Riderville visits Reiderville: Second-generation Hilltops quarterback proudly emulates his parents
PHOTO CREDIT: Darren Steinke
Trey Reider lived up to his first name in the Saskatoon Hilltops’ regular-season opener.
He threw three touchdown passes on Aug. 13 as the Hilltops defeated the Calgary Colts 50-2 at SMF Field.
The 20-year-old quarterback followed up with two more TD throws on Sunday in a 49-0 Prairie Football Conference victory over the host Winnipeg Rifles.
It must have been a case of déjà vu for his father, who is the Hilltops’ offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Shane Reider was a quarterback with the Hilltops from 1986 to 1989 before spending three seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
“I’ve just been following in his footsteps,” Trey Reider tells Riderville.com. “He has been teaching me everything he knows. It’s pretty cool.”
And not even remotely surprising.
“Ever since I was born, I had a football in my hands and I was wearing a football jersey,” says Reider, 20.
“I’ve always grown up knowing about the Hilltops and going to every single game since I was young. It’s pretty cool now to have the opportunity to play.”
Especially after hearing so much about what it was like when his father played.
“He has told me a couple of stories,” a proud son says with a chuckle.
“A lot of them are just funny — about how many interceptions he used to throw and how it can’t get any worse than that.”
After starring in the Moose Jaw high school ranks with the Central Cyclones, Shane Reider quickly made an imprint with the Hilltops.
As a sophomore, for example, he took off on a 66-yard touchdown run.
In 1988 — his first full season as the Hilltops’ starter — he guided the team to a 36-34 upset victory over the Regina Rams in the conference championship game, played at Taylor Field.
With Reider at the controls, the Hilltops returned to the PFC final the following year.
While attending the U of S, Shane Reider earned an education degree. He now teaches at Walter Murray Collegiate.
His wife, Reanne, is on the faculty at Holy Cross Collegiate.
So, naturally, Trey is studying education.
“I’m just really following after my parents in everything,” he says. “They’re pretty big role models to me. I look up to them and, anytime I have questions or anything, they help me out. I’ve always wanted to be like them when I’m older.”
The same can be said of Trey’s 18-year-old sister, Logan, who is a member of the Huskies women’s basketball team.
She is, of course, studying to become a teacher.
“She means a lot to me,” Trey says. “Even with (studying for tests), she helps me out a couple of times if there’s something I need to figure out.
“Honestly, every day we’ll be playing basketball outside and I’ll be competing against her.”
Next on the agenda for the Hilltops is Sunday’s game against Calgary (1 p.m., SMF Field).
Like the Hilltops, the Regina Thunder carry a 2-0 slate into a Sunday afternoon game. The Thunder is to welcome the Rifles to Leibel Field, where kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The PFC will be idle the following week. Then the anticipation will build for the season’s first showdown between the Hilltops and Thunder (Sept. 9, 7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
