Crusaders HC enjoyed playing
CJFL, U Sports and CFL
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| HC Tom Schnitzler addresses his Crusaders after a game last season. |
After playing high school football with the Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints winning provincial titles in 2011 and 2012, Schnitzler moved on to play five seasons in the CJFL with the storied Saskatoon Hilltops from 2013 to 2017 winning four straight CJFL championships with the club from 2014 to 2017. Following his time with the Hilltops, the star defensive lineman and standout long snapper moved on to play for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Football Team in 2018 and 2019.
He went on
to be selected in the eighth round and 72nd overall in the 2020 CFL
Draft by the Hamilton Tigers-Cats. Schnitzler played the 2021 campaign with the
Tiger-Cats as they moved on and fell 33-25 in overtime to the Winnipeg Blue
Bombers at home in the Grey Cup. Following the 2021 campaign, Schnitzler suited
up for the Calgary Stampeders in 2022 moving over to play full back on offence.
His time in
the CFL concluded after the 2022 campaign. Schnitzler got on to the staff at
Holy Cross High School and became the offensive coordinator for the Crusaders
Football Team in 2023. When the team’s head coach and all-time coaching great in
Scott Hundseth retired from teaching, Schnitzler took on the role of Crusaders
head coach, while Hundseth remained to be the squad’s defensive coordinator.
After
guiding the Crusaders to their seventh provincial title last season, Schnitzler
settled into the start of his third campaign as the team’s head coach.
“I loved
playing the game,” said Schnitzler. “Playing high school at BGM (Bishop James
Mahoney High School) was a lot of fun.
“Playing
high school football and seeing all the time and effort that the coaches put in
and gave to us really meant a lot. It just kind of made me want to get back
into coaching and kind of give back to the kids. Playing Hilltops and UBC and a
few years in the CFL, I feel like I have a lot to give back, and I want to
repay what those coaches gave me.
“I guess in
a way it is full circle. I really enjoy doing it. It is fun to still be
involved with the game.”
On top of being part of the football scene in Saskatoon, Schnitzler’s football life keeps bringing him back to Saskatoon Minor Football Field on the grounds of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
He played high school and CJFL games at SMF Field.
On the coaching front, Schnitzler has coached high school and with Saskatoon
Minor Football programs like academy league teams at SMF Field.
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| Tom Schnitzler scores a TD for the Hilltops on August 29, 2015. |
“You know what, it is crazy to think about,” said Schnitzler, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighed 235 pounds in his playing days. “There are kids in Grade 9 now, and they’re born in, you know, 2012 or whatever.
“I played Hilltops in 2013. It is kind of crazy
to think about it. It didn’t seem that long ago, and then you know when you
look back, I guess it is quite some time ago.
“(There are) lots of great memories. I met a
lot of my best friends playing there and had good experiences. A touchdown, I
got pretty fortunate with a few plays there for sure.”
Schnitzler
said it was always in the back of his mind that he would coach football once
his playing days were done. He said that idea took root after playing for the
Saints with Kirby Frey serving as the team’s head coach.
“He (Frey)
did an awesome job,” said Schnitzler. “They had a great staff there.
“It was a
lot of fun. I’ve just seen the work they put in for us, but not only that, how
much fun they had as a staff. It really made us all want to give back.
“I think a
lot of the people on that team, my high school, ended up coaching at some point
after. They (the Saints coaches) just set a really good example for us.”
With the
Hilltops, Schnitzler played under that team’s iconic head coach in Tom
Sargeant. Sargeant entered the 2026 CJFL campaign with 254 career wins combined
from CJFL regular season and post-season play. Including play in the CJFL, U
Sports football and the CFL, the only person with more career head coaching
wins than Sargeant is Wally Buono with 305 victories combined in the CFL
regular season and post-season.
“Obviously Sergeant, you can look at his
accolades,” said Schnitzler. “He is the best junior coach that has ever done
it.
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| HC Tom Schnitzler, left, gives instructions to his players. |
When he suited up for the Thunderbirds, Schnitzler played for head coach Blake Nill, who built a legendary career in U Sports. Nill guided the Thunderbirds to a U Sports championship in 2015 and the Saint Mary’s University Huskies Football Team to U Sports title wins in 2001 and 2002.
“He (Nill) is going to tell you what to do and how to do it right,” said Schnitzler. “The expectations are there.
“I guess it is no different for me now. I take
that here is the standard and here are the expectations. That is how I want the
kids to perform.”
Schnitzler
added he learned from both Sargeant and Nill to lean on his team’s leaders. The
Holy Cross sideline boss looks for his Grade 12 seniors and high-end Grade 11
players to lead the way.
One spot where
Schnitzler was really proud of his players came after the Crusaders downed
Regina’s Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School Marauders 21-16 in the
Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s 6A Championship Game on
November 7, 2025 at SMF Field. After receiving the championship trophy, the
Crusaders captains gave it to Hundseth to allow him to be the first to raise
it.
Before that
championship win, the Crusaders had lost their previous 10 straight appearances
in a provincial final with a number of those setbacks coming in heartbreaking
style. Hundseth was the Crusaders head coach of the last nine of those 10
straight losses.
“Coach Hundseth is arguably the best high
school football coach Saskatchewan has seen in recent history,” said
Schnitzler. “He has been here for 16-to-17 years as the head coach, and he has
built this program to what it is today, set the standard high and kept it high.
“I kind of walked into a program that was
already ready to roll. I didn’t have to do a whole lot as far as build it. It
is already there.
“I think we just had the right mix of players
and coaches working together. It (the provincial title win) was for him, so it
is really good to see the kids do that. It is well deserved for him.”
Looking
towards the future, Schnitzler plans to be coaching the Crusaders for the long
term. When players graduate from his team, Schnitzler hopes they become better
all-around persons.
“Just the programs I’ve been at with my
experience with Hilltops under Tom Sargeant and playing some U Sports, I feel
like I can give the kids some guidance as far as expectations and the level and
standard we set at this program,” said Schnitzler. “I feel like it will serve
them well in the future whether they’re playing football after their Grade 12
year or not.
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| Tom Schnitzler, right of trophy, enjoys a provincial title win. |
“We want to keep sending more kids there. It is
fun to see.”
To see the 2026 schedule for high school football, check out the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletics Directorate site at sssad.net/schedule/.
