Huskies secure playoff spot with narrow victory over the Rams (video interview)


REGINA, Sask. – The University of Saskatchewan held on for a 16-15 victory over the Regina Rams in a low-scoring, fumble-filled Canada West football affair on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium.

Saskatchewan (4-3) clinches a playoff spot with the victory, while the Rams (2-5) will need to finish off the Canada West schedule next Saturday with a road win over Manitoba to earn a postseason berth.

The final play of the game was quite fitting for a contest that saw Saskatchewan fumble the ball nine times in the victory. With the Huskies clinging to a one-point lead on third and long with just five seconds left on the clock, a bad snap got away from punter Stephen McDonald and a wild scrum ensued that saw the Rams finally recover the ball but with no time left on the clock, giving Saskatchewan the victory.

Trent Peterson stepped in at quarterback late in the first half for Saskatchewan and ended up completing seven of his 18 passes for 152 yards, including a pivotal 70-yard catch-and-run to Rory Kohlert that set up a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Kohlert ended up with three catches for a game-high 95 yards, while Ben Coakwell led the Huskies on the ground with 37 rushing yards.

Punt returner Jerit Lambert was electric for Saskatchewan all night long, ending up returning nine punts for 157 yards including a 52-yarder on his first return of the contest. Tom Lynch led Saskatchewan with 10Β½ tackles and a sack, while Tony Michalchuk had 8Β½ tackles, an interception, and a sack. Mitch Friesen had a 38-yard interception return midway through the fourth quarter.

Rams running back Adrian Charles had 52 rushing yards after one quarter but was injured in the second and did not return. Quarterback Zach Oleynik completed 21 of his 33 passes for 164 yards, while Mark McConkey’s 12 pass receptions are tied for third in the school’s single-game record book. Logan Brooks led the Rams defensively with 7Β½ tackles including three tackles for loss and a sack. Akiem Hicks had a sack and a forced fumble for Regina, while Mike Kerr had an interception.

Chris Bodnar was brilliant for the Rams, punting 11 times for an average of 49.4 yards per punt. Bodnar’s punts included an 83-yard bomb that ranks as the second longest in University of Regina history.

Coakwell opened the scoring for the Huskies with a seven-yard touchdown run after Saskatchewan’s interception on the Rams’ second offensive play of the game set up a short field.

After the two teams traded singles, a bad Saskatchewan snap on a punt gave the Rams the ball on Saskatchewan’s 17-yard line early in the second quarter. Charles finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge on third down, scoring what would turn out to be Regina’s lone touchdown of the game.

Bodnar added a field goal and a rouge to give Regina a 12-8 lead at the half. The Huskies’ lone touchdown of the second half gave them the lead for good, as Kohlert’s long reception and a Regina penalty put Saskatchewan on the Rams’ one-yard line. Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren finished it off on second down, putting the Huskies up four.

Bodnar drilled a 45-yard field goal with 2:32 left in the contest to cut the lead to one, but the Huskies were able to hang on to the narrow lead.

Both teams struggled offensively, as their 29 combined first downs ties for the lowest in a Canada West game this season. Saskatchewan ended up with 269 yards of total offence, while Regina had 247.

Saskatchewan can finish no lower than third place with a win over Alberta next weekend. A win coupled with a UBC loss to Calgary would give the Huskies second place, while a UBC win would put Saskatchewan in third. With a loss to Alberta, the Huskies will finish in third with a Regina victory over Manitoba or in fourth place with a Manitoba victory over the Rams.

For the Rams, the scenario is simple – a win gives them a berth in the postseason and a date with unbeaten Calgary in the Canada West semifinals, while a loss ends their season.

Huskies sports info

The University of Saskatchewan held on for a 16-15 victory over the Regina Rams in a low-scoring, fumble-filled Canada West football affair on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium.

Saskatchewan (4-3) clinches a playoff spot with the victory, while the Rams (2-5) will need to finish off the Canada West schedule next Saturday with a road win over Manitoba to earn a postseason berth.

The final play of the game was quite fitting for a contest that saw Saskatchewan fumble the ball nine times in the victory. With the Huskies clinging to a one-point lead on third and long with just five seconds left on the clock, a bad snap got away from punter Stephen McDonald and a wild scrum ensued that saw the Rams finally recover the ball but with no time left on the clock, giving Saskatchewan the victory.

Trent Peterson stepped in at quarterback late in the first half for Saskatchewan and ended up completing seven of his 18 passes for 152 yards, including a pivotal 70-yard catch-and-run to Rory Kohlert that set up a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Kohlert ended up with three catches for a game-high 95 yards, while Ben Coakwell led the Huskies on the ground with 37 rushing yards.

Punt returner Jerit Lambert was electric for Saskatchewan all night long, ending up returning nine punts for 157 yards including a 52-yarder on his first return of the contest. Tom Lynch led Saskatchewan with 10Β½ tackles and a sack, while Tony Michalchuk had 8Β½ tackles, an interception, and a sack. Mitch Friesen had a 38-yard interception return midway through the fourth quarter.

Rams running back Adrian Charles had 52 rushing yards after one quarter but was injured in the second and did not return. Quarterback Zach Oleynik completed 21 of his 33 passes for 164 yards, while Mark McConkey’s 12 pass receptions are tied for third in the school’s single-game record book. Logan Brooks led the Rams defensively with 7Β½ tackles including three tackles for loss and a sack. Akiem Hicks had a sack and a forced fumble for Regina, while Mike Kerr had an interception.

Chris Bodnar was brilliant for the Rams, punting 11 times for an average of 49.4 yards per punt. Bodnar’s punts included an 83-yard bomb that ranks as the second longest in University of Regina history.

Coakwell opened the scoring for the Huskies with a seven-yard touchdown run after Saskatchewan’s interception on the Rams’ second offensive play of the game set up a short field.

After the two teams traded singles, a bad Saskatchewan snap on a punt gave the Rams the ball on Saskatchewan’s 17-yard line early in the second quarter. Charles finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge on third down, scoring what would turn out to be Regina’s lone touchdown of the game.

Bodnar added a field goal and a rouge to give Regina a 12-8 lead at the half. The Huskies’ lone touchdown of the second half gave them the lead for good, as Kohlert’s long reception and a Regina penalty put Saskatchewan on the Rams’ one-yard line. Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren finished it off on second down, putting the Huskies up four.

Bodnar drilled a 45-yard field goal with 2:32 left in the contest to cut the lead to one, but the Huskies were able to hang on to the narrow lead.

Both teams struggled offensively, as their 29 combined first downs ties for the lowest in a Canada West game this season. Saskatchewan ended up with 269 yards of total offence, while Regina had 247.

Saskatchewan can finish no lower than third place with a win over Alberta next weekend. A win coupled with a UBC loss to Calgary would give the Huskies second place, while a UBC win would put Saskatchewan in third. With a loss to Alberta, the Huskies will finish in third with a Regina victory over Manitoba or in fourth place with a Manitoba victory over the Rams.

For the Rams, the scenario is simple – a win gives them a berth in the postseason and a date with unbeaten Calgary in the Canada West semifinals, while a loss ends their season.

NOTES: Charles, Kerr, and Brenden Owens were all honoured prior to the game as part of Senior Night … the only punt longer than Bodnar’s 83-yard boot in Rams history is an 86-yard punt by Jon Ryan against Alberta on Oct. 20, 2001.

Rams sports info

Saskatchewan vs. Regina at Regina, SK
10/22/2011 at 7:07 pm
Saskatchewan
16
Regina
15
Saskatchewan (4-3) 8 0 1 7 16
Regina (2-5) 0 12 0 3 15
Regina, SK | Mosaic Stadium

Box Score Play by PlayDrive Summary

1 12:23 Saskatchewan – Ben Coakwell 7 yd run. (S. McDonald kick is good).
Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards in 1:29.
7 – 0
1 00:20 Saskatchewan – S. McDonald rouge point. 8 – 0
2 14:00 Regina – Chris Bodnar rouge point. 8 – 1
2 10:33 Regina – Adrian Charles 1 yd run. (Chris Bodnar kick is good).
Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards in 2:13.
8 – 8
2 07:45 Regina – Chris Bodnar 30 yd field goal.
Drive: 3 plays, 2 yards in 1:34.
8 – 11
2 02:00 Regina – Chris Bodnar rouge point. 8 – 12
3 09:02 Saskatchewan – S. McDonald rouge point. 9 – 12
4 13:36 Saskatchewan – Gilbert-Knorren 1 yd run. (S. McDonald kick is good).
Drive: 4 plays, 85 yards in 1:24.
16 – 12
4 02:32 Regina – Chris Bodnar 45 yd field goal.
Drive: 9 plays, 45 yards in 3:44.
16 – 15
13 FIRST DOWNS 16
4
7
2
Passing
Rushing
Penalty
8
6
2
165 NET YARDS PASSING 164
8-24
6.9
2 for 7
1
Completions-Attempts
Net yards per pass play
Sacked:Number-Yards
Had intercepted
21-33
5.0
3 for 13
2
112 NET YARDS RUSHING 96
30
3.7
Rushing Attempts
Average gain per rush
28
3.4
11 for 467 PUNTS: Number-Yards 11 for 543
42.5 Average 49.4
243 TOTAL RETURN YARDS 148
9 for 157
2 for 38
2 for 48
Punt Returns:No-Yards
Kickof Returns:No-Yards
Int. Returns:No-Yards
9 for 73
3 for 57
1 for 18
11 for 75 PENALTIES: Number-Yards 9 for 79
9-3 FUMBLES: Number-Lost 1-1
3 for 13 SACKS: Number-Yards 2 for 7
2 for 48 INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards 1 for 18
26:08 TIME OF POSSESSION 33:52
Regina
Zach Oleynik 21-33 164 0 2
Adrian Charles 14 62 4.4 21 1
Mark Coons 10 33 3.3 10 0
Zach Oleynik 4 1 0.2 1 0
Mark McConkey 12 90 7.5 12 0
Ian Miller 4 33 8.2 10 0
Jared Janotta 3 26 8.7 12 0
Connor Haas 1 11 11.0 11 0
Brenden Owens 1 4 4.0 4 0
Chris Bodnar 2/2 45 1/1 7
Chris Bodnar 11 543 49.4 83 1 2
Chris Bodnar 2 99 49.5 0 0
Brady Aulie 1 15 15.0 15 0
Ian Miller 2 42 21.0 27 0
Jamir Walker 5 57 11.4 20 0
Ian Miller 4 16 4.0 8 0
Mike Kerr 1 18 18.0 18 0
Adrian Charles 1 1

Saskatchewan

Trent Peterson 7-18 152 0 0
Gilbert Knorren 1-6 13 0 1
Ben Coakwell 14 37 2.6 18 1
Dexter Janke 7 31 4.4 8 0
Jerit Lambert 3 23 7.7 8 0
Team team 0 23 0 0
Gilbert Knorren 4 15 3.8 7 1
Trent Peterson 1 5 5.0 5 0
S. McDonald 1 -22 -22.0 0 0
Rory Kohlert 3 95 31.7 70 0
Jeffrey Moore 2 51 25.5 30 0
Garrett Burgess 2 14 7.0 9 0
Ben Coakwell 1 10 10.0 10 0
S. McDonald 2/2 2
S. McDonald 11 467 42.5 76 2 0
S. McDonald 3 174 58.0 0 0
Dexter Janke 2 38 19.0 23 0
Jerit Lambert 9 157 17.4 52 0
Mitchell Friese 1 38 38.0 38 0
Tony Michalchuk 1 10 10.0 10 0
Gilbert Knorren 2 1
Ben Coakwell 1 1
S. McDonald 1 0
Garrett Burgess 1 0
Jerit Lambert 2 0
Team team 2 1
34 Tom Lynch 6 9 10.5 1 – 7 2 – 8 1
37 Tony Michalchuk 5 7 8.5 1 – 5 1.5 – 5 1-10
44 Zach Hart 4 7 7.5 0.5 – 0
31 Peter Thiel 4 5 6.5 1-0
77 Joel Seutter 2 5 4.5 1 – 1 2 – 3
27 Bryce McCall 2 4 4
47 Jon DeWitt 2 4 4
24 Mitchell Friese 2 2 3 1-38 1
63 Stephen Kovach 2 2 3
5 Luke Thiel 2 1 2.5
15 Corey Edington 2 1 2.5
21 Garrett Burgess 1 1 1.5
29 Brodie Rothe 1 0 1
7 Dexter Janke 0 1 0.5
22 Seamus Neary 0 1 0.5
45 T. Hilderman 0 1 0.5
56 David Rybinski 0 1 0.5
TOTALS 35 52 61 3 – 13 6 – 16 1-0 2-48 2
45 Logan Brooks 7 1 7.5 1 – 4 3 – 8 1
22 Jamir Walker 6 0 6 2
90 Stefan Charles 3 6 6 1.5 – 3 1
29 Daniel Knaus 4 2 5 2
99 Akiem Hicks 3 3 4.5 1 – 3 1.5 – 3 1 1
68 Benton Gieni 1 4 3
35 Austin Bates 2 1 2.5 1 – 3
43 Chris Sciog 1 2 2
31 Dillon Dawson 1 1 1.5 1-0
9 Chris Bodnar 1 0 1
10 Cody Johnstone 1 0 1
13 Justin Edralin 1 0 1 1-0
19 Steve Famulak 1 0 1 1 – 21 1 1-0
28 Mike Kerr 1 0 1 1-18 1
41 Jorgen Hus 1 0 1
46 Tyler Mantyak 1 0 1
69 Brett Jones 1 0 1
81 Brenden Owens 1 0 1
89 Jay Smith 1 0 1
20 Kahlen Branning 0 1 0.5
36 Michael Kiapway 0 1 0.5
TOTALS 38 22 49 2 – 7 8 – 38 4 3-0 1-18 6

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