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| Josiah Joseph, left, ran in two touchdowns for the Dinos. |
One turning
point was likely the moment that did in the Huskies in the Canada West
Championship game – the Hardy Cup – on Saturday in Calgary, Alta.
The
Huskies, who came into the game as the defending Hardy Cup champions, found
themselves behind the host University of Calgary Dinos 4-1 with one second
remaining in the first half. The visitors faced a third and goal from the Dinos
two yard line.
In what had
been a haphazard first half that included both sides committing key turnovers,
the Huskies could have hit a chip shot field goal and gone in at halftime even
up at 4-4 despite all the miscues.
Instead,
the Huskies elected to gamble and go for a touchdown and the lead. Quarterback
Mason Nyhus threw a pass into the end zone attended for receiver Sam Baker but
the pass fell incomplete as a penalty flag flew.
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| Mason Nyhus passed for 240 yards on Saturday for the Huskies. |
From that
point, it felt like the Huskies were trying to chase the contest for the whole
second half.
Thanks to
being behind, the Huskies elected to receive the second half kickoff as the spectre
of snowy conditions hung over the game. The Dinos elected to get the wind
advantage for the fourth quarter, but before that frame came around, the host
side’s offence found traction.
With 9:40
remaining in the fourth quarter, Dinos star quarterback Adam Sinagra hit
second-year receiver Tyson Philpot with a 30-yard touchdown pass to complete a
96-yard scoring drive giving the host an 11-1 advantage.
Sinagra was
injured on that scoring play, but it felt like the Huskies were sinking in
quick sand.
Dinos
standout kicker Niko DiFonte kicked a single on the ensuing kickoff to put the
Dinos up 12-1.
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| Jesse Kuntz caught six passes for 125 yards for the Huskies. |
U of C will
keep pursuing an elusive U Sports title that keeps escaping its grasp gunning
to make the Vanier Cup and win it. The Dinos last won the Vanier Cup back in
1995.
The Dinos,
who improved to 8-2 overall, will first host a U Sports semifinal in the
Mitchell Bowl on Saturday, November 16, against the Ontario University Athletics
champion University of McMaster Marauders (8-2 overall).
The
Marauders captured the OUA title on Saturday traveling to London, Ont., and
upsetting the host University of Western Ontario Mustangs 29-15. The Mustangs
were undefeated heading into Saturday’s action, but finished the 2019 U Sports campaign
with a 9-1 overall mark.
In Canada
West, the Huskies finished with a 6-4 overall record that included posting a
5-3 mark during the regular season.
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| Adam Machart ran the ball 16 times for 112 yards on Saturday. |
They exited
the first quarter trailing the Dinos 2-0 after conceding a safety, when
kicker/punter David Solie had to boot the ball through his own end zone after a
bad snap.
With 10:07
remaining in the second quarter, the Huskies had to concede another safety to
fall back 4-0, when Nyhus had to boot the ball through the end zone after an
errant shotgun snap on offence.
The Huskies
got on the scoreboard with 5:20 remaining on the second quarter on a missed
field goal single from 29-yards out by Solie, who was kicking into the wind.
The single cut the Dinos edge to 4-1.
That set
the stage for the dramatics right before halftime. At halftime, the Huskies had
outgained the Dinos in gross offence 235 to 192.
After the
Dinos assumed their 12-1 lead, Solie hit a field goal from 28-yards out with
4:07 remaining in the third quarter to cut the U of C edge to 12-4. That was as
close as the Huskies would get.
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| Adam Sinagra, left, threw the Dinos only TD pass on Saturday. |
DiFonte hit
a field goal from 37 yards out and Joseph ran in another major from a yard out
with seven seconds remaining in the frame to round out the scoring for the Dinos.
Nyhus
completed 18-of-29 passes for 240 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
Calgary product Jesse Kuntz led the Huskies in receiving hauling in six passes
for 125 yards.
Star
running back Adam Machart carried the ball 16 times for 112 yards to top the
Huskies in rushing. He also caught seven passes for 43 yards.
Sinagra
connected on 11-of-17 passes for 197 yards for one touchdown and one
interception. He ran the ball six times for 50 yards.
Joseph hit
on 9-of-10 passes for 95 yards and ran the ball eight times for 26 yards to go
with his two scores on the ground.
 |
| Ben Whiting had nine total tackles for the Huskies. |
Fifth-year
linebacker Ben Whiting led the Huskies with nine total tackles and one sack.
Star rookie linebacker Ramsey Derbas was second on the team with seven tackles.
Defensive
end Nicholas Dheilly had a sack and an interception, while defensive end Nathan
Cherry had a single sack.
Linebacker
Grant McDonald led the Dinos with 11 total tackles, and he had one sack. Max
Baatar and Tyrese Best had single sacks for the Dinos, while Charlie Moore had
an interception.
Saturday’s
post-season loss brought an end to the careers of Huskies fifth-year players in
Whiting, Payton Hall, Eric Thakurdeen, Evan Machibroda, Andrew Serke and Tanner
Secord.
A year ago,
those six helped the Huskies win their first playoff game since 2009 and Canada
West title since 2006. The Huskies downed the Dinos 43-18 in last year’s Canada
West championship game in Calgary.
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| Robinson Rodrigues carried the ball 18 times for 92 yards for the Dinos. |
The Huskies
had lost eight straight U Sports post-season games heading into the 2018
playoffs. That included missing the playoffs entirely in 2017.
During the
2018 and 2019 campaigns, the Huskies have won three post-season games.
At the
moment, the Dinos are still the team that have a habit of consistently winning conference
titles and making long post-season runs.
The Huskies
are a step closer to becoming a squad that could potentially makes those runs
on a consistent basis.
 |
| The Huskies saw their 2019 campaign end against the Dinos on Saturday. |
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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