Huskies defense stifles

A strong performance by an unproven defence powered the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to a 28-5 win Friday night over the visiting UBC Thunderbirds in a non-conference game at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.

The Huskie defence, that lost six starters from a season ago, rallied throughout the night to hold the Thunderbirds out of the end zone.

“We were really physical, especially in the second half,” said Huskie head coach Brian Towriss, who enters his 30th season at the helm.  “Other than two or three undisciplined penalties, I thought we played really well.”

Rookie linebacker turned defensive lineman Michael Desjarlais shone in the game recording 5.5 tackles for the green and white. Third-year defensive back Corey Edington added another 4.5 for the Huskies, while Dane Bishop tallied 3.5 tackles and two sacks.

Saskatchewan opened the scoring with a rouge by kicker Denton Kolodzinski on the opening kickoff.  Kolodzinski added a field goal on the Huskies opening drive. The starting unit continued to move the ball in the first quarter finding the end zone on a 59-yard run by Shane Buchanan at 10:34 to close the frame ahead 11-0.

The T-Birds offence marched the field midway through the second quarter but could not break the plane of the goal line on third down from the Huskie one-yard line. UBC did record a safety on the ensuing punt to cut the lead to 11-2 at halftime.

Saskatchewan’s offence found its rhythm in the second half recording a 20-yard field goal on the leg of Sean Stenger in the third quarter and two touchdowns in the fourth frame.

Second-year running back Drew Bexson found the end zone on a one-yard plunge at 4:12 after rookie receiver Mitch Hillis snagged a 41-yard gain. Hillis, younger brother to Huskies’ 2012 CIS First Team All-Canadian Kit Hillis, caught a 48-yard screen pass to score the second touchdown in the quarter at 8:16.

UBC kicker Quinn Van Gylswyk hit a late fourth quarter field goal to bring the final score to 28-5.

Saskatchewan starting quarterback Drew Burko completed 9-of-14 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown playing in the first and fourth quarters of the non-conference affair. Matthew Bonaca completed 8-of-11 passes for 71 yards in the second at pivot for the Huskies, while Jordan Tarasoff went 9-for-11 for 68 yards in the third frame.

Carson Williams started the game for the T-Birds completing 8-of-15 passes for 84 yards. Greg Bowcott replaced Williams behind center in the second quarter finishing 4-for-13 for 91 yards.

Pierre Lacerte recorded 6.5 tackles to lead the way defensively for the Thunderbirds. Nik Termansen and Kevin Wiens both picked off Huskie quarterbacks on the night.

UBC will open their conference schedule at home against the Calgary Dinos next week, while Saskatchewan will host the Regina Rams next Friday night at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park. Tickets are on sale now for the regular season opener at huskies.usask.ca.

Photo Credit: Josh Schaefer

Game Stats

Scoring Summary (Final)
UBC (0-1) vs. Saskatchewan (1-0)

Date: Aug 23, 2013 • Site: Saskatoon, SK  • Stadium: Griffith  •  Attendance: 3417

Score by Quarters	1	2	3	4	Score
UBC	0	2	0	3	5
Saskatchewan	11	0	3	14	28

SCORING SUMMARY				UBC -SASK
1st	03:35	SASK	D.Kolodzinski 53 rouge (kickoff)
				0 – 1
	06:30	SASK	D.Kolodzinski 43 yd field goal
			8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:55	0 – 4
	10:34	SASK	Shane Buchanan 59 yd run (D.Kolodzinski kick)
			1 play, 59 yards, TOP 0:18	0 – 11
2nd	05:36	UBC	TEAM safety
				2 – 11
3rd	02:03	SASK	Sean Stenger 20 yd field goal
			5 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:03	2 – 14
4th	04:12	SASK	Drew Bexson 1 yd run (Sean Stenger kick)
			4 plays, 57 yards, TOP 1:54	2 – 21
	08:16	SASK	Mitch Hillis 48 yd pass from Drew Burko (Sean Stenger kick)
			4 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:47	2 – 28
	13:28	UBC	Q. Van Gylswyk 31 yd field goal
			11 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00	5 – 28

Kickoff time: 7:10  • End of Game: 9:50  • Total elapsed time: 2:40 Referee: Ryan Elder  •  Umpire: Todd Joyes  •  Linesman: Perry Karakochu •  Line judge: Troy Semenchuk  •  Back judge: Mike Ciona  •  Field judge: Steve Chisholm  •  Side judge: Kent Gauthier  •  Alternate: Adam Lerch  • Temperature: 26C  • Wind: 25km/h  • Weather: Overcast

Team Statistics

Team Statistics (Final)

Team Totals	UBC	SASK
FIRST DOWNS	16	21
Rushing	6	9
Passing	7	10
Penalty	3	2
NET YARDS RUSHING	95	157
Rushing Attempts	26	25
Average Per Rush	3.7	6.3
Rushing Touchdowns	0	2
Yards Gained Rushing	120	168
Yards Lost Rushing	25	11
NET YARDS PASSING	175	306
Completions-Attempts-Int	12-28-0	26-36-2
Average Per Attempt	6.2	8.5
Average Per Completion	14.6	11.8
Passing Touchdowns	0	1
TEAM LOSSES	-27	-10
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	243	453
Total offense plays	57	62
Average Gain Per Play	4.3	7.3
Fumbles: Number-Lost	3-0	1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	11-76	12-124
PUNTS-YARDS	14-593	8-331
Average Yards Per Punt	42.4	41.4
Net Yards Per Punt	35.0	35.2
Inside 20	1	2
50+ Yards	2	1
Touchbacks	0	0
Fair catch	0	0
KICKOFFS-YARDS	1-62	7-388
Average Yards Per Kickoff	62.0	55.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff	4.0	34.1
Touchbacks	0	1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	8-49-0	12-103-0
Average Per Return	6.1	8.6
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	6-114-0	1-58-0
Average Per Return	19.0	58.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	2-23-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Possession Time	28:20	29:11
1st Quarter	9:05	5:55
2nd Quarter	5:35	9:25
3rd Quarter	6:06	8:54
4th Quarter	7:34	4:57
Third-Down Conversions	1 of 2	1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	0-2	2-2
Touchdowns	0-2	1-2
Field goals	0-2	1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards	1-10	3-27
PAT Kicks	0-0	3-3
Field Goals	1-2	2-2

Individual Statistics

Individual Statistics (Final)

UBC		Saskatchewan
RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg.  Jeff Effah   9  59  1  58  0  24  6.4  B. Deschamps   8  35  0  35  0  9  4.4  Liam Mahara   4  18  0  18  0  11  4.5  Greg Bowcott   4  8  14  -6  0  5  -1.5  Alex Morrison   1  0  10  -10  0  0  -10.0  Totals…  26  120  25  95  0  24  3.7		RUSHING  No.  Gain  Loss  Net  TD  Lg  Avg.  Shane Buchanan   3  63  9  54  1  59  18.0  Devin Logan   5  42  0  42  0  29  8.4  Jarvis James   5  29  1  28  0  13  5.6  Matthew Bonaca   1  13  0  13  0  13  13.0  Drew Bexson   5  13  1  12  1  8  2.4  Drew Burko   4  6  0  6  0  3  1.5  Lance Bashutsky  1  1  0  1  0  1  1.0  Jordan Tarasoff  1  1  0  1  0  1  1.0  Totals…  25  168  11  157  2  59  6.3
PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack  Carson Williams  8-15-0  84  0  17  3  Greg Bowcott   4-13-0  91  0  37  0  Totals…  12-28-0  175  0  37  3		PASSING  Cmp-Att-Int  Yds  TD  Long  Sack  Drew Burko   9-14-1  167  1  48  0  Jordan Tarasoff  9-11-0  68  0  23  0  Matthew Bonaca   8-11-1  71  0  25  1  Totals…  26-36-2  306  1  48  1
RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg  Ryan Couper   3  38  0  19  David Scott   2  51  0  37  B. Deschamps   2  19  0  17  Josh Kronstrom   1  23  0  23  Jeff Effah   1  12  0  12  Alex Morrison   1  12  0  12  Nikolaas Jakobs  1  11  0  11  Patrick Bull   1  6  0  6  Totals…  12  172  0  37		RECEIVING  No.  Yds  TD  Lg  Mitch Hillis   7  131  1  48  Liam Howe   5  56  0  25  Brydon Ozmun   4  46  0  35  Thomas Chan   3  30  0  23  Emmett Tims   3  13  0  6  Curtis Puetz   2  19  0  10  Kyle McGinnis   1  7  0  7  Charlie Power   1  2  0  2  Matthew Bonaca   0  2  0  0  Totals…  26  306  1  48
PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB  Q. Van Gylswyk   14  593  42.4  53  1  0  Totals…  14  593  42.4  53  1  0		PUNTING  No.  Yds  Avg  Long  In20  TB  D.Kolodzinski   5  202  40.4  48  1  0  Sean Stenger   3  129  43.0  56  1  0  Totals…  8  331  41.4  56  2  0
Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept  ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  Alex Morrison   0  0  0  3  54  20  0  0  0  Patrick Bull   5  29  10  0  0  0  0  0  0  Nik Termansen   0  0  0  0  0  0  1  23  23  Will Watson   3  20  8  2  48  24  0  0  0  Kevin Wiens   0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  Carson Williams  0  0  0  1  12  12  0  0  0  Totals…  8  49  10  6  114  24  2  23  23		Punts  Kickoffs  Intercept  ALL RETURNS  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  No  Yds  Lg  Mitch Hillis   1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  Jeff Moore   3  28  17  0  0  0  0  0  0  Keegan Arnyek   8  75  34  1  58  58  0  0  0  Totals…  12  103  34  1  58  58  0  0  0
ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total  Jeff Effah   58  12  0  0  0  70  Will Watson   0  0  48  20  0  68  Alex Morrison   -10  12  54  0  0  56  B. Deschamps   35  19  0  0  0  54  David Scott   0  51  0  0  0  51  Ryan Couper   0  38  0  0  0  38  Patrick Bull   0  6  0  29  0  35  Josh Kronstrom   0  23  0  0  0  23  Nik Termansen   0  0  0  0  23  23  Liam Mahara   18  0  0  0  0  18  Carson Williams  0  0  12  0  0  12  Nikolaas Jakobs  0  11  0  0  0  11  Greg Bowcott   -6  0  0  0  0  -6  Totals…  95  172  114  49  23  453		ALL PURPOSE  Rush  Rcv  KR  PR  IR  Total  Keegan Arnyek   0  0  58  75  0  133  Mitch Hillis   0  131  0  0  0  131  Liam Howe   0  56  0  0  0  56  Shane Buchanan   54  0  0  0  0  54  Brydon Ozmun   0  46  0  0  0  46  Devin Logan   42  0  0  0  0  42  Thomas Chan   0  30  0  0  0  30  Jarvis James   28  0  0  0  0  28  Jeff Moore   0  0  0  28  0  28  Curtis Puetz   0  19  0  0  0  19  Matthew Bonaca   13  2  0  0  0  15  Emmett Tims   0  13  0  0  0  13  Drew Bexson   12  0  0  0  0  12  Kyle McGinnis   0  7  0  0  0  7  Drew Burko   6  0  0  0  0  6  Charlie Power   0  2  0  0  0  2  Lance Bashutsky  1  0  0  0  0  1  Jordan Tarasoff  1  0  0  0  0  1  Totals…  157  306  58  103  0  624
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS  Q. Van Gylswyk  4th  03:45  35 yards  Returned  Q. Van Gylswyk  4th  01:32  31 yards  Good		FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS  D.Kolodzinski  1st  08:30  43 yards  Good  Sean Stenger  3rd  12:57  20 yards  Good
KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg.  Q. Van Gylswyk   1  62  0  0  62.0		KICKOFFS  No.  Yds  TB  OB  Avg.  Sean Stenger   3  163  0  0  54.3  D.Kolodzinski   4  225  1  0  56.2

 

FUMBLES: UBC-Carson Williams 1-0; Patrick Bull 1-0; Alex Morrison 1-0. Saskatchewan-Matthew

UBC Sports Information:

VANCOUVER – The UBC offence produced just three points as the Thunderbirds fell 28-5 to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a non-conference game on Friday night in Saskatoon.

BOXSCORE

New kicker Quinn VanGylswyk Victoria, BC) made a 31-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter to round out the game’s scoring. The kick gave UBC its first offensive points of the night.

The Thunderbirds’ only other points came on a safety with 9:24 to go in the second period, cutting the Huskies’ lead at the time to 11-2, which was the halftime score.

UBC’s best opportunity for a touchdown came on the possession prior to the safety. The Thunderbirds picked up a fumble at the Huskies’ 10-yard line to start a drive in the red zone. Three plays later, on third-and-goal, Saskatchewan stuffed UBC running back Jeff Effah (Calgary, AB) on the goal line for a turnover.

Playing time at the quarterback position was split between Carson Williams (Abbotsford, BC) and Greg Bowcott (Abbotsford, BC). Williams completed eight of 15 passes for 84 yards, while Bowcott was 4-of-13 for 91 yards.

Effah gained 58 yards on the ground on nine carries to lead UBC. David Scott (El Paso, TX) was the leading receiver with 51 yards on two catches.

On the defensive side, Pierre Lacerte (El Paso, TX) had 6.5 tackles while Nik Termansen (North Vancouver, BC) and Kevin Wiens (Mission, BC) both had interceptions.

Saskatchewan receiver Mitch Hillis caught seven passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. The winning score came early for Saskatchewan as Shane Buchanan recorded a 59-yard touchdown reception with less than four and a half minutes left in the opening quarter to put the home team up 11-0.

Huskies’ pivot Drew Burko went 9-of-14 for 167 passing yards and a touchdown.

UBC will open the Canada West regular season on Saturday, Aug. 31 against the five-time defending conference champion University of Calgary Dinos at Thunderbird Stadium. Kick off is scheduled for 2 p.m.