Huskies gain a measure of respect in loss to Dinos

DB Clovis Lumeka (#18) defends a pass for the Huskies.

    In defeat, all the University of Saskatchewan Huskies had to do was look at the University of Calgary Dinos to know they made a mark.

    Going into Friday’s U Sports regular season football tilt at Griffiths Stadium, the Huskies and Dinos were sporting identical 2-0 records. 

    There was a chance that this could have been the game where the Dinos, who have won eight of the last 10 Canada Conference championships, brought the Huskies down to earth. U of S missed the post-season a year ago with a 2-6 mark.

    The Dinos won the game 37-28 before 5,114 spectators, but they didn’t look like victor after the contest. They departed the field looking a bit sombre as opposed to looking quietly satisfied in posting another victory in a match they were favoured to win.

QB Adam Sinagra threw for 569 yards for the Dinos on Friday.

    Dinos star quarterback Adam Sinagra had an insane great night completing 32-of-40 passes for 569 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Even with those spectacular numbers, the Dinos seemed to know they had hiccups on their side and could have been beaten had the Huskies made a couple of big plays.

    On a night where the Huskies honoured their retired Canadian Football Hall of Fame head coach Brian Towriss and announced the street that runs past Griffith Stadium will now be known as “Brian Towriss Crescent,” the hosts came out with good jump in their annual homecoming game.

    The Dogs had the first possession of the game and drove 59 yards in four plays and capped the march with a seven-yard touchdown reception by running back Colton Klassen.

    In powerhouse form, the Dinos responded with three major scores of their own to go ahead 21-7. U of C running back Jeshrun Antwi ran in a major score from 69 yards out and receivers Karl Hunter and Jalen Philpot hauled in respect touchdown catches from nine and 12 yards out.

Colton Klassen muscles his way into the end zone for a Huskies touchdown.

    At that point, the Dinos appeared to get ahead of themselves in trying to manufacture a blowout. They were stopped on a third-and-one gamble from the Huskies 48 yard line and a third and five fake punt pass at the Huskies 51 yard line.

    Those turnovers on downs resulted in two field goals by Huskies star kicker Sean Stenger, which cut the Dinos edge to 21-13 at halftime. Had the Huskies manufactured a touchdown on one of those chances, they would have really tightened things up on the night.

    Stenger kicked a third field goal on the Huskies first possession of the second half to further trim the Dinos edge to 21-16.

    The Dinos seemed to restore order with a field goal from star kicker Niko DiFonte and a 50-yard touchdown reception for Philpot to go up 31-16 at the end of the third quarter.

Jalen Philpot goes into the end zone for a Dinos major score.

    Philpot caught eight passes for 135 yards to go along with his two major scores.

    With 11:20 to play in the fourth quarter, DiFonte hit another field goal to put the Dinos up 34-16, but the Huskies refused to go away.

    On the second play on their ensuing offensive possession, Huskies fifth-year quarterback Kyle Siemens hit Klassen with a 72 yard touchdown pass to cut the Dinos edge to 34-23. Klassen caught seven passes for 134 yards to go with his two major scores through the air and ran the ball once for 11 yards.

    U of C’s edge shrank to 34-25 after conceding a safety due to bad field position with 9:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. A DiFonte 42-yard field goal with 2:10 to play in the fourth put the Dinos up 37-25 and pretty much sealed the victory.

The Huskies kick cover unit wraps up Dinos returner Brycen Mayoh (#84).

    On the final play of the contest, Stenger hit a 27-yard field goal to ensure the Huskies lost by just nine points. That play might be an important one in the future, if the Huskies win the Sept. 29 encounter between these two sides in Calgary and the points scored in the two head-to-head clashes possibly becomes a regular season standings tiebreaker.

    With Friday’s game in the books, the Dinos remain the only undefeated team in Canada West with a 3-0 record, while the Huskies fall to 2-1 to sit in a tie for second in the conference with the University of Regina Rams (2-1).

    Of course when the Huskies look at the video of Friday’s game with the Dinos, they will see missed plays and mistakes they need to correct going forward.

    Siemens was unable to connect on at least three deep passes that could have potentially gone for touchdowns due to timing issues with the intended receivers.

Dinos pass rushers close in on Huskies QB Kyle Siemens, right.

    Still, the Huskies proved they won’t be pushovers. They are also playing with house money, because they were listed last in the Canada West Conference pre-season coaches’ poll.

    All they can do is try to keep creating a new excitement around the team. The Huskies next opportunity to do just that occurs this coming Friday, when they host the Rams at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

    NOTE – The Huskies were without head coach Scott Flory for Friday’s game. Flory was in Hamilton, Ont., being inducted in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for his storied CFL career as an offensive lineman with the Montreal Alouettes that spanned 15 seasons from 1999 to 2013.

What a great night to recognize two great @skhuskies coaches. Congratulations BT and Scott! pic.twitter.com/g34ip8lITB

— Usask President (@UsaskPresOffice) September 15, 2018

    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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"Dinos jinx" goes on for Huskies

U of Calgary gets 10^th straight win over U of Saskatchewan

Niko DiFonte (#45) boots the winning field goal for the Dinos.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies just can’t seem to get a Dinos sized load off their collective backs.

    For a short time in Friday night’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport football encounter at Griffith’s Stadium in Saskatoon, the host Huskies appeared poised to earn their first victory against the University of Calgary Dinos in six years. The Dinos had other ideas.

    With 2:04 to play in the fourth quarter, the Huskies led 19-17 and had the Dinos pinned at their own six yard line. To make matters worse for the visitors, they had to drive into a fairly stiff breeze.

    Those obstacles didn’t seem to matter to fifth-year Dinos quarterback Jimmy Underdahl. Underdahl drove his team 101 yards in nine plays to put U of C in range for a 10-yard chip shot field goal. 

    Kicker Niko DiFonte booted home the winning points with 40.8 seconds remaining on the clock to ultimately give the Dinos a 20-19 victory before a packed house of 7,938 spectators. The win allowed U of C to sit alone in first place in the Canada West Conference with a 3-0 mark, while U of S falls to 2-1.

Quentin Chown (#31) pushes the Dinos into range for a winning field goal.

    Including action in the regular season and playoffs, the Dinos have won 10 straight head-to-head meetings with the Huskies. The Huskies last win over the Dinos came back on Oct. 15, 2010, when U of S claimed a 36-17 decision at Griffiths Stadium.

    Going into Friday’s battle, it seemed like the Huskies, who were rated 10^th in the CIS top ten rankings, were due to break the jinx.

    Before Friday’s contest, the last time these two teams met was in a Canada West quarter-final playoff match last year. The Huskies led that encounter 22-19 early in the fourth quarter only to fall 37-29.

    During the off-season, the Huskies strengthened their depth landing some key recruits from the Saskatoon Hilltops 2015 Canadian Junior Football League championship team. It was hoped the additions of those recruits would get the Huskies over a few humps, which included ending the head-to-head skid with the Dinos, who are rated second in the CIS rankings.

Jimmy Underdahl (#16) fires a pass downfield for the Dinos.

    The visitors got out of the gates with a fast start on Friday going up 10-0 in the first quarter thanks to 22-yard field goal by DiFonte and a 12-yard touchdown run by running back Quentin Chown.

U of S responded rolling off 16 straight points in the second quarter to hold a 16-10 edge at halftime.  
    Huskies quarterback Kyle Siemens fired a 13-yard touchdown strike to Hilltops grad Chad Braun and an eight-yard scoring toss to Samuel Baker. U of S kicker Sean Stenger contributed singles from a missed field goal and a kickoff rouge to round out the Huskies second quarter surge.

    It also appeared luck was going to shine the Huskies way too. The Dinos first possession of the second half ended when DiFonte nailed the right upright on a 40-yard field goal attempt preventing the visitors from cutting into the Huskies lead.

    After a scoreless third quarter, the Dinos went in front 17-16, when Chown ran in a four-yard major score for his second rushing touchdown of the day with 9:16 to play in the fourth quarter.

Chad Braun hauls in a touchdown catch for the Huskies.

    U of S responded on its next series when a five play 78 yard drive culminated with a 20-yard field goal by Stenger to give the hosts a 19-17 edge. That set the stage for the dramatics on Dinos scoring drive late in the frame.

    After the Dinos went ahead 20-19, the Huskies had a chance to get in range for the winning field goal with the wind at their backs, but the offence turned the ball over on downs after three plays.

    Underdahl had a solid night completing 29-of-43 passes for 383 yards. He didn’t have any touchdown passes, but he also didn’t have any interceptions.

    Siemens was sound too connecting on 20-of-35 attempts for 283 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Hilltops grad Matt Kozun had a pair of sacks being named the Huskies player of the game.

Huskies LB Brad Kotania (#40) nails Dinos SB Austen Hartley.

    When the dust settled, the difference in Friday’s game was the fact the Dinos were able to put together that long drive late in the fourth quarter to get in range for the winning kick. The Huskies played valiantly in the setback. With that said, it was still agonizing for the Huskies to drop their 10^th straight to U of C.

    The only thing the Huskies can do now is wait for their next opportunity to break the “Dinos jinx.” The two teams meet again on Oct. 22 in Calgary.

    Before contest comes around, both teams will be focuses on their respective upcoming schedules. The Huskies return to action on Sept. 24, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the U of Manitoba Bisons. The Dinos remain on the road and travel to Regina this coming Friday to take on the U of Regina Rams.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass on about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.