Tyler Hermann’s one campaign as the Saskatoon Hilltops starting quarterback turned into a dream season.

After being a reserve quarterback for four years, Hermann took over the controls of the Hilltops offence for his fifth and final campaign with the club. While there were growing pains in the first four weeks of the season, Hermann led the Hilltops to a 12-0 record to capture the Canadian Bowl and become CJFL champions for a sixth straight year.

The Hilltops downed the host Langley Rams 11-6 last November in the CJFL title game to win a 22nd national title.

Hermann had a good personal campaign, completing 123- of-192 passes for 1,908 yards and 17 touchdowns, appearing in all of his club’s eight regular-season games.

“It was awesome,” said Hermann, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “That is something I will have for the rest of my life.

“It is one of those priceless memories that I will look back, and I will just cherish every moment of it. I remember at the end of the season I was almost sad thinking back. I should have been happy.

“I remembered that this was the end of something that was such a big part of my life and all friendships I made along the way. This was a spectacular year.”

Hermann received his championship ring at the team’s ring ceremony at the Hilltops clubhouse. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Hilltops ring ceremony was a modified one.

Usually, the Hilltops ring ceremony is a social event that brings together their CJFL championship team from the previous season as part of a reunion night.

With government regulations currently in place to combat COVID-19, the Hilltops ultimately did a ring ceremony to give a nod to their 2019 season with a group of six players, who were in their final campaign with the team in 2019.

The graduating players that made it out included Hermann, Connor Graham, Tristan Hering, Logan Kelsey-Stern, Ryder Klisowsky and Jesse McNabb.

Hermann was happy with the reunion that did happen, considering the circumstances.

“We usually do it right after May camp too, so there is a little buzz around the new season,” said Hermann, who recently turned 23 years old.

“It is definitely different. I like the way they did it having the fifthyear guys here. Those are the guys we travelled our whole five years together with, and we shared such similar experiences kind of starting as that rookie and then finishing the way we did.

“That is good enough for me. That is really all you can expect in times like this.”

McNabb’s eyes got really big, when he opened his ring box and saw his championship ring. The star defensive tackle, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 245 pounds, said a big part of the 2019 campaign was gutting out a 4-0 start.

The Hilltops had a huge turnover in their starting ranks, and many players were adjusting to new roles.

The venerable CJFL club opened the season with three straight road victories. The Hilltops took their home opener 28-21 over their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder, thanks to a touchdown with under a minute to play.

The home win over the Thunder and a 24-22 win in Week 3 over the Huskies in Edmonton required fourth-quarter comebacks.

“It was big, because it really showed the character of the team,” said McNabb, who recorded 26.5 total tackles and three sacks for the Hilltops in the 2019 regular season. “We weren’t just rolling through everyone like some teams in the past have.

“It was more hard-fought games. It was really good for the group morale to see that we could get through the tough times together. As the season went on, things developed better, and it was good.”

On Aug. 25, 2019 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Hilltops’ legendary head coach Tom Sargeant picked up his 200th career victory in a 34-16 win over the host Thunder.

After the Hilltops won their sixth straight CJFL championship, Sargeant’s career record sat a 210-30-2, including action in the CJFL regular season and post-season.

McNabb said helping Sargeant get those milestones was a sweet part of the campaign.

“It was great just to be able to do that for him and get things done right and then be able to lift him up in B.C. at the end of the year and give him the trophy,” said the 22-year-old McNabb.

Hilltops linebacker Jadyn Pingue was named the CJFL defensive player of the year for his efforts during the 2019 season.

The Hilltops have also captured the Canadian Bowl in nine out of the last 10 seasons to become CJFL champions.

The 12-0 campaign in 2019 followed up the Hilltops posting an 11-0 overall mark in their 2018 CJFL title-winning season.

The Hilltops’ 2019 CJFL championship rings have the initials “J.F.” written on the side to honour former star linebacker Justin Filteau. Filteau, who played for the Hilltops from 2010 to 2014, died in a plane crash on June 1, 2019.

The 2019 rings, which were designed by the Hilltops graduating players, contain 22 sapphires symbolizing the club’s 22 CJFL championships. The word “trust” is written on the underside of the ring to recognize the trust the Hilltops players had in their teammates over the course of the season.

There are six Canadian Bowl trophies on the side and six sapphires on the top of the ring to symbolize the Hilltops sixth consecutive Canadian Bowl championship win.

“Obviously, it is beautiful, and it is something to be proud of,” said Hermann. “When I look at it, I just kind of think of the comradery of the team.”

-Darren Steinke