When Regina topped the Saskatoon Hilltops 24-19 in the Prairie Football Conference championship game on Sunday in the Bridge City, linebacker Stephen Smith and the Thunder defence were dominant.
Smith, who is also a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Regina’s defence conceded five first downs and 102 yards in net offence in the first half to the Hilltops high octane offence. That set the stage for the upset for the Thunder in the provincial rivalry.
In 2023, Smith was named the Canadian Junior Football League's top defensive player after recording 89 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery in 10 games. His dominance at the CJFL level caught the eye of his Mosaic Stadium neighbour, the Riders, earning him an invite to 2024 training camp in Saskatoon.
The 22-year-old from Abernathy, SK continued to impress earning himself a spot on the Roughriders practice roster. That signing allowed Smith to practice with the Riders by day, then train and play with the Regina Thunder at night.
“He's dialed, he's here early, he’s incredible. Love how he attacks everything,” head coach Corey Mace said.
A typical day for Smith usually includes showing up early at Mosaic Stadium and getting in an individual workout before sitting in on Roughriders team meetings, then it’s out to the field for a practice session.
Smith doesn’t get a lot of reps in the team periods at Riders practices. Instead, he can be found in the north end zone taking shadow reps. He replicates the moves of Jameer Thurman, C.J. Reavis and all of the linebackers while the veterans work on positioning within that weeks game plan.
Following practice, Smith heads back inside with his Saskatchewan teammates for positional meetings. Those gatherings involve a lot of film study looking at past performance, the oppositions tendencies and their own work at practice. Each week, Smith has an opportunity to go over his Regina Thunder film with Roughriders defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach, J.C. Sherritt. The two go through his play from the previous week and identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities to improve.
After his work with the Roughriders, Smith trades in his Green and White gear for the Maroon and White of the Thunder. After a brief break, he heads to the Thunder practice facility where he sits in on team film study and preparation for their week ahead, before taking the field with his Thunder teammates for his second practice of the day.
The hard work has paid off for Smith, who despite the opposition game planning for him, has been in on 68 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception in 10 PFC games this season. Numbers that have earned him the Conference’s award for Top Defensive Player for a second consecutive season.
Fast forward to Tuesday where following the Riders first practice after the Thunder’s PFC championship win, Mace called on Smith to break the team down.
“I just said: ‘Hey, Stephen won a big game. It’s your breakdown kid, let’s go.’ Everybody was hyped for him and knows how much work he puts in, he's part of this, so we're happy for him,” Mace said.
Smith and the Regina Thunder host the Okanagan Sun on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Leibel Field in the Canadian Junior Football League’s national semi-final. The winner advances to the Canadian Bowl which will be hosted by the Ontario Conference champions.
