Huskies Different Team Since Week 2

It will be a different University of Saskatchewan Huskie football team that suits up against the UBC Thunderbirds Friday in Vancouver.

Despite an unexpected 31-12 loss to the T-Birds in Week 2 in Griffiths Stadium, the Huskies have made a dramatic turnaround to the Canada West season. The Huskies once again find themselves ranked in the top five in the CIS at No. 4, are on a three-game winning streak to sit at 4-2 on the season and have scored 133 points in the three game streak.

UBC enters Friday’s game with a 2-4 record. Since the upset win over the Huskies, the T-Birds went on a three-game losing streak before defeating the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a last-minute win last weekend. The win kept the T-Birds in Canada West playoff contention.

Even with the loss to the T-Birds in September, the Huskies are 15-4 against UBC since 1998 and hasn’t lost two games in one season to UBC since 1987.

Although he’s seen limited action this season, Perry Harder was the hero for the T-Birds last week running for two touchdowns, including the 32-yarder with 11 seconds left that earned UBC the win. Harder has split running duties with Tibi Banica (179 yards on 30 carries), who has also stepped up in the absence of injured all-star running back Dave Boyd.

T-Bird quarterback Billy Greene continues his dominance on the ground leading UBC in rushing. He’s tallied 495 yards on 78 attempts. When passing, Greene has completed 113-of-219 attempts for 1,604 yards throwing seven interceptions and seven touchdowns. He spreads the ball around to his receiving corps with six T-Bird receivers with more than 190 yards in the season. Spencer Betts has been the main target scoring four touchdowns on 401 yards, averaging 66.8 yards per game.

On defence, linebacker Nathan Kanya made his return to the lineup after sitting out the last four weeks, and will be a welcome addition against the Huskies. Kanya was a standout in the first game against Saskatchewan, earning CIS defensive player of the week honours for his nine tackles and two sacks in the game against the Huskies.

In the Huskies 36-17 win over the University of Calgary Dinos last week, defense and special teams played a huge part in the game. Linebacker Nico Higgs logged one sack and returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown. Punt returner/defensive back Luke Thiel found the end zone on a 74-yard punt return. The performances earned both of them Canada West & CIS Athlete of the Week honours. Higgs and Thiel are part of a Saskatchewan defence that ranks second in every statistical category in the conference.

Saskatchewan also has the top ranked passing offence in Canada West. Their 310 yards-per-game average is nearly 40 more yards per game than the next best team. Quarterback Laurence Nixon is having a career-season in his final year throwing for 1,670 yards and 11 touchdowns. Deep balls to different receivers haven’t been out of the ordinary for the Huskies this season.

Running back Ben Coakwell has been a dangerous weapon as well, averaging 95 yards per game. A big addition to the offence has been the return of Dathan Thomas, who played in his first CIS game in nearly two years after injury. Against Calgary, Thomas ran for 73-yards on 11 carries including a 27-yard dash.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Vancouver. The game can be heard live on CK750 or [url]www.ck750.com.

About Huskie Athletics:
Huskie Athletics has 94 Canada West Championships and 25 CIS Championships under its belt. Huskie athletes leave the campus and the University of Saskatchewan with the skills to become successful at work, with family and in the community. Home to 831 all-stars since 1920, Huskie Athletics strives each year to provide quality programs for athletes while they prepare for the future. Huskie tickets can be purchased by calling, 306-966-1111.