Failed third down gamble does in Huskies in Vanier Cup

Mustangs take U Sports title with 27-21 victory

Mason Nyhus threw for 303 yards for the Huskies on Saturday.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football team gambled and lost.

The University of Western Ontario Mustangs were able to turn one early third quarter play into an avalanche that allowed them to win the Vanier Cup as U Sports champions 27-21 on Saturday at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, before 5,840 spectators.

On the final play of the first half, Huskies kicker David Solie booted a 24 yard field goal to give his squad a 12-10 lead.

On the opening kickoff of the third quarter, Huskies kick returner Josh Ewanchyna ran the ball back 44 yards to the Mustangs 51 yard line. The Huskies appeared to be in a good spot to build on their slim lead.

The ensuing offensive possession saw the U of S face a third and one situation from the Mustangs 42 yard line. The Huskies sent in their short-yardage offence to make the conversion.

Ewanchyna lined up at running back, got the ball and was tackled inches short of the first down by third-year Mustangs linebacker Zach Lindley to cause a turnover on downs.

At that point, momentum jumped on the side of the Mustangs in a big way.

Two plays after that failed gamble, Mustangs first-year quarterback Evan Hillock connected with veteran receiver Griffin Campbell on a 50-yard pass and run touchdown toss to put the London, Ontario-based squad up 17-12.

That score was the start of what seemed like an avalanche run that saw the Mustangs outscore the Huskies 17-2.

At the 7:43 mark of the third quarter, the Huskies pinned the Mustangs in bad field position causing the Ontario side to concede a safety to trim the Mustangs edge to 17-14.

After getting out of that jam, the Mustangs closed the third quarter with Hillock connecting with Campbell on a perfectly executed bubble screen pass play that went 17 yards for a major score. After that seven-play scoring drive that covered 72 yards, the Mustangs were now exiting the third quarter holding a 24-14 advantage.

Josh Ewanchyna scored the Huskies final TD on Saturday.

The Mustangs surge concluded with a 37 yard field goal from kicker Brian Garrity at the 2:59 mark of the fourth quarter to increase Western’s lead to 27-14.

While there was still lots of time remaining in the fourth quarter at that point, the Huskies were never able to get a game-changing big play to get the traction they needed to start the rally. The Huskies defence wasn’t able to get any interceptions or fumble recoveries.

The Mustangs defence did a great job in not giving up the big play.

The Huskies did move the ball offensively, but they needed to put together efficient multiple play drives to score. U of S’s longest play on offence in the game was a 26-yard pass to star fifth-year utility player Colton Klassen.

After the Huskies got the Mustangs offensive momentum to fizzle out, the Dogs put up a major on a one-yard touchdown run from Ewanchyna to cut the Mustangs lead to 27-21 with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

U of S attempted an onside kick to try and get the ball back for a miracle finish, but Western blocked the play up perfectly to allow sophomore running back Keon Edwards to field the ball. The Mustangs proceeded to run out the clock with two running plays and a kneel down to take their eighth U Sports championship in team history with the 27-21 win.

Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall was a part of four of those wins guiding the squad to a Vanier Cup champions in 2017 and serving as a Mustangs assistant coach for Vanier Cup title victories in 1989 and 1994.

While the weather conditions were expected to favour the Huskies being -11 C with an eight kilometre an hour wind creating a field that was frozen and slippery, the Mustangs came out and played a solid game in those conditions like they were a U Sports or CFL team based in one of the Prairie provinces.

On the first offensive series of the game, Western put together a five-play scoring drive that covered 70 yards that culminated in a 25-yard touchdown run by fifth-year running back Trey Humes for a 7-0 lead.

Before the first quarter ended, the Huskies got a 26-yard field goal from Solie to cut the Mustangs lead to 7-3.

At the 5:03 mark of the second quarter, the Huskies jumped ahead 9-7, when star quarterback Mason Nyhus hit third-year receiver Daniel Perry on a 22-yard touchdown toss. Solie’s point after attempt was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, which prevented the Huskies from going up by three points.

The Mustangs retook the lead with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter on a 23-yard field goal from Garrity for a 10-9 edge.

Adam Machart had 78 yards rushing and 82 yards receiving.

That set the stage for Solie to make his kick that put the Huskies in front 12-10 at halftime and lead up to the failed third down gamble on the Huskies first series of the third quarter.

While the failed gamble ultimately snowballed on the Huskies and was the turning point in the contest, the U of S coaching staff made the right call in deciding to go for it at that point in the game.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory coaches in a style that is a mix of his former Huskies head coach in the legendary Brian Towriss and two of his former CFL head coaches with the Montreal Alouettes in the late great icon in Don Matthews and cerebral standout Marc Trestman.

Matthews was the type of coach that believed at certain points in any contest you have to gamble and go out and win the game.

The Huskies throughout their history are known for their great offensive lines, and U of S can be rightfully dubbed “O-line U.”

Putting in a jumbo set for a third-and-one gamble, you have to believe your players can go out and get that yard. If the Huskies succeed in that gamble, they might have finished that first possession drive of the third quarter scoring a touchdown for a 19-10 advantage.

At that point, the game plays out quite a bit differently that it did.

Even if the Mustangs got the stuff, the Huskies had to believe there was still plenty of time to recover from that missed chance.

To the Mustangs credit, they made that Huskies missed gamble turn into a costly one.

When the dust settled, Nyhus finished having an outstanding game for the Huskies completing 28-of-40 passes for 303 yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions. Huskies star running back Adam Machart ran the ball 16 times for a team high 78 yards and caught eight passes for 82 yards.

Klassen topped the Huskies with 95 receiving yards coming on seven catches.

Riley Pickett had 1.5 tackles for a loss for the Huskies.

Defensive back Cameron Skinner led the Huskies with seven total tackles, while defensive end Riley Pickett had 1.5 tackles for a loss. He shared a tackle for a loss with fifth-year linebacker Clovis Lumeka.

Hillock showed he is potentially on the cusp of a stellar career with the Mustangs completing 18-of-29 passes for 274 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He took home the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game’s most outstanding player.

Campbell caught six passes for a game high 104 yards to go with his two touchdowns.

The Mustangs piled up 209 yards rushing as a team with five different players getting rushing attempts.

Mustangs fourth-year defensive back Daniel Valente Jr. had a game high 8.5 tackles taking home the Bruce Coulter Award as the defensive player of the game.

Defensive linemen Deionte Knight and Malcolm Hinds had single sacks for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs finished the campaign with a 10-1 overall record, while the Huskies concluded the season with an 8-2 overall mark.

The Vanier Cup loss brings an end to the U Sports careers of seven Huskies players in Klassen, Lumeka, Kyle Newton, Carter Dahl, Finley Easton, Nick Summach and Yol Piok, who were all played out their fifth and final seasons of eligibility.

That group helped the Huskies win a Canada West Conference title in 2018 and another conference championship this season in making the run to the Vanier Cup game.

Before those two post-season runs, the last time the Huskies had won the Canada West title and advanced to the Vanier Cup game was 2006.

The Huskies are still searching for their first Vanier Cup win since 1998. In total, they’ve won the U Sports title on three occasions including 1990 and 1996.

After the Huskies weren’t able to hit the field in 2020 as the Canada West Conference season and the Vanier Cup were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) campaign that has gripped the world, the 2021 return season for the Huskies was a remarkable one.

Colton Klassen had 95 yards receiving on Saturday.

They returned a strong core group of players that took the program to heights it hasn’t reached in some time.

The Huskies have once again been able to see what the Vanier Cup looks like. You can bet this will help motivate the returning players and add to the realization that reaching the U Sports mountaintop again is something that can be realistically achieved in future seasons.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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