After a huge turnover of players from the 2015 championship team, expectations were tempered for this year’s edition of the Saskatoon Hilltops.
The Toppers were a younger, different looking squad.
But that didn’t matter as the Hilltops captured their third-straight Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) Canadian Bowl title on Saturday in B.C., downing the Westshore Rebels 37-25.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Hilltops defend Canadian Bowl title
Running back Logan Fischer, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game, rushed for 202 yards on 28 carries and caught four passes for 43 yards and added a pair of touchdowns.
Linebacker Cody Peters was named Defensive Player of the Game after making nine solo tackles.
For the players and the coaches, the championship is everything they worked so hard for this season.
“The feeling is pretty good, actually it is great,” offensive lineman Drayke Unger said Sunday after getting off the charter plane.
“These players rallied around each other and the coaching staff did a great job of getting this thing set up,” Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant added.
“We’re 2016 national champions, that’s unreal.”
READ MORE: Saskatoon Hilltops quarterback Jared Andreychuk looks to go out a winner
Quarterback Jared Andreychuk, who completed 10 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, said the team’s resilience and the coaching staff were factors in another championship season.
“At the start of the year, there wasn’t a whole lot of confidence coming into this year as we lost a whole lot of guys,” Andreychuk said.
“We just went into every game with a great game plan and it’s just a great feeling to come away with a win in the end.”
Andreychuk, who played his final game as a Hilltop, never lost a post-season game in his three years as the starting quarterback for the team.
It’s the Hilltops sixth title in seven years and the 19th national title.