The year-end wind-up is always more fun after a season-ending win.

Take this year’s Saskatoon Hilltops, newly-crowned Canadian Bowl champs.

“Absolutely, there’s just no way around it, that feeling,” longtime Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said after his team capped-off the season with an awards gala at the Roxy Theatre.

And there’s something about those championship teams, too.

“They really bond and, as the season grows, they become real close,” added Sargeant, whose team just captured its 24th Canadian Bowl.

“That was the vibe to this team — they were just a real close-knit team that fought hard for one another, played hard for our graduating fifth-year players and that’s ultimately what got us to be national champions.”

The Toppers bid farewell to at least 16 graduating players.

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