable player Trey Reider, who threw for 1,685 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight regular season games and won a national championship with the organization in 2023.
Reider’s departure from the team has opened the door for backup quarterback Brexton Elias to take over behind centre after four seasons waiting for his opportunity to earn a starter’s role.
“We’re excited for his opportunity because he’s been very patient,” said Sargeant. “He’s waited and he’s deserving of this chance, so now he’s got to take advantage of it. In the blue and gold we’re measured by wins and losses, it ain’t more simple than that.”
Game-planning for a new quarterback leading the offence, Sargeant added the coaching staff has developed new play calls for Elias which allow him to use his legs and put defences on their heels.
“He can run it at any time,” said Sargeant. “We’ve given the green light that we’re going to run some option, we’re just going to change it up and get him moving a little differently. Trey was more of a gunslinger, he’d rip that ball all over the place.
“Brexton is just [playing] a different style of game.”
Suffering their first loss in almost two years last October to the Thunder in the PFC final, the Hilltops have seen their streak of 21 consecutive victories come to an end.
Unable to stop the run against Regina in the championship game, that has been a key part of training camp for the ‘Toppers’ according to Sargeant.
“I want to have the most physical team that blocks the best and tackles the best,” said Sargeant. “If we do those things, then we should be able to run the ball real well and we should be able to stop the run. So that’s the whole focus this year.”
The Hilltops will have plenty of work ahead towards getting back on track and claiming a 24th national title, however the memories of that game are dictating the lessons learned in defeat for the Hilltops.
They’re lessons which Stevens said will be displayed starting in their Week 1 contest against the Rifles.
“It’s just about growing,” said Stevens. “It’s all we can do coming into this next season. Hopefully looking forward to another good year, but hopefully and ultimately completing the mission.”
The Hilltops will kick off their 2025 CJFL season at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Winnipeg, before returning to SMF Field for their home opener on Aug. 17 against the Edmonton Huskies.