Game Recap: Matt Johnson, Huskie Athletics
Box Score

SASKATOON – A dominant first-half performance from the University of Saskatchewan Huskie football team paved the way, as they defeated their provincial rival Regina Rams 33-20, at Griffiths Stadium inside Nutrien Park in Saskatoon, SK. on Sept. 21.

The battle of Saskatchewan didn’t disappoint, as the matchup featuring two of the nation’s top ten ranked programs came down to the wire.

“This is an incredibly competitive conference top-to-bottom and I told the guys right after the game that this is why I love this game. I’m so proud of the way we fought,” Huskie head coach Scott Flory said.

The win gives Saskatchewan sole possession of second place in the conference with a record of 3-1 while the Rams drop to 2-2 on the season.

The Huskies were led by fifth-year quarterback Kyle Siemens who continued to build on his impressive final season in the green and white, as he threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns on 23-33 passing. Colton Klassen was the top receiver for Saskatchewan, recording six receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns, in just one half of action.

Ben Whiting led the way for the Huskies defensively, as the fourth-year linebacker racked up 9.5 total tackles. Meanwhile, fellow linebacker Jacob Solie’s pick-six at the tail end of the first half proved to be pivotal in the victory.

For the Rams, Noah Picton struggled to operate against a strong Saskatchewan front, finishing with 271 yards on 21-34 passing but also throwing three interceptions in the contest.

Second-year running back Kyle Borsa thrived without the presence of Canada West All-Star Atlee Simon in the backfield, as Borsa ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

A Huskies two-and-out on the opening drive of the ball game allowed Picton to go to work on the Rams very first drive. Receptions from Daniel Scraper, Kyle Moortgat, and Ryan Schienbein helped the Rams march down the field all the way to Huskie goal line. However, Josh Hagerty and Saskatchewan stood strong as the second-year safety intercepted Picton in the end zone.

Zach Moore returned the favour on the very next drive, intercepting a pass from Siemens. With the Rams back in possession, Picton spotted rookie receiver Bennett Stusek, who hauled in an incredible 41-yard reception. The grab set up an 11-yard field goal from Aldo Galvan, which put the Rams up 3-0.

The Huskies were quick to respond with a red zone appearance of their own after a 21-yard carry from Adam Machart was followed by a 25-yard Klassen reception. Siemens was quick to go back to his favorite target as he connected with Klassen once again on a beautiful back-shoulder ball, which Klassen brought in for his fifth receiving touchdown of 2018.

Soon after a Regina punt presented Saskatchewan with tremendous field position, and the Huskies went right to work. Siemens laid it out for Klassen who adjusted well to reel in an incredible 35-yard catch on the go-route. On second and six from the Regina 12, Siemens sensed the pressure but rolled out of the pocket and connected with a streaking Klassen for his second touchdown of the night.

With under a minute left in the half and the Rams threatening, Picton was looking for Stusek again. However, first-year cornerback Charlie Ringland got his hand on the pass, which popped the ball up into the air and into the waiting arms of Solie. The third-year linebacker received exceptional blocking as he hugged the sideline and rumbled 64 yards into the end zone. The pick-six marked 21 unanswered points for the Huskies after the opening 3-0 deficit, a lead which they took into halftime.

“I was just able to get under it and make the interception. It was easy from there, all of my guys were blocking downfield and they were able to give me holes to run through,” Solie said.

The Huskies defence was the story of the first half as their defensive line was able to put consistent pressure on the 2016 Hec Creighton Winner, sacking Picton four times and forcing two interceptions.

After the Rams opening drive of the second half resulted in a punt, the Huskies responded with a 13-play-75-yard drive which ended in pay dirt, as Siemens stood in the pocket long enough on second and goal from the eight-yard line, resulting in Kuntz getting open in the end zone and scoring his first touchdown as a member of the Huskies.

However, the Rams refused to back down against their provincial rivals. On the ensuing kick-off Borsa turned it into high-gear and ran the ball 52 yards inside Huskies territory. Back-to-back Moortgart receptions of 20 and 15 yards set Regina up at the two-yard line and from there Borsa finished what he started as he punched in the major, the first of the night for the Rams, trimming the deficit to 20.

The Rams offence got right back on the field after a Huskies punt, when they began the drive from the Saskatchewan 49-yard line. Picton went back to Moortgart for another two completions of 13 and 26 yards, but this time they were unable to find the end zone, settling for Galvan connecting on his second field goal of the night, making the score 30-13.

After a second-consecutive Saskatchewan drive ending in a punt, the Rams got within ten after Borsa put his breakaway speed on display, with the second-year back sprinting 27 yards through the middle of the field for the major.

An Adam Machart fumble, which was recovered by Regina linebacker Danny Nesbitt, gave the Rams an opportunity to continue their burst of momentum. A 31-yard Borsa dash was followed by a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty, setting the Rams back up inside the red zone.

However, on 1st and goal from the Saskatchewan 7-yard line, Picton dropped back to pass looking for Schienbein on a drag across the middle of the field, but Huskies defensive-linemen Eric Thakurdeen got his hand in the way and Bowan Lewis made a tremendous play on the tipped ball, intercepting Picton’s throw in the end zone and stopping the Rams in their tracks.

Saskatchewan took over from their own 20-yard line and proceeded to answer with a lengthy 8-play 72-yard drive which was capped by a 26-yard Sean Stenger field goal making it a 33-20 ball game, but perhaps, more importantly, killing 4:31 off the clock.

Huskie head coach Scott Flory was thrilled with his team’s performance.

“I’m so proud of the way we fought, clawed and scratched. Through the highs and lows we just kept playing and made enough plays to get the win,” Flory said.

Siemens credited his offensive line play in the victory and believed they were crucial in getting things going for his offence.

“Our offensive-line and run game has been stellar all year and the whole team feeds off of those guys. We ran the ball well which gave us confidence early and then we started making plays,” Siemens said.

In week five, Saskatchewan will travel west to Calgary on Sept. 29 with their eyes set on redemption, as they will take on the Dinos for their second meeting in three weeks against the number two ranked team in the nation who defeated the Huskies 37-28 in their last meeting.

Meanwhile, Regina will also take their team on the road, as they head east to battle the Bisons. Manitoba is fresh off back-to-back victories and will aim to make it three consecutive wins when the Rams come to town on Sept. 29.

Game Recap: John Gaudes, Bison Sports
Box Score

A week ago at Investors Group Field, it was a fourth quarter to remember for the Manitoba Bisons, as receiver Dylan Schrotscored 14 points in 2:30 to beat the Alberta Golden Bears.

This week, facing a hungry Alberta team once again, the Bisons found more late game magic — ripping off 14 points in the last 2:21 to beat Alberta, 37-27.

The win moves Manitoba to 2-2 on the season, with both wins coming against the Golden Bears in the last two weeks. Alberta falls to 0-4 with the loss.

“It was a crazy game, and I’ll be honest, I thought the University of Alberta did more right things than we did, and we were fortunate to win the game,” said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie.

Coming into the fourth quarter leading 22-13, the Bisons quickly found themselves scrambling against the home team. Alberta scored midway through the quarter on a Brad Launhardt touchdown run, getting them within two points. Launhardt, starting in place of Week 1 to 3 starter Brad Baker, totaled 243 yards and an interception on 12-for-35 passing in the loss.

Quickly on the heels of that play, fourth-year Ben Kopczynski ran a punt return back 50 yards to the house for another score. All of a sudden, it was 27-22 Alberta with 5:36 left.

“Alberta wouldn’t fold. They didn’t quit. And then they responded and started taking over the game. It was their game to win, and we had to find a way to escape,” said Dobie.

That’s when Manitoba dug in for some poise to finish the game. On the following drive, second-year running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette — up one in the depth chart with Jamel Lyles out — scampered 42 yards on two carries to get the Bisons into the red zone. From there, Des Catellier connected with Trysten Dyce for Dyce’s second receiving touchdown of the game to give Manitoba the lead back.

After a couple Alberta penalties stopped their ensuing drive short, the Bisons put the game on ice. St. Pierre-Laviolette got the ball and took it 51 yards to the house off a jump cut, giving the game its final score: 37-27.

St. Pierre-Laviolette, a native of Brandon, Manitoba, ended up with an enviable stat line of 133 yards and a touchdown on ten carries. Also helping in Lyles’ absence was Somto Anyadike, who had 46 yards on 11 carries. The two youngsters helped Manitoba get a season-high seven yards per carry on the night.

At the receiver position, fifth-year Dylan Schrot didn’t get into the end zone, but still hit triple digits with 100 yards receiving on nine catches. A more surprising name in the receiving column was defensive lineman Kent Hicks, who grabbed a two-yard touchdown in the first half on a Manitoba trick play.

At pivot, Des Catellier had an excellent line of 303 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception on 32-for-39 passing.

“We love our quarterback. Des Catellier is the real deal,” said Dobie. “I think he throws a really good ball, and has a really high football IQ. But above all, his compete level is through the roof. And he channeled that in the second half, and led our offence.”

Manitoba also got a great contribution from returner Marcel Arruda-Welch, who continued his hot stretch of play with 114 yards on punt returns and 82 yards on kick returns.

Besides another game where their offence was out-paced, Alberta struggled with ill-timed penalties on Friday. While both teams struggled with flags — Manitoba had 14 for 134 yards, Alberta had 14 for 120 — the Golden Bears’ seemed costlier, as three fourth quarter flags either stalled their own drives or continued Manitoba’s.

Bison football now looks forward to next weekend, as they take on the Regina Rams in their annual Homecoming Game on Saturday, September 29 at 2 PM. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster for $17.50, while U of M students and fans 17-and-under get in free.

The visiting X-Men scored the first points of the game when they picked up a single point after kicker Keiran Burnham missed on a 31 yard field goal attempt.

The Mounties got the Homecoming crowd going 10 minutes into the game.  Facing a 2^nd and 6 from their own 30 yard line, the Mounties lined Malik Richards up in the wildcat formation and he took the direct snap 71 yards for the game’s first major. James Parker converted the extra point to give the Mounties a 7-1 lead.

Three minutes late the Mounties went back to work. Punter Graham Kelly recovered his own punt to give the Mounties possession at the StFX 28 yard line. One play later quarterback Troy Downton found Malik Richards in the end zone to give the Mounties a 14-1 lead.

After picking up another single point to run the lead to 15-1, the Mounties conceded a safety to leave the score at 15-3 in the 2^nd quarter.

The X-Men would fine the end zone before half time as quarterback Bailey Wasdal hit David Dean for a 13 yard touchdown. This left the score 15-10 for the Mounties at halftime.

The Mounties would extend their lead in the 3^rd quarter when 5^th year senior Kiel Ambursley brought the crowd to its feet with a 72 yard touchdown run. The Mounties lead grew to 27-10 with 12 minute remaining in the game when freshman kicker James Parker connected from 27 yards out.

The X-Men answered quickly with a touchdown drive capped by a 1 yard run by quarterback Bailey Wasdal.  With the score now 27-17, the Mounties gave up a safety and kicked the ball back to StFX. One play later Wasdal hit Kaion Julien-Grant for a 56 yard touchdown. The X-Men converted the 2 point attempt, leaving the game tied at 27 with 7 minutes remaining.

StFX forced another safety to take a 29-27 lead and then a pair field goals by Keiran Burnham from 31 and 37 yards sealed the win for the X-Men.

Troy Downton was 21 of 30 for 185 yards on the day with 1 touchdown pass. Kiel Ambursley rushed for 146 yards on 16 carries, including his 72 yard touchdown in the 3^rd quarter.  Josh Hicks had 6 catches for 67 yards for the Mounties while Malik Richards had 4 catches for 51 yards and 1 rush for his 71 yard touchdown.

Defensively, Damian Halstead was all over the field with 11 tackles and a 61 yard fumble return while senior Nate Rostek had 9.5 tackles and an interception for the Mounties.

Bailey Wasdal was 14 of 24 for 186 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception for the X-Men. Running back Jordan Socholotiuk ran for 177 yards on 33 carries for the X-Men.

The Mounties now travel to Quebec to play Bishop’s next Saturday, September 29^th. StFX will host Saint Mary’s on the 29th at Oland Field.

FB | FINAL SCORE from Warrior Field ?@WesternMustangs 67@UWWarriorsFB 7#WESvsWAT #goblackgogold pic.twitter.com/NR61Q9EQlo

— UWaterloo Warriors (@WlooWarriors) September 22, 2018

Western (4-0) 67, Waterloo (3-2) 7