Both Hilltops and Huskies advance
U of S defence turns it on in second half, team reaches Hardy Cup against Dinos
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies spent much of Saturday moving backward. Untimely penalties, drive-killing penalties, flag after flag after flag.
But they won — 17 penalties for 164 yards notwithstanding — and that 28-23 victory over the visiting Alberta Golden Bears, keyed by a huge second-half defensive effort, sends Saskatchewan into its second straight Canada West football final.
The Calgary Dinos will provide the opposition for Saturday’s finale, just like last season.
“Oh, man. I’ve never played a Hardy Cup,” said new Huskies’ defensive lineman Nicholas Dheilly, who spent two standout seasons with the Regina Rams before departing to join the U of S for the 2019 campaign. “On the Rams, we lost the first round (of) playoffs every time. This is a hell of an experience to be with the Huskies, this group of guys, the coaches, and play my first Hardy Cup.
“I came to school to win games, get to the Hardy, and play in bigger games. I couldn’t be happier about this team and how they played today to get us where we need to be.”
Playoffs were a curse for the Huskies not that long ago. They lost eight straight post-season games between 2009 and 2017 before advancing to last season’s conference final, where they thrashed previously-unbeaten Calgary 43-18.
And now, it’s time for a rematch, with the winner hosting a national semifinal game against the Ontario champion.
“They’re a very good team,” said Huskies’ quarterback Mason Nyhus. “They always have been, and I’m sure they will be for years to come. We have our work cut out for us, but I’m very excited for the opportunity.”
First-place Calgary advanced to the final by edging fourth-place Manitoba 47-46. The Bisons scored a touchdown with no timeleft, and opted to go for the game-winning two-point convert. That attempt failed when Calgary’s Nick Statz made a goal-line interception.
Back in Saskatoon — before a sparse Saturday-afternoon crowd of 1,192 — Alberta took control in the early going, grabbing a 14-0 lead with two touchdowns in the opening 8:54. Golden Bears’ quarterback Brad Launhardt was seven-of-seven for 161 yards at that point, but Saskatchewan recovered quickly.
Alberta led 21-15 at halftime. Huskies interceptions on three straight Golden Bears drives in the third quarter served notice that thing would be different, and Alberta’s only points in the second half came off a safety.
“We got punched in the mouth a little bit at the start. But the offence rallied, our defence settled down, then came out in the second half and pitched a shutout,” Huskies’ head coach Scott Flory said.
“It all breaks down,” he added, “to one-on-one football. It breaks down to you versus me, or me versus you, and who’s going to win. Our guys manned up in the second half and said ‘we’re just going to be better’. And they were. Guys made plays, and that’s what we needed to do.”
The Huskies got a nine-yard touchdown catch from Sam Baker and a seven-yard TD run from Adam Machart. David Solie chipped in field goals of 32, 29, 22 and 30 yards.
Alberta’s touchdowns came from Launhardt (one-yard and twoyard runs) and Daniel Bubelenyi (80-yard catch).
Saskatchewan put up 478 yards of total offence, to Alberta’s 272.
“This is what we’ve been working towards during the season, so it’s always a good feeling, knowing it’s paid off,” said Saskatchewan defensive back Nelson Lokombo, who collected six tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. “All the guys are super-excited. We really stressed that we want to do it for our guys, our fifth-years, allowing ourselves to have an extra week to play football with each other. It’s awesome.”
This is a hell of an experience to be with the Huskies, this group of guys, the coaches, and play my first Hardy Cup