Watch above: The Saskatoon Hilltops defeated the Langley Rams in Canadian Junior Football League championship to hoist the trophy for the 17th time.
LANGLEY, B.C. – When the Saskatoon Hilltops and Langley Rams met in the 2012 Canadian Bowl, the Rams came out as the aggressor, storming out to an early lead and carrying it into halftime.
This time around the script was flipped; as it was the Hilltops who came out firing on all cylinders.
The Blue and Gold’s defense forced four turnovers in the first half alone. The Hilltops offence cashed in on great field position, putting up 25 points which gave Saskatoon a 25-7 lead heading into halftime.
Hilltops barely gave the Rams an inch the rest of the way, as Saskatoon cruised to a 39 – 14 victory to capture the 17th Canadian Bowl title in Hilltops history.
Watch below: highlights of the Hilltops win over the Rams in the Canadian Bowl
“It’s an unreal feeling,” said receiver Evan Turkington just minutes after hoisting the championship trophy.
“The way that we started (the season), it just makes it super sweet. We didn’t know if we would be here or not this year.”
The Hilltops hit rock bottom in week three of the season after getting embarrassed at home against the Regina Thunder. With a 1-2 record, Saskatoon looked more like a team that would struggle to make the playoffs than a national championship caliber squad.
But that week three loss lit a fire inside the Toppers, and from that day forward, the Hilltops won eight games in a row to capture their fourth Canadian Bowl title in the last five years.
Tom Sargeant has been the head coach of the Saskatoon Hilltops for 17 seasons, and has led the Toppers to five Canadian Bowl victories over the last eight years. What made Saturday’s triumph special for Sargeant was seeing his players rewarded for their hard work, after a season of pushing through adversity.
“It’s fun to see a team grow. It’s fun to see coaches demand, dictate, and expect, and the players respond to those expectations,” said Sargeant.
“That’s what I’m going to take from this year. Nothing was easy, but you know, at the end of the run, it’s all worth it now.”
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