Manitoba Bisons win 47-39 in Canada West Semi-Final playoff game on the road at Saskatchewan on Fri., Nov. 7. Manitoba with huge comeback from 19 point deficit in second half.
The BIsons (regular season: 4-4; playoffs: 1-0) defeat the #8 Saskatchewan Huskies (regular season: 6-2; playoffs: 0-1) for the second consecutive season in the Canada West semi-final. Plus, Manitoba wins a playoff game at Saskatchewan for the first time in team history.
Manitoba awaits the winner of the other Canada West Semi-Final game on Sat., Nov. 8 between #4 Calgary Dinos (6-2) and Regina Rams (3-5) to see if they play on the road or at home for the conference title on Sat., Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. local time.
In a crazy, highly entertaining game at Saskatoon, Manitoba continued to battle back as they have during the up-and-down 2014 season. The Herd were down by as many as 19 points with three minutes gone in the third quarter. Queue the comeback music. The Bisons rallied despite being stuffed on the one yard line of the Huskies on the very next possession. Instead of being deflated, the defence picked up the offence as rookie Jayden McKoy stepped in front of Saskatchewan starting quarterback Drew Burko pass and ran back a pick six from 54 yards out to turn the tide for the visitors.
On the ensuing kickoff, Manitoba recovered a fumble that led to a 32 yard field goal by kicker Ryan Jones and then McKoy was at it again when he flew of the edge untouched and dove to block Denton Kolodzinski punt and halfback Jordan Linnen scooped up the ball for a 21 yard fumble recovery TD and the deficit was cut to two and reduced to zero after Sask. conceded a safety at the very start of the fourth quarter.
In a tense fourth, Manitoba drove eight plays on 52 yards and Jones added a 24 yarder for the first lead by the BIsons since starting the game at 14-0 midway thru the first. After the home side received a safety given up Manitoba. Some razzle-dazzle was in order on the insurance TD by the visitors when tailback Kienan LaFrance took the direct snap and handed off the ball to slotback Nic Demski who then threw to Bison starting quarterback Jordan Yantz in the back of the end zone for the final score and a 47-39 road playoff win. The last TD was directly set-up by a 98 yard interception return by Linnen after he snuffed out a late Huskies bid for a go-ahead touchdown on the Bisons’ goaline.
Bison football head coach Brian Dobie exclaimed after the game in the locker room, “Lots of our guys can make plays and we are a pretty good team that beat a very difficult team on the road tonight. At half, everyone was calm despite a 12 point deficit. We needed to respond after they scored on their first possession of the second half and our guys started to make big plays on both sides of the ball. We whittled away the lead and keep the pressure throughout the second half. I am proud of our effort and excited to go back to the Canada West Final.”
Manitoba jumped out to a 14-0 lead to begin the playoff contest as Yantz found wide receiver Matt Sawyer for a 16 yard TD reception and then Demski on a 26 yard TD pass before the Huskies responded with 23 unanswered points. In the back-and-forth affair, Sask. had a 30-18 halftime lead on largely on the strength of running back Tyler Chow who had two TDs in the first half (added a third in the third quarter) and was close to 300 all-purpose for the game.
In team stats, Sask. led 37-18 in first downs, total offence was 562-420 for the hosts plus time of possession was slanted 36:31 to 23:29 for Sask. but where it matter on the scoreboard, the Bisons prevailed with a eight point victory.
Individually for Manitoba, Yantz led with 21-36 for 373 yards and two TD passers and also rushed for 33 yards and caught a nine yard TD pass. LaFrance finished with 36 rush yards and three catches for 25 yards. Demski had another monster game with eight grabs for game-high 155 yards plus one TD pass of nine yards. Sawyer ended up with four receptions and 78 receiving yards while Dustin Pedersen with two catches and 41 yards.
On defence, McKoy had two interceptions for 54 yards and one TD while Linnen added two picks for 112 INT return yards. Defensive lineman Evan Foster was a beast on the line with 9.5 total tackles and two sacks while linebacker DJ Lalama added nine tackles in the road win.
Next up for the Manitoba Bisons football team is the Canada West Final on Sat., Nov. 15 at either Calgary or at home with kickoff scheduled at 2 p.m. local time.
Source: Chris Zuk, Manitoba Bisons Sports Information
A fierce third quarter comeback propelled the University of Manitoba Bisons to a 47-39 win over the No. 8 University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a Canada West semifinal Friday night at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.
Jayden McKoy’s interception of Huskie quarterback Drew Burko for a 54-yard touchdown six minutes into the third quarter started to turn momentum in the Bisons favour with Manitoba trailing 37-18. Manitoba recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and turned it into a 32-yard Ryan Jones field goal.
McKoy made his presence felt on the next Huskie possession, blocking a Denton Kolodzinski punt. Jordan Linnen recovered the ball and returned it to cut the Huskie lead to two heading to the fourth quarter.
Manitoba would run a bit of trickery for the game winning score. Running back Kienan LaFrance took a direct snap and handed off to receiver Nic Demski. Demski eventually threw the ball to quarterback Jordan Yantz in the back of the end zone to put Manitoba ahead 47-39.
Saskatchewan’s last minute comeback came up one play short as the final pass of the game was deflected away in the Bison end zone
Jordan Yantz completed 21-of-36 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns finding his favourite target Nic Demski eight times for 155 yards and a score.
Jayden McKoy and Jordan Linnen each intercepted Burko twice on Friday night. McKoy and Linnen also combined to block and recover a third quarter Huskie punt. Evan Foster added 10 tackles and two sacks for the Bisons.
Tyler Chow gave the 3,013 fans on hand a glimpse of the future in the Huskie backfield as the first-year running back put up 182 yards and two touchdowns, along with 75 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
Burko finished the night over the 400-yard mark with 402 on 29-of-46 attempts with a pair of touchdowns and four interceptions.
Manitoba advances to the Hardy Cup next weekend against the winner of the Calgary Dinos and Regina Rams game on Saturday.
BY QUARTER GAME SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER
Manitoba got a good start, moving the ball downfield for an opening possession touchdown. A Jordan Yantz pass to Zach Regert for 39 yards on second down sparked the Bisons offence. Just plays later Yantz found Matt Sawyer from 16 yards out for a touchdown at 2:05.
The Bisons wasted no time building on their lead with a second consecutive touchdown to open the game. Manitoba needed just four plays to march 77 yards. Yantz capped off the drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Nic Demski at 6:47.
Saskatchewan would cut the Manitoba lead before the first quarter came to an end on a Kyle Siemens one-yard touchdown plunge at 12:07. John Trumpy kept the drive alive with an acrobatic catch for 30-yards before Tyler Chow would set up the Siemens touchdown with a 19 yard scamper.
Manitoba started their third drive with a poor field position and after an unnecessary roughness penalty, conceded a safety.
The Huskies grabbed their first lead of the game as the first quarter was expiring. Drew Burko found Kit Hillis in stride from 29 yards out. Hillis was just able to get a foot in bounds before reaching the back of the end zone. Tyler Chow set Saskatchewan up with good field position taking a screen pass from Burko 37 yards downfield.
2ND QUARTER
Saskatchewan made it three unanswered touchdowns when Chow found his way across the goal line. The first-year running back’s second after to spin into the end zone put the Huskies ahead 23-14 at 3:36.
Nic Demski gave the Bisons good field position in the final minutes of the second quarter with a 26-yard punt return to the Huskie 41-yard line. Yantz got the ball deep into the red zone with a 23-yard run that lead to a 10-yard Ryan Jones field goal to cut the deficit to five at 8:22.
The Huskies would build the lead to 12 before halftime with Chow’s second touchdown of the game. The three-yard rush at 14:06 made it 30-18 Saskatchewan at halftime.
3rd QUARTER
The Huskies picked up where they left off as the teams returned to the field in the second half. Chow found the end zone for the third time on the night, taking a Burko pass 18 yards for the major at 2:59.
Manitoba was stood up on third-down at the goal line on its opening possession of the second half. The Huskies seemed to have all of the momentum after Chow brought the ball to the 45-yard line before Manitoba’s Jayden McKoy stepped in front of Burko’s pass on the next play and returned it 54 yards to pay dirt at 6:00.
The Bisons recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff leading to a 32-yard Jones field goal at 7:17.
After forcing a Huskie two-and-out, the Bisons special teams unit made its presence felt again. McKoy broke through to block Denton Kolodzinski’s punt attempt which was eventually recovered and returned 15 yards for a touchdown by Jordan Linnen to cut the Huskie lead to 37-35 at 8:27.
4th QUARTER
A high snap on the opening play of the fourth on a Huskie punt attempt forced a safety and the first tie of the contest at 37.
The Bisons took the lead for the first time since the first quarter on a 25-yard Jones field goal at 3:21. After the punter gave up a safety to gain field position on the next drive, the Bisons held a 40-39 lead.
Running back Kienan LaFrance took a direct snap and handed off to receiver Nic Demski. who eventually threw the ball to quarterback Yantz in the back of the end zone to put Manitoba ahead 47-39.
Photo credit: Josh Schaefer
Source: Nicole Betker, Saskatchewan Huskies Sports Information
| Manitoba vs. Saskatchewan at Saskatoon, SK 11/7/2014 at 7:07pm |
|
| Manitoba 47 |
Saskatchewan 39 |
| SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba (1-0, 4-4) | 14 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 47 |
| Saskatchewan (0-1, 5-3) | 16 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 39 |
| Saskatoon, SK | Griffiths Stadium | |||||
| PRD | TIME | SCORING SUMMARY | MANITOBA – SASKATCHEWAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12:55 | Manitoba – Matt Sawyer 16 yd pass from Jordan Yantz. (Ryan Jones kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards in 2:05. |
7 – 0 |
| 1 | 08:13 | Manitoba – Nic Demski 26 yd pass from Jordan Yantz. (Ryan Jones kick is good). Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards in 1:29. |
14 – 0 |
| 1 | 02:53 | Saskatchewan – Kyle Siemens 1 yd run. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards in 2:54. |
14 – 7 |
| 1 | 02:06 | Saskatchewan – Team safety | 14 – 9 |
| 1 | 00:00 | Saskatchewan – Kit Hillis 29 yd pass from Drew Burko. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards in 2:04. |
14 – 16 |
| 2 | 11:24 | Saskatchewan – Tyler Chow 1 yd run. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards in 2:32. |
14 – 23 |
| 2 | 06:38 | Manitoba – Zach Regert rouge point. | 15 – 23 |
| 2 | 02:52 | Manitoba – Ryan Jones 10 yd field goal. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards in 2:15. |
18 – 23 |
| 2 | 00:54 | Saskatchewan – Tyler Chow 3 yd run. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 1:58. |
18 – 30 |
| 3 | 12:01 | Saskatchewan – Tyler Chow 18 yd pass from Drew Burko. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards in 2:39. |
18 – 37 |
| 3 | 09:00 | Manitoba – Jayden McCoy 54 yd interception return. (Ryan Jones kick is good). | 25 – 37 |
| 3 | 07:43 | Manitoba – Ryan Jones 32 yd field goal. Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards in 1:12. |
28 – 37 |
| 3 | 06:33 | Manitoba – Jordan Linnen 21 yd fumble return. (Ryan Jones kick is good). | 35 – 37 |
| 4 | 14:47 | Manitoba – Team safety | 37 – 37 |
| 4 | 11:39 | Manitoba – Ryan Jones 24 yd field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 52 yards in 2:59. |
40 – 37 |
| 4 | 07:18 | Saskatchewan – Team safety | 40 – 39 |
| 4 | 01:44 | Manitoba – Jordan Yantz 9 yd pass from Nic Demski. (Ryan Jones kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 11 yards in 0:29. |
47 – 39 |
| MANITOBA | STATISTICS | SASKATCHEWAN |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | FIRST DOWNS | 37 |
| 14 3 1 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
17 16 4 |
| 420 | TOTAL OFFENSE | 562 |
| 53 7.9 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
85 6.6 |
| 382 | NET YARDS PASSING | 406 |
| 22-37 10.3 0-0 0 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted |
29-46 8.8 3-17 4 |
| 67 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 213 |
| 16 4.2 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
36 5.9 |
| 6-269 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 5-209 |
| 44.8 | Average | 41.8 |
| 300 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 158 |
| 4-28 7-106 4-166 |
Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards |
6-53 8-105 0 0 |
| 10-100 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 7-63 |
| 0-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 4-2 |
| 3-17 | SACKS: Number-Yards | 0-0 |
| 4-166 | INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards | 0 0 |
| 23:29 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 36:31 |
Manitoba |
Saskatchewan |
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| DEFENSIVE STATISTICS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | MANITOBA | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 90 | Evan Foster | 9 | 1 | 9.5 | 2 – 13 | 2 – 13 | – | – | ||||
| 25 | DJ Lalama | 6 | 6 | 9 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 21 | Jordan Linnen | 7 | 3 | 8.5 | – | – | 1-21 | 2-112 | ||||
| 47 | James Mau | 4 | 4 | 6 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | M. Harrison | 4 | 3 | 5.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | Lauren Kroeker | 5 | 1 | 5.5 | 1 – 4 | 1 – 4 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 97 | David Onyemata | 2 | 6 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Jonathan Jones | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 95 | Kent Hicks | 1 | 5 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 8 | T. Apperley | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 19 | Tyler Fong | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 24 | Cam Teschuk | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | |||
| 7 | Jayden McCoy | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | 1 | – | 2-54 | 1 | ||
| 23 | B. MacFarlane | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | Eric Plett | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 66 | S. Birjandian | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 69 | Matt Hallock | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1-0 | – | |||
| 44 | Braden McCarthy | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 48 | Colton Farago | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 50 | 42 | 71 | 3 – 17 | 3 – 17 | 3 | 2-21 | 4-166 | 1 | 1 | ||
| # | SASKATCHEWAN | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACKS-YDS | TFL-YDS | FF | FR-YDS | INT-YDS | BRUP | BLKS | QBH |
| 47 | Dylan Kemp | 4 | 5 | 6.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Mark Ingram | 4 | 3 | 5.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 18 | Geoff Hughes | 4 | 2 | 5 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 16 | Keegan Arnyek | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 34 | R. Zacharias | 3 | 1 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 40 | Brad Kotania | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 93 | B. Twarynski | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | – | 0.5 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 98 | Clayton Sarich | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 51 | Timi Agbaje | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | – | 1 – 1 | – | – | ||||
| 8 | Kit Hillis | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 17 | Eric Verity | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | Drew Bexson | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 22 | Jesse Gordon | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 23 | Andrew Abbs | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 75 | Steven Boryski | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 87 | Mitch Hillis | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 57 | Drew Digout | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 62 | Mat Czerniak | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 30 | 24 | 42 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 3 | – | – | |||||
| OTHER INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Location: Saskatoon, SK Stadium: Griffiths Stadium Attendance: 3013 |
Referee: J. Popplestone Umpire: Marv Mullaney Head Linesman: Walt Hawrysh Line Judge: David Overland Back Judge: Kent Gauthier Field Judge: David Kendall Side Judge: Neal Terrio |
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