Golden Bears visit Griffiths Saturday in
Canada West semi
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| The Huskies aim to take down the Golden Bears in the playoffs. |
The Huskies won all four of their regular season games at home posting a 5-3 record to finish second in the Canada West Conference. Thanks to that placing, the Huskies host the University of Alberta Golden Bears (4-4) in a Canada West semifinal contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.
The other
Canada West semifinal on Saturday features the University of Calgary Dinos
(6-2) taking on the University of Manitoba Bisons (4-4) in Calgary.
A year ago,
the Huskies won the Canada West championship playing all of their post-season
games on the road. That marked the first time U of S claimed the Canada West
title since 2006.
Saturday’s
clash with the Golden Bears will mark the second time the Huskies have hosted a
post-season game since the start of the 2011 season.
The Dogs last home playoff
game came back on Nov. 7, 2014, when they fell 47-39 to the University of
Manitoba Bisons at Griffiths Stadium.
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| Adam Machart (#20) will try to make more big game against U of A. |
With having
almost five full years pass between home playoff dates, Huskies star running
back Adam Machart said his side is looking forward to playing in their regular
surroundings.
“We play
good at home, so to have that and not have to travel, I think that is huge for
us as a team,” said Machart. “I think we are going to rally around that fact.”
Huskies
fifth-year star defensive tackle Evan Machibroda was on the U of S roster for
the squad’s last home playoff game as an injury red shirt. He watched the
Huskies fall that day from the sidelines.
Still, that
memory in no way dampens his enthusiasm for his team’s home playoff game on
Saturday.
 |
| Mason Nyhus had a solid campaign as the Huskies starting QB. |
Machibroda
believes his Huskies haven’t hit their peak and still have room to get better.
“We
definitely have to keep growing as a team,” said Machibroda. “Nothing is finished
yet.”
Machart enters
the contest as the Huskies biggest offensive threat. He carried the ball 156
times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. He also hauled
in 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
His total
of 1,334 yards rushing and 1,538 all-purpose yards are new Huskies team records
for one season.
Mason Nyhus
has a solid campaign in his first season as the team’s starting quarterback. He
completed 138-of-228 passes for 1,739 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine
interceptions.
 |
| Evan Machibroda has made lots of big plays. |
Baker
missed the Huskies first five regular season games due to injury. In the squad’s
last three regular season games, Baker hauled in 15 passes for 236 yards and
four touchdowns.
The Huskies
will have play without star utility player Colton Klassen, who is out for the
post-season with a severely injured right leg.
Golden
Bears quarterback Brad Launhardt, who is in his second season with the team,
had a strong campaign completing 174-of-284 passes for 2,328 yards, nine
touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also carried the ball 50 times for 298
yards and one touchdown.
Running
back Jonathan Rosery was the Golden Bears leading rushing carrying the ball 70
times for 328 yards and one touchdown.
Fifth-year
receiver Ben Kopczynski led the Golden Bears in receiving hauling in 53 passes
for 799 yards.
On defence,
super rookie outside linebacker Ramsey Derbas led the Huskies with 43 total
tackles, while middle linebacker Tom Whiting and outside linebacker Ben Whiting
had 40.5 and 39.5 total tackles respectively.
 |
| The Golden Bears look to get a big game from LB Jassen Brown (#41) |
For the
Golden Bears, outside linebacker Josiah Schakel topped the team with 51 total
defensive tackles. Middle linebacker Jassen Brown had 49 total tackles and a
team high four sacks.
Safety
Jayden Dalke led U of S with three interceptions.
The Huskies
and Golden Bear met twice during the regular season. The Golden Bears took the
first encounter 19-17 on Sept. 21 in Edmonton. The Huskies claimed the last
head-to-head contest last Saturday 22-9 at Griffiths Stadium.
 |
| Brad Launhardt (#16) had a strong season at QB for the Golden Bears. |
“That is a
good football team,” said Flory. “They are physical.
“They play
hard. They have some big dudes. At this point, you are not going to reinvent
the wheel schematically offensively and defensively and on special teams.
“It is
about execution. It is about timing and what you do. There is going to be a
wrinkle here and there, but yeah, they are a good football team.”
The weather
appears it will be really good for Saturday’s game, because Environment Canada
at the moment is predicting sunny conditions with a 2 C temperature.
With that
said, Environment Canada predictions can go out the window in an instant, but
Machart isn’t worried about adverse conditions.
“When you are out there, the blood is flowing,
and it is not too bad,” said Machart.
 |
| Golden Bears R Ben Kopczynski (#5) will look to escape Huskies defenders. |
“It (was)
actually pretty good,” said Machart. “It wasn’t too slushy.
“That ice
is not fun to fall on, but grip wise it is actually pretty good.”
Flory said
his squad will always be prepared for the weather to be at its worse this time
of year.
“We’re in
Saskatchewan,” said Flory. “If you plan on playing in October and November, you
better be prepared to deal with this stuff.
 |
| Ben Whiting (#4) and U of S aim to enjoy a big play day. |
“We’ve got
to be able to do that. It will be slugfest.”
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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