U of S advances to Vanier Cup for second
straight year
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| Ryker Frank had 134 yards rushing for the Huskies on Saturday. |
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 201st 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.
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| Daniel Perry had a 26-yard TD catch for the Huskies. |
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.
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| Mason Nyhus passed for 327 yards for the Huskies on Saturday. |
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.
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| Charlie Ringland (#3) had a sack for the Huskies on Saturday. |
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
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