Huskies look to secure playoff spot, play Rams Saturday

With just two 2011 Canada West football playoff spots open, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will look to inch closer in a weekend tilt with provincial foe the University of Regina Rams.

The Huskies and Rams battle Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

Saskatchewan enters the game with a 3-3 record and fourth spot in the standings, but the Rams are right on the Huskies heels with a 2-4 record. With just two games left in the regular season, a Huskie loss to the Rams combined with a University of Manitoba Bisons (3-3) win could be detrimental to their playoff hopes. Although the Huskies could still find themselves with a playoff spot even with two losses to close out the season, winning the two games will help ensure a spot and could even secure the Huskies a home playoff date.

Since the Rams joined the league, the Huskies are 16-5 against their provincial foes including a 33-10 win in Saskatoon earlier this season.

Suffering a 20-8 loss to the Calgary Dinos last week, the Huskies will look to find their offensive stride after the only touchdown came on a special teams play by Nico Higgs and Shayne Dueck.

Huskie quarterbacks Trent Peterson and Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren combined to complete just 11-of-31 pass attempts for 104 yards and three interceptions against Calgary. Peterson has started the last two games for the Huskies but has been replaced by Gilbert-Knorren in the second quarter in each game. After a strong two-touchdown, 205-yard game against the UBC Thunderbirds on September 30, fifth-year running back Ben Coakwell had just 27 yards on 12 carries last week. Coakwell has led the Huskies offence on the season averaging 71.5 yards per game. Rory Kohlert and Jeff Moore have been the top receivers for the Huskies combining for 493 yards on 34 catches this season.

Defensively, the Huskies remained solid holding Calgary to no offensive touchdowns. Fifth-year linebacker Tony Michalchuk leads the charge with 38 tackles, followed by fourth-year safety Bryce McCall with 31.5.

The bright spot for the Huskies has been special teams play. Saskatchewan’s touchdown against Calgary came on a blocked punt and Jerit Lambert ran for 162 total punt return yards in the game.

After two straight wins, the Rams suffered a 23-16 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver last week. Zach Oleynik, Dylan Hart and Frankie Gray have taken over at quarterback for Regina since fifth-year star Marc Mueller was hurt in the first game of the season. Against UBC, Oleynik completed 29-of-53 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions – something that could get him in trouble against the Huskies, who have recorded the most interceptions in the conference this season with nine.

Main targets on the Rams’ receiving corps have been Jared Janotta, Mark McConkey, Brenden Owens and Jay Smith. Janotta leads the team with 427 yards, while the others have combined for 601 yards. To win the game, the Huskies will need to stop Rams running back Adrian Charles. Charles averages 126 yards per game, scoring two touchdowns this season.

Defensively, five Rams have 20 or more tackles on the season. Kirby Kezama and Akeim Hicks led the team with 28 and 27.5 respectively.

Kickoff is set for 7:07 p.m. in Mosaic Stadium. The game can be heard live on CK750 or [url]www.ck750.com. It can also be watched live on Shaw Cable.