For Huskies, it’s home sweet home
For first time since 2014, Saskatchewan gets a playoff game in its own backyard
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies waited half a decade to host a playoff football game.
But suddenly, here it is — a Saturday-afternoon date, marked on the calendar for 3 p.m. today at Griffiths Stadium against the visiting Alberta Golden Bears. The winner advances to the Canada West final against either No. 1 Calgary or No. 4 Manitoba.
“We wanted a home playoff game and we got it,” Huskies’ defensive lineman Evan Machibroda said last weekend after his team clinched that stint at Griffiths. “Couldn’t be more happy for all the guys out there.”
Next up is trying to win the thing ...
THE SCENARIO
Saskatchewan clinched that home playoff game — their first since 2014 — because of a second-place finish in Canada West. No. 1 Calgary (6-2) and the 5-3 Huskies will both play the role of hosts, with 4-4 Alberta and 4-4 Manitoba hitting the road.”
Regina (3-5) and British Columbia (2-6) failed to advance to the post-season.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Huskies and Golden Bears met twice this season, with the home team coming out on top both times.
Alberta beat Saskatchewan 1917 on Sept. 21 in Edmonton, and the Huskies turned the tables last weekend, when they closed out the regular season — and clinched that home game — with a 22-9 win.
The Huskies played that first contest without starting quarterback Mason Nyhus, who was injured. Nyhus missed just that one game this season, and he hit 19 of 32 passes for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Alberta in the finale.
Saskatchewan has won three of their last four games, while Alberta has lost three straight.
The last playoff meeting between Alberta and Saskatchewan was Nov. 6, 2010, when the fourthplace Golden Bears upset the firstplace Huskies 31-30 at Griffiths.
STATS SHEET LEADERS
Huskies’ tailback Adam Machart led the conference and the nation in rushing with 156 carries for a team-record 1,330 yards and eight touchdowns through eight games.
Alberta quarterback Brad Launhardt is the leading conference passer; he completed 174 of 284 throws this season for a leaguehigh 2,328 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. His primary target is Ben Kopczynski, who topped Canada West in both catches (53) and yards (799).
Defensively, Saskatchewan’s Nelson Lokombo and Calgary’s Deane Leonard tied for the conference lead with four interceptions apiece, and Huskies’ defensive lineman Nicholas Dheilly topped Canada West with 9.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
ELSEWHERE
In today’s other Canada West game, the Calgary Dinos will put their 6-2 record up against Manitoba’s 4-4 mark. They split the season series, with the Dinos winning 24-10 on Sept. 6, and the Bisons prevailing 43-29 on Oct. 19.
If Calgary wins, they’ll clinch a spot in their 12th consecutive Canada West final. Saskatchewan beat them 43-18 in last season’s final.
QUOTABLE
“We knew the possibility of having a home playoff game,” says Huskies’ head coach Scott Flory. “And to be able to secure that, to have it here, it means a lot to the city, to the program, to the university. And we’ve got to make sure we take advantage of the fact that we are home.”