Huskies blow away Rams during gusty game for third-straight victory

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina Rams weren’t just battling each other Saturday at Griffiths Stadium.

The wind put up a good fight too.

Saskatchewan escaped with a 28-17 win in a game filled with sights only provided by a stiff prairie breeze. Ten yard punts, wayward throws and punishing running games wearing down defences dominated the play.

Rams head coach Mark McConkey knew what his team was in for. They just weren’t able to overcome the challenges the wind presented.

“It was a bad weather game in Saskatchewan, so it was a little more on the ground game, which is what we’re not used to,” he said. “We just lost that battle up front, especially on offence. We just weren’t able to run the ball very effectively and when we needed to throw we just didn’t make the throws or we had dropped passes. It seemed to be one thing on every play.”

Huskies head coach Scott Flory strategized all week to use the forecast to his advantage when possible.

“It was a factor, even just throwing the ball with or against it. It created it’s own set of challenges,” Flory said.

“There’s a lot of ways to win a football game.”

Saskatchewan was able to win the coin toss and chose a side of the field rather than choosing to receive the ball first. That decision had the wind at the team’s back for the second and fourth quarters, which ultimately led to the Huskies dominating possession and the scoreboard in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Huskies managed to compile 395 total yards compared to Regina’s 126 yards. However, some timely plays by the Rams kept them within striking distance most of the afternoon.

Regina was first on the scoreboard with a field goal before Saskatchewan used a rouge and a safety to tie the game. Then Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus hit Colton Klassen for a 27-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the half.

Huskies punter David Solie had a punt blocked in his own end by Chopper Hippe, which was then scooped up by Chopper Hippe the touchdown and a 10-10 tie.

That play, some mishandled punts and untimely penalties did not sit well with Flory after the game.

“(If) we eliminate those things, we get a chance to win continue to win football games and put ourselves in a better position to win than we did today,” Flory said. “It’s frustrating because again, those are self-inflicted things.”

Nyhus was able to power through a sluggish first half to throw a six-yard touchdown strike to Klassen once again and then finished his day off with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sam Baker.

“He’s been dialed in. That’s what you want to see out of a quarterback is him just seeing things, seeing down the whole field,” Flory said of his quarterback.

Nyhus finished the game with 22 completions on 32 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. All his praise went towards his receivers and their ability to gain yards after the catch, and even though it didn’t show on the box score, he admitted the wind affected his game.

“Everyone could see it, when you’re going against the wind it was scrap, claw, run the football and just try to get out of the quarter,” Nyhus, a Regina-native said after the game.

Not helping matters for the Rams was playing without starting quarterback Josh Donnelly who was injured last week. Sawyer Buettner got the start but was unable to do much, completing eight of 18 passes for 54 yards before he was injured and taken to hospital for a suspected head injury.

Third-string quarterback Bryden O’Flaherty threw one touchdown pass to D’sean Mimbs to tie the game at 17-17 in the fourth quarter, but struggled moving the ball into the stiff wind for the rest of the game.

Kyle Borsa finished the game as Regina’s leading performer, running for 36 yards and adding five catches for 42 yards, but was often in and out of the game with injuries throughout.

Klassen finished with eight catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way for the Huskies.

The rest of the west

Elsewhere in the Canada West, The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds used a fourth quarter comeback for the second week in a row to beat the University of Manitoba Bisons 26-24 Saturday. It was the first defeat of the season for the Bisons (3-1), who will face the Huskies (3-1) in Winnipeg next week with first place in the conference on the line.

“It’s going to be a good game,” Klassen said. “I’m excited to watch the film on them. Every week is a playoff game.”

Regina is now last in the conference with a 1-3 record following the loss. The Rams head to Edmonton next week to play the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

The Golden Bears and the University of Calgary Dinos finish off week four in the Canada West with a Sunday kickoff at McMahon Stadium.