The great Canadian football weather dilemma

Slight cold keeps fans away in droves

The Eskimos and Roughriders play a bad weather game Nov. 4, 2017.

    When it gets cold, they won’t go.

    If you’re a football team at any level in Canada, you fear cold weather of any type, because it keeps the fans away. If fans don’t come to games, they don’t spend money on concessions, merchandise or donate to scholarship programs in the case of university and junior teams.

    There was a time cold and snow didn’t keep fans away in Canada. During the past two seasons, it is apparent the social media age has played a part in changing this dynamic.

    People would prefer to sit in the comforts of home and see a quick hit of a football highlight on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat versus watching a game live for three hours in the cold. If you add in you pay anywhere from $15 to $27 to see a post-secondary game and $100 for a prime seat at a CFL game, you ask yourself why would you pay that type of money to go sit in the cold and snow for three hours and be uncomfortable.

Fans enjoy the CFL West final in 2013 in Calgary.

    These days, cold weather doesn’t have to be that cold. It seems like ticket buyers in Canada for outdoor sports are looking for the weather to be 20 C with sun and no wind. You are basically looking to be seen in nice weather at a sporting event, and you have prime conditions to use your mobile phone.
    If the weather is around even 10 C and still sunny, but you can feel the cold, ticket buyers in Canada won’t go to a football game. The efficiency of the mobile phone is hampered the colder it gets too.

    Unfortunately, that is the reality football teams in Canada are dealing with these days. Judging by crowds on televised NFL and National Collegiate Athletic Association football contests, the football culture in the United States isn’t deterred by bad weather games.

    For some early season football games in the United States, weather can go too far the other way where it is 40 C and sunny and spectators have to worry about health problems related to the heat.

The Roughriders Cheer Team is ready for the cold in 2017.

    With all that said, football teams Canada, where the citizens seem really addicted to social media, face a current country trend that any type of cold keeps people away.

    The Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are the CFL’s most popular team, even feel the effects of colder temperatures hurting attendance. Their last sellout at Mosaic Stadium of 33,350 spectators came on Sept. 15, when they fell 30-25 to the Ottawa Redbacks. The daytime temperature in Regina was 19 C.
    Saskatchewan’s last two regular season home games were played in October and they hosted a CFL West Division semifinal game in November.

    On Oct. 8, the Roughriders downed the Edmonton Eskimos 19-12 and 31,335 was the announced attendance at Mosaic Stadium, and the daytime temperature in Regina was 9 C. On Oct. 27, the Roughriders beat the British Columbia Lions 35-16 with an announced attendance at Mosaic Stadium was 30,091, and the daytime temperature was 13 C in Regina.

    On Nov. 11, the Roughriders fell 23-18 in the West Division Semifinal to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with an announced attendance of 30,609 spectators and the daytime temperature is Regina was 4 C.

    In the week leading up to each of those games, I was looking to possibly impulse purchase a ticket, if my busy schedule lightened up to allow for a drive from Saskatoon to Regina for one of those contests. My schedule didn’t lighten up, so I didn’t go.

Christion Jones heads upfield for the Roughriders on Nov. 4, 2017.

    When I was looking for tickets, I couldn’t believe how easy it would have been to purchase a good seat even on the day before the game, if I was able to go.

    This was for a Roughriders team that went 12-6 during the regular season. In the past when the Roughriders had that strong of a regular season record, it was almost impossible to get tickets to games.

    On a side note, the Grey Cup in Edmonton, Alta., held last Sunday that saw the Calgary Stampeders down the Redblacks 27-16 was deemed a sellout at 55,819 spectators in cold conditions at Commonwealth Stadium.
    At the university level in the U Sports ranks, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team, who have had average attendances around 6,000 in some recent seasons, saw their crowds at Griffiths Stadium shrink, when it got cold.

    The Huskies best attendance of 5,114 came when they fell 37-28 to the U of Calgary Dinos on Sept. 14. Weather at game time in Saskatoon was reported at 7 C and cloudy, but attendance was boosted by the fact Huskies honoured legendary retired head coach Brian Towriss before the contest.

Huskies DE Riley Pickett ready for a cold game on Sept. 21.

    When the archrival U of Regina Rams paid a visit on Sept. 21, it was a different story. The Huskies won 33-20, but the game drew 2,715 spectators in conditions that were -1 C and lightly snowing at game time. It snowed for maybe a quarter of that contest.

    For the Huskies final home game Oct. 20, they downed the visiting U of Manitoba Bisons 27-4 and drew 2,440 spectators to Griffiths Stadium. Temperature at kickoff was 3 C and sunny.

    On the Canadian Junior Football League front, the Saskatoon Hilltops hosted the league championship game – the Canadian Bowl – and elected to keep tickets prices the same as their regular playoff games at $20 per adult for the Nov. 17 league title contest.
    In the Canadian Bowl, the venerable Hilltops, who relish playing in cold weather games, drew their biggest crowd of the season of 1,465 spectators to Saskatoon Minor Football Field as they claimed a fifth straight CJFL title thumping the Langley Rams 58-21. The temperature in Saskatoon that day was -7 C and sunny. They likely would have drawn a lot more fans had it been warmer.

    There are no easy fixes when it comes to drawing fans in adverse weather to football games in Canada. By nature, football is an outdoor game made to be played in the elements, which adds to the challenge of the sport.

Fans at Griffiths Stadium are bundled up for a cold clash on Sept. 21.

    In Canada, cold weather and even snow can strike in summer months. You could move up the schedule, but that might not be practical in some leagues, and you will still get bad weather.

    You could give discounted ticket prices for games that will be played in months when the weather is cold. The Roughriders tried that out with walk up tickets in 2017 for games played in October and November.

    You could spend hundreds of millions of dollars collected from taxpayers to build domed football stadiums for everyone. That wouldn’t go over well with a sizable portion of the public, especially when you see the ongoing talks in Calgary about getting a new NHL rink and CFL stadium.

    Unfortunately in Canada, there aren’t that many good-hearted deep pocketed good Samaritans out there willing to build multiple domed football facilities.
    It has to become cool again in Canada to head out to bad weather football games. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers teams led by iconic head coach and general manager Cal Murphy were seen as “bad ass,” because they played in the snow and cold in the same gear they used in summer.

The family of Hilltops LB Bobby Ehman enjoys a cold Canadian Bowl win.

    The Ron Lancaster, George Reed and Ron Atchison era of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 1960s excelled in bad weather games and were deemed cool.

    When you went out to see cold weather games to see those teams play, you viewed yourself as being as tough as the players you watched.

    Unless heading out to cold weather football games becomes cool again, a large number of fans will remain plugged into their mobile phones and stay at home when conditions become slightly adverse.

    Unfortunately, there is no answer for how to bring back the feeling that it is cool to go to bad weather football games.

Four named all-Canadians for Huskies

Huskies OG Mattland Riley (#55) was a second team all-Canadian all-star.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team received some final nods for a fantastic year with four players being named U Sports all-Canadians all-stars.

    Last Thursday at an awards gala in Quebec City, Que., Huskies fifth-year running back Tyler Chow was a first team all-Canadian on offence and fourth-year defensive lineman Evan Machibroda was a first team all-Canadian on defence.

    Third-year offensive guard Mattland Riley was a second team all-Canadian on offence and fifth-year defensive end Tristian Koronkiewicz was a second team all-Canadian on defence.

    During the Huskies eight regular season games, Chow carried the ball 100 times for 640 yards and scored two touchdowns. During his regular season career with the Huskies, Chow carried the ball 385 times for 2,372 yards and scored 13 touchdowns to finish as the third all-time leading rusher in the program’s history.

    Machibroda had 14 total tackles, three sacks, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble for the Huskies in regular season action.

    Riley helped power a strong offensive line that allowed the Huskies to top the Canada West Conference with 1,376 yards rushing and place third with 2,565 yards passing as a team in the regular campaign.

Tristian Koronkiewicz (#90) was a first team all-Canadian all-star.

    Koronkiewicz topped Canada West with seven sacks to go along with 24 total tackles, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries for the Huskies in regular season play.

    The Huskies finished third in Canada West with a 5-3 regular season record. In a Canada West semifinal contest on Nov. 3 in Vancouver, B.C., the Huskies upset the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 31-28 in overtime. That win ended an eight-game post-season losing streak for the Huskies.

    On Nov. 10, the Huskies upset the U of Calgary Dinos 43-18 in the Canada West final in Calgary, Alta., to capture the Hardy Cup. That marked the first time the Huskies had won the Canada West title since 2006.

    The Huskies post-season game to an end in a U Sports semifinal contest on Nov. 17 in London, Ont., when they fell 47-24 to the U of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl.
    Last Saturday, the Mustangs fell in the Vanier Cup in Quebec City, Que., 34-20 to the host Universite Laval Rouge et Or.

    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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Huskies fifth years go down fighting in final bow

U of S playoff run ends in Mitchell Bowl loss

QB Kyle Siemens and the football Huskies had a remarkable playoff run.

    It was Vanier Cup or bust for the fifth-year players on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team.

    Going into the Mitchell Bowl semifinal game of the U Sports playoffs, the Huskies faced their biggest challenge in their run of post-season upsets taking on the defending Vanier Cup champion University of Western Ontario Mustangs in London, Ont., last Saturday.

    U of S was trying to break up what had been a projected Vanier Cup rematch at the start of the season between the Mustangs and the powerhouse Universite Rouge et Or.

    Earlier in the day on Saturday, the Rouge et Or made short work of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in the other U Sports semifinal game – the Uteck Bowl – in Quebec City, Que., romping to a 63-0 victory. The X-Men finished the campaign at 8-3.

Tyler Chow had a huge touchdown run for the Huskies last Saturday.

    The Huskies ensured there was intrigue in their encounter with the Mustangs posting leads of 7-0 and 17-14 in the game’s first half. The two sides entered halftime locked in a 17-17 tie. Western pulled away in the second half earning a 47-24 victory on the strength of scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter before 3,536 spectators at TD Stadium.

    In the process, the Mustangs ran their overall winning streak to 23 games. They will travel to Quebec City, Que., this coming Saturday to face the Rouge et Or in a battle of 11-0 teams.

    Western and Laval were rated first and second respectively in the final U Sports Top 10 football rankings. Last year, the Mustangs dumped the Rouge et Or 39-17 in the Vanier Cup.

    The Huskies, who finished the campaign at 7-4, did everything in their power to try and appear in the Vanier Cup for the first time since 2006 and the fifth years led the charge. Like Rocky in his first encounter with Apollo Creed, U of S’s graduating players came out swinging.

Tristian Koronkiewicz had two sacks for the Huskies last Saturday.

    Fifth-year star quarterback Kyle Siemens completed 26-of-35 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Fifth-year star running back Tyler Chow carried the ball 21 times for 143 yards and scored one touchdown. Fifth-year defensive lineman Tristian Koronkiewicz had a pair of sacks.

    Early in the first quarter, the Huskies manufactured and eight-play touchdown drive that covered 76 yards. The march was capped, when Siemens hit Colton Klassen with a 22-yard touchdown pass to put the visitors up 7-0.

    Western tied things up at 7-7 before the first quarter ended, when receiver Harry McMaster hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Merchant. Merchant hit McMaster with a 31-yard touchdown pass just 72 seconds into the second quarter to give the Mustangs a 14-7 advantage.

    The Huskies answered back. Fifth-year star kicker Sean Stenger booted a 41-yard field goal to cut the Mustangs lead to 14-10. With seven minutes to play in the second quarter, Siemens hit Klassen with an eight-yard touchdown pass to put the Huskies up 17-14.

Sean Stenger booted on last field goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Klassen caught nine passes for 107 yards to go along with his two receiving majors.

    On the final play of the first half, the Mustangs tied things up at 17-17 with a 37 yard field goal from kicker Marc Liegghio.

    At that point, Western started to take control. Merchant ran in a touchdown from four yards out and the Huskies had to concede a safety due to bad field position giving the Mustangs a 26-17 lead at the end of the third quarter.

    Running back Alex Taylor ran in a major from 48 yards out to give the Mustangs a 33-17 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

    Chow stuck back for the Huskies rattling off an electrifying 71-yard touchdown run to cut Western’s lead to 33-24 with 9:56 to play in the fourth quarter. It appeared there was a chance the comeback would be on.

    The Mustangs then sealed victory on a 16-yard touchdown run by Taylor and a four-yard touchdown run by Cedric Joseph. Western piled up an unreal 319 yards rushing as a team against the Huskies.

QB Kyle Siemens is the Huskies all-time leader in completions.

    Merchant completed 17-of-28 passes for 251 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran the ball 10 times for 82 yards including his rushing major.

   The setback brought an end to the playing careers of Siemens, Chow, Koronkiewicz, Stenger, defensive back Lance Bashutsky, offensive lineman Ryan Breadner and linebackers Brendan Ernst and Brad Kotania. All eight played five seasons for the Huskies.

    Siemens 604 total career pass completions in the regular season rank first on the Huskies all-time list and his 7,932 career yards passing in the regular season rates second overall in team history. He completed 604-of-998 passes for 7,932 yards, 55 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

    Chow sits third all-time on the Huskies career regular season rushing yards list having carried the ball 385 times for 2,372 yards and 13 touchdowns.

    Those regular season accomplishments look greater now that they are backed by a long playoff run.

    U of S also loses defensive back Arnold Osam to graduation. He came to the Huskies after spending four seasons with the powerhouse Saskatoon Hilltops of the Canadian Junior Football League.

HC Scott Flory and his staff did a stellar job guiding the Huskies.

    The graduating players helped the Huskies take huge strides in a playoff run that included a 31-28 overtime victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a Canada West semifinal match on Nov. 3 in Vancouver, B.C., and a 43-18 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos in the Canada West final on Nov. 10 in Calgary, Alta.

    The Huskies were rated sixth in the final U Sports Top 10 football rankings.

    Since the Huskies hadn’t ventured this far in the post-season since falling in the Vanier Cup 13-8 at Griffiths Stadium to Laval in 2006, the excitement for U of S’s playoff run this year felt new again.

    The drought of not winning a playoff game since 2009 and the team’s eight-game post-season losing streak heading into this season’s playoffs are now a distance memory.

Guard Mattland Riley and the Huskies O-line was strong in 2018.

    The playoff run gives extra reinforcement to the organizers of team fundraisers that their efforts are worth it. The fundraisers include the annual Dogs’ Breakfast and the various coaches’ kickoff luncheons that are held during the season. Members of the Huskies Football Foundation will likely have an extra jump in their steps this off-season.

    Head coach Scott Flory and his staff did an amazing job. In his second season guiding the Huskies, Flory is showing he has a style that is a mix of star head coaches he had in his playing career including Huskies legend Brian Towriss, “The Don” in late-great Don Matthews and Marc Trestman.   
    The latter two men coached Flory in his CFL days with the Montreal Alouettes.

    From the outset, Flory created a feeling of belief inside the team that the Huskies could win and have success now. That feeling was shared inside the team, even when those on the outside didn’t think success would be possible for the Huskies.

Colton Klassen scored two touchdowns for the Huskies on Saturday.

    In Flory’s first season as head coach in 2017, the Huskies were rated fifth in the Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll and missed the playoff with a 2-6 record. Entering the 2018 campaign, the Huskies were ranked last in the Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll.

    For those that didn’t believe, the Huskies proved they are back in a big way. They can again compete with and beat the big teams in U Sports.

    The dream is alive again like in 1990, 1996 and 1998, when the Huskies won their Vanier Cup titles.
    Their best years lie ahead in the future and the graduating fifth-years left a new high bar to shoot for and exceed.

    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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Huskies’ defence bashes Bisons – U of S playoff bound

Tristian Koronkiewicz (#90) celebrates his defensive touchdown.

    Tristian Koronkiewicz lived out a defensive lineman’s dream.

    On Saturday at Griffiths Stadium, Koronkiewicz’s University of Saskatchewan Huskies jumped out to a 20-4 second-half edge on the University of Manitoba Bisons after the two sides were locked in a 4-4 tie at halftime of their U Sports regular season clash.

    With the Huskies defense having knocked Bisons starting quarterback Des Catellier out of the contest with an injury, Bisons backup quarterback Jamie Ybarra fumbled the ball away late in the fourth quarter, while under pressure.

    Koronkiewicz, who plays defensive end, scooped up the loose ball and raced 39 yards for a touchdown to put the Huskies up 27-4 with 2:33 to play in the fourth quarter. That score held up as the final outcome to the delight of most of the 2,440 spectators in attendance.

Huskies LB Thomas Whiting nails Bisons RB Jamel Lyles.

    “During an interview earlier in the week, I said no words describe a sack,” said Koronkiewicz, who is in his fifth and final year of eligibility with the Huskies. “No words describe that feeling.

    “I saw the ball on the ground, picked it up and I just gave all I got to get to that end zone.”

    Koronkiewicz’s major score provided some amusement for Huskies head coach Scott Flory.

    “The first think he (Koronkiewicz) said to me was how about that ball security,” said Flory with a chuckle. “We work on that every day one.

    “I’m really proud of Tristan (Koronkiewicz) and the way he has responded this season. He absolutely deserves all the accolades he gets for what he has done for this football team without a doubt.”

    While Koronkiewicz’s touchdown capped a solid afternoon performance by the Huskies, the victory they earned was a key one.

The Bisons defence corrals Huskie RB Tyler Chow (#5) in the early going.

    Their win combined with the fact the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds downed the University of Alberta Golden Bears 30-11 in Vancouver, B.C., also on Saturday allowed the Huskies lock up a playoff berth. U of S returns to the post-season after a one-year absence.

    The Huskies and Thunderbirds have identical 4-3 records, but the Thunderbirds hold the Canada West Conference standings tiebreaker winning the lone regular season encounter between the two sides. UBC sits second in Canada West, while the Huskies are in third place.

    The Bisons fell to 3-4 to sit fourth in Canada West, but they clinched a playoff berth with the Golden Bears loss to the Thunderbirds. 

The Huskies celebrate a safety from LB Thomas Whiting.

    The Golden Bears fell to 2-5, but with one regular season game to play, they can’t catch the Bisons, who won both regular season clashes between the two squads to gain the standings tiebreaker.

    For Koronkiewicz, the chance to return to the post-season is special.

    “It is my last kick at the can, so I want to be able to prolong my career as much as I can,” said Koronkiewicz. “We seized that opportunity today.

    “Now, I have that for sure two more weeks of football, and we just have to keep it riding.”

QB Kyle Siemens completed 22-of-26 passes for 262 yards.

    Overall, the Huskies defence had a dominate performance on Saturday limiting the Bisons to 298 yards of total offence, while piling up four sacks. Koronkiewicz along with linebacker Thomas Whiting, defensive tackle Evan Machibroda and defensive end Riley Pickett all had one sack each.

    Catellier completed 12-of-18 passes for the Bisons for only 142 yards before being knocked out of the game on Machibroda’s sack in the fourth quarter. Bisons star running back Jamel Lyles carried the ball 10 times for just 26 yards.

    Bisons backup running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette managed to cause some headaches gaining 108 yards rushing on eight carries.

    Koronkiewicz collected three individual tackles to go with his sack and scoop and score.

    “We had a fantastic game plan coming in, and we need to contain Jamel Lyles,” said Koronkiewicz. “I think we did that early.

RB Tyler Chow dives into the end zone for a touchdown.

    “That made them try to pass the ball a little more, and then we got after the quarterback and contained him. Des (Catellier) is a great athlete.

    “He flies around. He extends plays with his legs. We kept him from doing that today, and I think that helped a lot for sure.”

    The Bisons did get on the board first, when kicker Brad Mikoluff nailed an 18-yard field goal to cap an 82-yard offensive drive with 4:16 to play in the first quarter.

    Before the first quarter ended, the Huskies forced Mikoluff to concede a safety due to bad field position to cut the Bisons lead to 3-2.

    Early in the second quarter, Mikoluff scored a rouge off an 84-yard punt with a strong wind to give the Bisons a 4-2 edge.

    With 1:59 to play in the second quarter, the Huskies tied things up at 4-4, when Whiting sacked Catellier in his own end zone for a safety.

The Huskies defence stops Bisons RB Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette.

    Flory wasn’t surprised neither side was able to break out in the first half.

    “That is a good football team,” said Flory referring to the Bisons. “In the first half obviously, it was tight.

    “There was a lot of good defensive effort on both sides. We have to find a way to put the ball in the end zone. I challenged the offence a little bit at halftime, and they responded as well as the defence.”

    The Huskies went ahead with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter, when fifth-year star running back Tyler Chow took a short eight-yard pass from fifth-year star quarterback Kyle Siemens into the end zone for a major score. The drive ending in Chow’s touchdown catch covered 107 yards in seven plays and gave the Huskies an 11-4 lead.

The Huskies faithful get into singing “Sweet Caroline.”

    Early in the fourth quarter, Huskies star kicker Sean Stenger missed a 30-yard field goal, but the hosts scored a rouge off that miss to go up 12-4.

    U of S proceeded to put together another long scoring drive that covered 97 yards in nine plays and was capped by a Chow touchdown run from three yards out to give the Huskies a 19-4 advantage.

    Chow ran the ball 17 times for 82 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards to go with his two major scores.

    “I couldn’t have done it without the O-line,” said Chow. “They’ve been playing stellar all year.

“I have to thank them. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.”

    Stenger scored another rouge on the ensuing kickoff following Chow’s touchdown run to put the Huskies up 20-4.

Joseph Trumpy (#82) secures a catch for the Huskies.

    That set the stage for Koronkiewicz to cap the win with his defensive touchdown.

Siemens completed 22-of-26 passes for 262 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He ran the ball six times for a team high 84 yards.

    Before Saturday’s game, the Huskies had lost their previous two games and Siemens was pulled in the squad’s last outing, which was a 20-10 setback to the Thunderbirds on Oct. 12 in Vancouver. 
    Siemens said it was big for the Huskies to end their two-game skid.

    “We have a great group of guys,” said Siemens. “Adversity has hit us a lot throughout this season.

Colton Klassen (#7) looks to turn upfield for the Huskies.

    “We’ve responded well every single time. I’m pretty proud of that and pretty proud of the guys.”
    The Huskies close the regular season this coming Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the University of Regina Rams (1-6) at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium. 

    The Rams had to forfeit three wins this season due to using an ineligible player.

    U of S can finish second in Canada West and host a conference semifinal playoff game with a win over the Rams combined with a Thunderbirds loss to the Bisons, when those two teams meet this coming Saturday in Winnipeg, Man.

    Chow said his Huskies just have to worry about their next task at hand in playing the Rams.

The Huskies and Bisons shake hands after Saturday’s game.

    “We are not going to take them lightly,” said Chow. “The Rams are a great team, and we just have to stay focused.”

    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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Huskies hold off Rams rally on end zone pick by Lewis

Machart grinds out 121 yards on the ground for U of S

Bowan Lewis, left, holds up the game-saving interception ball.

    Bowan Lewis came up golden when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies desperately needed a play.

    On Friday night at Griffiths Stadium, the Huskies jumped out to a comfortable 30-3 lead in the third quarter of a U Sports regular season clash over their provincial rivals the University of Regina Rams only to see that edge shrink to 30-20 with 11:16 to play in the fourth quarter.

    The Huskies fumbled the ball away on their ensuing offensive series after their lead dwindled to 10 points.

    The Rams proceeded to drive down to the Huskies seven yard line for a first and goal opportunity and appeared poised for another score.

    Rams star quarterback Noah Picton fired a pass into the end zone only to see the ball deflect off the intended receiver into the hands of Lewis with 7:06 to play in the fourth quarter.

Adam Machart piled up 121 yards rushing for the Huskies.

    With that opportune interception, the third-year defensive back swung the momentum back on the Huskies side where it stayed.

    The ensuing Huskies drive ran 4:31 off the clock and resulted in a 26-yard field goal by star kicker Sean Stenger to cap a 33-20 victory before 2,715 spectators.

    The win allows the Huskies, who were rated ninth in the U Sports top 10 rankings, to sit alone in second place in the Canada West Conference with a 3-1 record. The Rams, who were rated eighth in the U Sports top 10 rankings, fall to 2-2 to sit in a tie with the University of Manitoba Bisons for the third and fourth positions in Canada West.

    The Huskies have to be given full marks for not losing their cool, when it seemed everything was going the Rams way.

    When Rams standout running back Kyle Borsa dashed home on a 27-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to cut the U of S lead to 10 points, the Huskies appeared to tighten up a little bit.

Kyle Borsa (#22) scored two touchdowns for the Rams.

    After Rams linebacker Danny Nesbitt recovered a Huskies fumble at the U of R’s 37 yard line, it appeared everything was unraveling for the host side.

    Lewis’s interception ensured the Rams surge came to an end.

    A composed Huskies offence guided by star quarterback Kyle Siemens went to work on a clock eating drive that covered 72 yards in eight plays resulting in Stenger’s short field goal.

    U of S’s defence rose to the occasion on the Rams next offensive series. The Rams gambled on a third-and-one at their own 48 yard line and Picton’s quarterback sneak was stuffed by the Huskies.

    Overall, the Huskies received key contributions from a number of different players. Running back Adam Machart, who helped the Saskatoon Hilltops win CJFL titles the past three seasons, had his best game with the Huskies carrying the ball 16 times for 121 yards and catching four passes for 19 yards.

Kyle Siemens threw three touchdown passes for the Huskies.

    Siemens had a solid night completing 23-of-33 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Running back Colton Klassen hauled in six of Siemens passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

    Rookie receiver Jesse Kuntz, who previously played for the CJFL’s Calgary Colts, hauled in seven passes for 96 yards and scored one touchdown.

    The Huskies received a pair of sacks from defensive end Tristian Koronkiewicz and single sacks from Riley Pickett, Evan Machibroda and Nathan Cherry.

    Defensive back Josh Hagerty had an end zone interception for the Huskies on the Rams first offensive series of the contest.

    Third-year defensive back Jacob Solie intercepted a tipped pass for the Huskies and ran it back 64 yards for a touchdown with 42.7 seconds to play in the second quarter. Solie’s major gave the Huskies a 21-3 lead at halftime.

    Stud linebacker Ben Whiting topped the Huskies with nine solo tackles.

Rams QB Noah Picton is chased by Huskies DE Riley Pickett.

    With how the game played out, one almost forgets the Rams actually held a 3-0 lead, when rookie kicker Aldo Galvan hit an 11-yard field with 3:08 to play in the first quarter.

    The first quarter ended with Siemens hitting Klassen with a 14-yard touchdown pass to start a run where the Huskies scored 30 straight point. The surge included the Huskies causing the Rams to concede a safety early in the third quarter.

    Picton completed 21-of-34 passes for 271 yards, but his three interceptions proved costly.

Borsa ran the ball 16 times for 96 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Rams. U of R made some suspect play calls in the red zone and likely could have given more touches to Borsa in that area of the field.

    Rams slotback Kyle Moortgat hauled in nine passes for 136 yards on the night.

    Galvan had a 17-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter to go with his boot in the first quarter.

    The win will likely give the Huskies, who play three of their final four regular season games on the road, a big shot in the arm. U of S likely needs to win just one more contest to qualify for the playoffs.

Huskies DB Jacob Solie (#6) gets set to intercept a tipped pass.

    The Huskies return to action on Sept. 29, when they travel to Calgary, Alta., to face the University of Calgary Dinos.

    The Rams will try to get back on track in their next game on Sept. 29, when they travel to Winnipeg, Man., to face the Bisons in what will be a key contest for both sides.

    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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