Dalton Urban has certainly made a name for himself in the Canadian Junior Football League’s Prairie Football Conference.
He can no longer fly under the radar, but that’s OK. He remains a physical presence for the Saskatoon Hilltops’ secondary and a key to their success.
“He’s absolutely a real good leader for us,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said of Urban ahead of the PFC final against the Regina Thunder on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. SMF Field, Gordie Howe Sports Complex).
“He’s a prime-time player and he patrols the middle. He’s so physical, so smart, and he gets his nose around the football. He’s got a real presence on the field and a reputation in the PFC. As I said, we’re really appreciative of his efforts and know that we’re going to count on him big-time to patrol the middle again this weekend and in the future.”
Urban earned PFC all-star status once again this season. He finished the regular season with three interceptions, a fumble recovery for a 39-yard touchdown, 13 solo tackles, nine assists, a quarterback sack, three pass knockdowns and forced a fumble as the team’s big-play specialist on D.
Any preference between a big hit, interception, quarterback sack or fumble recovery?
“I’d say all of them — but interceptions, for sure,” said Urban. “We always preach about turnovers at practice. They’re big momentum-changers in the game, so to be able to do those can really help the team.”
Urban, a fourth-year Hilltop out of Saskatoon’s St. Joseph Guardians, has another year of eligibility.
“His first year, he didn’t get a number,” recalls Sargeant. “He was on the practice roster because of injuries (torn ACL). He was performing real well in high school and his first year (of junior football), he had a lot of setbacks. He always showed up and had a mentality and mindset with him. As we’ve been moving forward, the growth has been unbelievable. Just a credit to (defensive backs) coach (Brent) Turkington.
“All of a sudden now, we’ve got as good a defensive player there, we believe, that is out there.”
Adds defensive co-ordinator Jeff Yausie: “(Urban) is a presence out there. I think everybody knows him. We haven’t seen a lot of teams throw deep on us this year and he’s a big reason for that, but we also have fourth- and a fifth-year corners who are playing really well.
“He’s tall. He’s long and lean and covers ground well. He’s a good tackler. He’s a presence out there at safety. The game has kind of changed from the old days where your safeties get all those big hits and whatever, but he looks good out there, he plays good, he covers a lot of ground, which has turned into a great presence for us, whether we’re zone or man on defence.”
Urban became a starter for the Toppers in his third year and hasn’t looked back
“I really took a leap that year,” he said. “I’m just trying to get better every year. Turk’s done a good job pushing us all, me especially; just reading the eyes of the quarterback is one of my strengths. I always have to get around the ball and play for it and just be a sound tackler.”
While he’s no secret in the PFC, “it’s still my job to make plays and be where I’m supposed to be on the field,” he said. “I just can control what I can control and go out there and make some plays.
“We know what it takes to win, and at the same time, we know what it takes to lose. The veterans need to step up and really guide these young guys, take one practice at a time and just get better each day and then compete on Sunday.”
EXTRA TOPPINGS: Hilltops QB Trey Reider was the big winner when the PFC major awards were handed out. Reider won the conference MVP and most outstanding QB awards. Tom Sargeant was named PFC coach of the year for the second straight year. Hilltops’ Cody Shumanski was named most outstanding offensive lineman and Drake Douglas is a double winner as the most outstanding receiver and most outstanding special teams player as the league’s top kick returner … The Regina Thunder also hauled away some major award hardware: Sadik Sadik (outstanding running back); Liam Sellwood (outstanding defensive lineman); Stephen Smith (outstanding linebacker, outstanding defensive player of the year); offensive lineman Tristen Rapchalk (offensive rookie of the year).
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