Heartbreak for Huskies again in Vanier Cup

Rouge et Or prevail 30-24 in showcase U Sports title game

Mason Nyhus played his final game with the Huskies on Saturday.

If you told the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in training camp that they’d be in position to make a two-minute drill drive at the end of the fourth quarter to win the Vanier Cup, they would take it.

If you told the Huskies they would have to make that drive against the forever powerful Universite Laval Rouge et Or, the Dogs would still take it.

That was the position the Huskies were in on Saturday playing before 8,420 spectators at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. They were actually in that position twice.

Trailing the Rouge et Or 30-24, the Huskies had the ball at their own 18 yard line with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter with two timeouts. They needed to drive 92 yards to win the game, but it was something that could be realistically done and had been done in the past.

The Huskies got 21 yards downfield on four plays before turning the ball over on downs. The drive ended when Huskies star fifth-year quarterback Mason Nyhus hit sophomore star second-year running back Ryker Frank with a pass on a third-and-six situation.

Frank initially caught the ball six yards downfield, but took a step backwards looking to make a cut for additional yards. Because of that step backwards, Frank was stopped short of the first down marker and the Rouge et Or took over at the Huskies 39 yard line.

Connor Delahey had 8.5 total tackles for the Huskies.

After the Rouge et Or offence went two and out, they punted the ball to the Huskies, who had the ball at their own 20 yard line with 34 seconds remaining with no timeouts. Needing chunk plays, the Huskies went three and out to turn the ball over on downs.

The Rouge et Or took two kneel downs to end the contest and begin the celebration of their 30-24 victory, and the fact they won the Vanier Cup to become U Sports champions for the 11^th time in team history. Before Saturday’s game, the last time the Rouge et Or won the Vanier Cup was in 2018.

Overall, U Sports football was the biggest winner on Saturday. The 57^th Vanier Cup played between the Huskies and Rouge et Or was an outstanding showcase of the sport of football at the Canadian university level. The fact it was shown live on CBC’s national network made it even better, because people who wouldn’t have normally watched the game would have been pulled in by a compelling encounter.

When the dust settled, the two teams combined for 975 yards of total offence. The Huskies had 469 total yards, and the Rouge et Or had 506 total yards.

Nyhus, who was playing in his final U Sports game, completed 34-of-43 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing one interception due to a tipped pass. Rouge et Or star second year quarterback Arnaud Desjardins connected on 27-of-36 passes for 397 yards. Nyhus was the U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star quarterback, and Desjardins was the first team all-Canadian all-star quarterback.

Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards on Saturday.

Ultimately, Saturday’s contest was one of those games that could have gone the Huskies way had the result of two or three plays changed.

The teams were trying to gage what they could do in the first quarter and traded field goals. David Solie hit a 20 yard field goal for the Huskies, and Vincent Blanchard replied with a 15 yard field goal for the Rouge et Or to create a 3-3 tie after 15 minutes.

Early in the second quarter gambling on a third-and-goal situation, Nyhus rolled right and hit third-year receiver Everett Iverson with a three-yard touchdown toss to put the Huskies in front 10-3.

The Rouge et Or answered back on their ensuing offensive series with first-year running back Kalenga Muganda running in a touchdown from three yards out taking a direct snap in the wildcat formation to force a 10-10 tie. The Rouge et Or proceeded to take their first lead when Blanchard booted the ensuing kickoff through the end zone for a rouge and an 11-10 edge.

The Huskies retook the lead on their ensuing offensive series, when Nyhus hit star second-year receiver Rhett Vavra with a three-yard touchdown pass for a 17-11 advantage.

Before the second quarter came to an end, Blanchard hit a field goal from 28 yards out to cut the Huskies lead to 17-14 and knocked home a field goal from 49 yards out with 0.2 seconds to play in the frame to force a 17-17 tie at halftime.

Everett Iverson had the Huskies first TD catch on Saturday.

With 9:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Rouge et Or caught a positive break to avoid falling behind again on the scoreboard. Solie launched a long punt, which Rouge et Or returner Alex Duff allowed to bounce into his own end zone playing the situation like the punt return rules in the United States were in play.

Duff circled back into his end zone to get the ball. As soon as his fingers grabbed the ball, he was hit by Huskies long snapper Jayden Engel. The ball popped out of Duff’s hands and Huskies backup running back Kody Gutek recovered the ball in the end zone for an apparent touchdown.

 The officials correctly called a no yards penalty on Engel, which negated the major score and even the opportunity to pick up a single point.

After surviving that mishap, the Rouge et Or accounted for the only points in the third quarter with a 10-yard field goal from Blanchard to take a 20-17 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rouge et Or went into the bag of tricks to pull out a major score. Facing a first and goal situation from the Huskies one yard line, star receiver Kevin Mital lined up behind centre in the wildcat formation. Mital faked like he was going to run the ball and looped a one-yard touchdown toss to second-year fullback David Dallaire to increase the Rouge et Or’s lead to 27-17.

Ryker Frank had 65 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving on Saturday.

The Huskies looked like they were going to trim the Rouge et Or’s advantage on their ensuing offensive possession. U of S got the ball down to the Rouge et Or six yard line for a first-and-goal situation.

Nyhus threw a pass in the end zone to third year receiver Caleb Morin. Morin wasn’t able to hold on to the high pass and the ball slipped through his hands into the arms or Rouge et Or defensive back Felix Petit for an interception with 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The result of the play was an unfortunate one for Morin, who had a strong game leading the Huskies with seven catches for 97 yards.

After the interception, the Huskies defence forced the Rouge et Or offence to go two-and-out. Following a 35-yard punt return by Vavra, U of S started a drive on the Rouge et Or’s 51 yard line.

The Huskies quickly drove the short field and Nyhus hit sure handed second-year receiver Daniel Wiebe with a three-yard touchdown pass to cut the Rouge et Or lead to 27-24 with 4:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Nick Wiebe had six total tackles for the Huskies on Saturday.

The Rouge et Or pushed their lead out to 30-24 on their ensuing offensive series with Blanchard hitting a 25 yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. That field goal was set up mainly by Desjardins hitting Rouge et Or fourth-year receiver Antoine Dansereau-Leclerc with a 55-yard pass. Blanchard made all five of his field goals on the afternoon.

That set the stage for the Huskies final two failed drives as the Rouge et Or made the 30-24 score hold up as the game’s final outcome.

Mital, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year in U Sports football on Thursday, was awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the Vanier Cup game MVP. Mital hauled in eight passes for a game high 142 yards to go with his touchdown toss.

The Bruce Coulter Award for the defensive player of the game went to second-year linebacker Charles-Alexandre Jacques. Jacques made 5.5 total tackles for the Rouge et Or in the win.

The Huskies piled up 125 yards rushing as a team in the first half and only nine yards rushing as a team in the second half. Frank carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards.

Teb Kubongo had two carries for 65 yards for the Huskies.

Third-year running back Ted Kubongo ran the ball twice for 65 yards and caught two passes for five yards.

Huskies star fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards, and Vavra had six catches for 66 yards.

Muganda topped the Rouge et Or in rushing with 19 carries for 76 yards to go with his major score. Dansereau-Leclerc finished the contest with eight catches for 119 yards.

Defensive end Connor Delahey led the Huskies with 8.5 total tackles, while linebacker Nick Wiebe had six total tackles.

Defensive back Maxym Lavallee topped the Rouge et Or with 7.5 total tackles, while defensive lineman Jean-William Rouleau had a quarterback sack.

Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin picked up his 10 Vanier Cup win as the team’s head coach and increased his U Sports record for career head coaching wins to 202 with Saturday’s result.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory saw his team’s overall record conclude at 10-2, while the Rouge et Or close out at 11-1 overall. The Huskies went into the game rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 rankings, while the Rouge et Or were rated second.

HC Scott Flory saw his Huskies fall after a strong effort.

When Saturday’s game reached its conclusion, it was another lesson in heartbreak in the Vanier Cup for the Huskies. The Dogs were in last year’s Vanier Cup, and they fell 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The Huskies last won the Vanier Cup in 1998 downing the Concordia University Stingers 24-17 at the venue then known as the Skydome and now Rogers Place in Toronto. 

The Huskies have returned to the U Sports title game six times since dropping five of those contests by six or fewer points.

One of these years, you have to think the Huskies persistence will result in a U Sports championship. Still with how most of amateur sport in Canada isn’t followed that closely anymore by mainstream media outlets, it was big the Huskies could play well and make the Vanier Cup a showcase game before a national television audience.

The Huskies finish the 2022 campaign with a 10-2 overall record.

If Saturday’s Vanier Cup gets more people talking about U Sports football, that is a big victory for the sport as a whole.

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Huskies versus Rouge et Or might deliver epic Vanier Cup

Teams go at it for first time since 2006 U Sports title game

Mason Nyhus threw for 2,759 yards in the regular season.

The 2022 Vanier Cup is a contest that is perfect for national television, and as a bonus, it will be on national TV.

On Saturday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will face the Universite Laval Rouge et Or in the championship game for U Sports football – the Vanier Cup. The two squads will battle at a sold out Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CBC).

The Huskies and Rouge et Or have a storied past playing four times in key games from 1999 to 2006 where Laval won three of those contests. The last encounter came in the Vanier Cup played at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus on November 25, 2006.

On a frigid day with a high of -19 C, a record crowd of 12,567 spectators turned out at Griffiths Stadium to see the Rouge et Or pull out a 13-8 victory over the host Huskies.

The weather conditions for Saturday’s Vanier Cup encounter will be a lot more pleasant than the clash back in 2006. Environment Canada is predicting a high of 9 C and sunny conditions for London, Ont., on game day. You couldn’t ask for better conditions on a November 26 day anywhere in Canada.

HC Scott Flory has guided the Huskies back to the Vanier Cup.

Thanks to those balmy conditions, both teams will be able to use their entire playbooks.

Both the Huskies and Rouge et Or enter the Vanier Cup with identical 10-1 overall records. 

The Huskies, who were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings, have won their last four straight, while the Rouge et Or, who were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings, are riding an eight-game winning streak.

This contest will feature the quarterbacks that finished first and second in passing yards in all of U Sports in Huskies signal caller Mason Nyhus and Rouge et Or pivot Arnaud Desjardins.

During the Huskies eight regular season games, Nyhus completed 197-of-298 passes for 2,759 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing three interceptions. His passing yardage total was tops in all of U Sports and set a new Huskies team record for most passing yards in one season.

Daniel Perry was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

The old Huskies record had been held by Nyhus’s former teammate in Kyle Siemens, who threw for 2,570 yards in the 2017 campaign. Nyhus is finishing his fifth and final year of U Sports eligibility and was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star on Thursday.

Nyhus also took home honours this season as a Canada West Conference all-star and Canada West player of the year.

In the eight regular season games the Rouge et Or played, Desjardins completed 195-of-267 passes for 2,555 yards and 20 touchdowns, while throwing four interceptions. His passing yardage total was second in all of U Sports.

In his second year of U Sports eligibility, Desjardins was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

One of Nyhus’s big targets was fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry, who was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. Perry made 41 catches for 602 yards and two touchdowns during the regular season.

Charlie Ringland, left, makes a pass knockdown for the Huskies.

Desjardins top target was second-year receiver Kevin Mital. During the regular season, Mital led all of U Sports in receptions (58), receiving yards (751) and receiving touchdowns (12).

He was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star and captured the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year in U Sports.

On the ground, the Huskies are paced by second year running back Ryker Frank, who carried the ball 88 times for 562 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season. The Rouge et Or’s rushing yards were spread out through their running back stable, with third-year ball carrier Joanik Masse leading the team with 48 carries for 282 yards.

On defence, linebacker Lane Novak led the Huskies with 47.5 total tackles during the regular season to go with a quarterback sack and three pass breakups. Linebacker Nick Wiebe finished second on the Huskies with 40.5 total tackles to go along with a quarterback sack.

Ryker Frank led the Huskies in regular season rushing yards.

Huskies fourth-year defensive back Charlie Ringland was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star after collecting 24 total tackles and four pass breakups during the regular season.

The Rouge et Or defence is anchored by defensive lineman Jean-William Rouleau, who was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. Rouleau recorded 3.5 quarterback sacks and 9.5 total tackles during the regular season.

Second-year defensive back Cristophe Beaulieu was also named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star after recording 28.5 total tackles and six pass breakups in seven regular season appearances.

Fourth-year linebacker Alec Poirier was given a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star nod after posting 22 total tackles and two interceptions during the regular season.

On special teams, Huskies fourth-year place kicker David Solie was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star. During the regular season, Solie connected on 17-of-21 field goal attempts with a long from 44 yards out, while making 23-of-24 converts.

David Solie (#15) got a U Sports all-Canadian all-star nod.

If the Rouge et Or need a key kick, they will look to third-year place kicker Vincent Blanchard. Blanchard hit 15-of-19 field goal attempts with a long from 36 yards out, while making all 28 of his converts.

Both Solie and Blanchard handle the punting duties for their respective teams too.

In the match up of head coaches, you have the legendary old veteran going against a relative young buck. The Rouge et Or are guided by 57-year-old Glen Constantin, who has been Laval’s head coach since December of 2000.

As the Rouge et Or head coach, Constantin has a career record of 201-38 including action in the regular season and post-season, and he became the all-time leader in career wins in U Sports this season. He surpassed the previous record of 196 wins, which was compiled by legendary Huskies head coach Brian Towriss.

Constantin’s record included a 156-25 mark in regular season play and a 55-13 mark in post-season action. He guided Laval to nine of its 10 Vanier Cup championships as head coach. When the Rouge et Or won their first Vanier Cup in 1999, Constantin was the defensive coordinator for the squad that season.

Nick Wiebe had 40.5 total tackles in the regular season.

The Huskies are guided at head coach by alum and former star offensive lineman of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 46-year-old Scott Flory. After retiring from the Alouettes in 2013, Flory returned to the Huskies squad he played for from 1994 to 1998. He served as the Huskies offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016 and took over the role of head coach in 2017.

As Huskies head coach, Flory has put together a 33-17 career record including action in the regular season and post-season. Flory’s record includes a 24-14 mark in regular season play and a 9-3 mark in post-season action.

Before Flory became head coach, the last time the Huskies had won the Canada West Conference title and appeared in the Vanier Cup was 2006. Since Flory became head coach, the Huskies have won three Canada West titles and will play in their second Vanier Cup with Flory at the helm on Saturday.

The Huskies were in last year’s Vanier Cup, and they fell 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The Huskies hope to celebrate a lot of big plays on Saturday.

On paper, the Huskies and Rouge et Or have the potential to show U Sports football at its best. It is highly likely that their Vanier Cup encounter on Saturday will go down as an epic clash.

Now, they will confront each other for a prize only one can win.

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Huskies navigate X-Men buzz saw, capture Uteck Bowl 36-19

U of S advances to Vanier Cup for second straight year

Ryker Frank had 134 yards rushing for the Huskies on Saturday.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team played to the adage that winning is the only thing that matters in playoff time.

On Saturday at StFX Stadium in Antigonish, N.S., the Huskies ran into a buzz saw in the host St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in the Uteck Bowl. The two sides were deadlocked at 6-6 at halftime and 13-13 after three quarters in the U Sports semifinal clash.

The Huskies hit their stride in the fourth quarter and ultimately pulled out a solid 36-19 victory before 2,173 spectators. With the win, the Huskies (10-1) advance to the U Sport championship game – the Vanier Cup.

In that contest, the Huskies will face the Universite Laval Rouge et Or. On Saturday, the Rouge et Or downed the host University of Western Ontario Mustangs 27-20 at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont., to claim the other U Sports semifinal – the Mitchell Bowl. The Rouge et Or improved to 10-1 overall with the win, while the Mustangs finished the 2022 campaign with a 10-1 mark.

For Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin, the Mitchell Bowl victory was his 201^st career head coaching win including both regular season and post-season. Constantin, who has guided the Rouge et Or to nine Vanier Cup titles, is the only head coach in U Sports history to post 200 or more career wins in the sport of football.

The Vanier Cup will be played this coming Saturday at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. The game will start at 12 p.m. Saskatchewan time on that day and will be shown on CBC.

The X-Men finish the 2022 campaign with a 9-1 overall record. They also gained a measure of respect for the Atlantic University Sport’s football conference.

The last football champion from the AUS to make the Vanier Cup was the Saint Mary’s University Huskies in 2007. Playing without the services of injured star starting quarterback Erik Glavic, Saint Mary’s dropped a 28-14 decision in that year’s U Sports title game to the University of Manitoba Bisons at Rogers Stadium in Toronto.

Last year, the X-Men were smashed 61-6 by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl played at Western Alumni Stadium. The result matched what had happened in recent years to AUS champions in U Sports semifinal bowl games.

Daniel Perry had a 26-yard TD catch for the Huskies.

In 2019, the Acadia University Axemen were blanked 38-0 at home by the Universite de Montreal Carabins in the Uteck Bowl. In 2018, the X-Men were shutout 63-0 on the road by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Rouge et Or in the Uteck Bowl.

In 2017, the Axemen were stampeded 81-3 in their home park by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Mustangs in the Uteck Bowl. The AUS champion avoided getting blown out in 2020 because the U Sports semifinal bowls and Vanier Cup were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

While U of S Huskies head coach Scott Flory and the rest of his coaching staff were preaching to their players to not take anyone lightly, there are times that becomes humanly hard to do. You can be sure the Huskies players were aware of how badly AUS champions had fared in recent U Sports semifinal bowl games.

As the first three quarters of Saturday’s game progressed, you could see the belief in the eyes of the X-Men players grow. The Huskies played OK through the first three quarters, but they did make some uncharacteristic mistakes that those watching the contest had to think an upset was possible or was going to happen.

Huskies kicker David Solie gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the first quarter hitting a field goal from 32 yards out. X-Men kicker Ben Hadley responded with two field goals from 32 and 17 yards out respectively to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage. On the final play of the second quarter, Solie nailed a field goal from 36 yards out to even the score at 6-6.

The Huskies opened the third quarter with an impressive opening touchdown drive that covered 89 yards on 11 plays and ate the first six minutes and 10 seconds on the club to go ahead 13-6. The drive was capped by a two-yard touchdown run from star running back Ryker Frank.

With 2:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, X-Men quarterback Silas Fagnan ran in a major score from 19 yards out to force a 13-13 tie score.

The wheels began to fall off for the X-Men with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter as they elected to concede a safety due to bad field position to put the Huskies in front 15-13. The Huskies hit high gear at that point.

On their ensuing offensive series, star fifth-year quarterback Mason Nyhus hit second-year receiver Daniel Wiebe with a 41-yard pass and run touchdown that increased the Huskies advantage to 22-13. Wiebe’s touchdown catch completed a four-play, 75-yard drive that took only a minute and 45 seconds.

Mason Nyhus passed for 327 yards for the Huskies on Saturday.

Things got worse for the X-Men on their ensuing series, Fagnan was intercepted by Huskies second-year defensive back John Stoll, who returned the ball 26 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors a sound 29-13 edge.

The hosts did try to fight back. With 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Fagnan connected with receiver Ben Harrington on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The X-Men tried to go for a two-point conversion, but Fagnan’s pass fell incomplete causing the score to sit at 29-19 in favour of the Huskies.

The X-Men then kicked off to the Huskies in regular fashion. The visitors rounded out the game’s scoring, when Nyhus hit fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry with a 26-yard touchdown pass to cement the 36-19 final in favour of the Huskies.

Nyhus had a stellar day statistically completing 30-of-38 passes for 327 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was named the offensive player of the game.

Frank ran the ball 20 times for 134 yards to go with his major score to be the contest’s top ground gainer. He also caught three passes for 16 yards.

Wiebe led all receivers with six catches for 117 yards to go with his major through the air.

Fagnan completed 17-of-36 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown, while throwing two interceptions. He ran the ball six times for 50 yards.

X-Men receiver Zachary Houde led his team with five catches for 98 yards.

Defensive back Finn Marcotte-Cribb had an interception for the Huskies. Jonathan Leggett, William (Charlie) Parks and Charlie Ringland all had sacks for the visitors. Katley Joseph and Nick Wiebe tied for the Huskies team lead in tackles at four.

Stoll was named the defensive player of the game posting two total tackles to go with his interception return for a touchdown.

Defensive back Liam Wilde led the X-Men with 8.5 total tackles. Defensive lineman Alex Fedchun had a quarterback sack for the host side.

Overall, the Huskies deserve full credit for pulling out the win against an inspired X-Men side. The visitors persevered past the mistakes they did make.

Charlie Ringland (#3) had a sack for the Huskies on Saturday.

In football playoffs, it is all about winning and playing another day. The Huskies are going back the Vanier Cup for a second straight year.

Last year, the Huskies fell 27-21 in the Vanier Cup to the Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec. In 2021, the Huskies were making their first Vanier Cup appearance since 2006.

This year, the Huskies are looking to take care of unfinished business and win the Vanier Cup for the first time since 1998. The battle in the Uteck Bowl should sharpen the focus for the Huskies players for the last contest they can possibly play in for the 2022 campaign.

All the Huskies need to do is win one more game to become the champions of U Sports, and it won’t matter if that win is a work of art or not.

Business trip ✅#HuskiePride | 📸 Bryan Kennedy pic.twitter.com/BanlS0pswH

— Huskie Football (@skhuskies) November 19, 2022

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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