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| Colton Klassen has been a key playmaker for the Huskies. |
On Friday night at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Huskies
were stuck in first gear trailing the host University of Regina Rams 7-3 after
the first quarter in a U Sports regular season clash. At that point, the game’s
completion changed in lightning fashion due to Klassen.
Facing a second and seven at their own 40 yard line, Huskies
quarterback Kyle Siemens connected with Klassen on a 70-yard pass and run
touchdown to put the visitors up 10-7. That sparked a surge where the Huskies
outscored the Rams 24-7 in the frame to go ahead 27-14 at halftime.
U of S cruised from that point posting a lopsided 57-14
victory. The win allowed the Huskies to finish the regular season with a 5-3
record, and they will place no lower than third in the Canada West Conference.
The Dogs could finish second in Canada West and host a
conference semifinal playoff game on Nov. 3, if the University of British
Columbia Thunderbirds (4-3) fall to the University of Manitoba Bisons (3-4) on
Saturday in Winnipeg, Man. The Thunderbirds hold the standings tiebreaker with
the Huskies winning the only head-to-head contest between the two sides 20-10
on Oct. 12 in Vancouver, B.C.
The Rams fell to 1-7 and finished last in the six-team
Canada West Conference. U of R was forced to forfeit three wins this season for
using an ineligible player.
Klassen, who is a
third-year running back, has been a sparkplug for the Huskies this season. In
Friday’s win over the Rams, he led the Huskies with 121 yards receiving on five
catches, which included his 70-yard touchdown reception. The graduate of
Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team also ran the ball
five times for 21 yards.
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| Colton Klassen led the Huskies with eight TD catches. |
Coming into the current campaign, Klassen found himself in a
logjam at the running back position with the Huskies. Rugged star fifth-year tailback
Tyler Chow was back to full health after missing half of the Huskies games last
season due to injury and being limited in the other half he appeared in.
The Huskies landed running back Adam Machart as an
off-season recruit from the Saskatoon Hilltops. Machart had an outstanding 2017
campaign with the Hilltops and was a member of their CJFL championship teams in
each of the past three years.
In Klassen, Chow and Machart, the Huskies had three players
who could all make plays, when they were on the field. Huskies head coach and
offensive coordinator Scott Flory and his staff have to be commended for
finding a way to give that trio significant field time.
For Klassen, that meant sliding into the role of receiver, which
he filled professionally. His pass catching abilities became that much more
important, when the Huskies lost standout receiver Sam Baker due to injury in a
48-46 victory over the Bisons on Sept. 7 in Winnipeg.
Klassen, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 200 pounds, ended up
leading the Huskies with 676 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions all
coming on 38 catches. He wasn’t just a fill in at receiver. He became a go-to
target who ensured the Huskies passing attack didn’t drop off.
While being mainly a pass catcher, Klassen did chip in with
the running game carrying the ball 14 times for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Klassen was a key contributor in helping the Huskies return
to the post-season after one-year absence. Without the numbers he put up as a
receiver, the Huskies easily could have finished further down the Canada West
standings.
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| Kyle Siemens threw four TD passes for the Huskies on Friday night. |
The Rams went ahead 7-3 on a three yard touchdown run by
star fifth-year tailback Atlee Simon before the first quarter expired.
That set the stage for the Huskies to go ahead 10-7 on
Klassen’s 70-yard touchdown reception. Chow followed that score up with a 34-yard
touchdown run to give the Huskies a 17-7 edge.
The Rams cut the gap to 17-14 on a 65 yard touchdown run
from Kyle Borsa.
In the final 65 seconds of the first half, the Huskies
surged ahead 27-14 on a 13 yard field goal from Stenger and a 34-yard touchdown
reception from Machart.
Early in the third quarter, the Rams conceded a safety to
put the Huskies up 29-14. Siemens proceeded to throw respective touchdown
passes of eight and 18 yards to Joseph Trumpy and Jesse Kuntz to give the
visitors a 43-14 lead.
Backup quarterback Mason Nyhus entered the contest in the
fourth quarter and hit receiver Kyle Newton with a four-yard touchdown pass.
Machart rounded out the scoring with a four-yard touchdown
run.
Siemens completed 21-of-31 passes for 321 yards, four
touchdowns and one interception. Nyhus hit on 8-of-10 pass attempts for 104 yards,
one touchdown and no interceptions.
Chow had 99 yards rushing on 14 carries to go with his major
score on the ground, and Machart 86 yards rushing on 15 carries to go with his
touchdown run.
Kuntz hauled in seven passes for 106 yards to go with his
receiving touchdown.
Defensive ends Riley Pickett and Tristian Koronkiewicz each
had a sack for the Huskies.
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| Adam Machart scored two TDs for the Huskies on Friday night. |
Linebacker Cole Benkic, who is a Hilltops alum, led the Rams
with 8.5 tackles, while U of R defensive lineman Ryan Warner had a sack.
While the Rams season comes to an end, the Huskies play a
short waiting game to see where they will begin their venture through the 2018
U Sports playoffs.
If U of S makes any
noise in the post-season, it is a safe bet to expect Klassen will play a key
part in creating that noise.
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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