Huskies, Bisons take long road to Hardy Cup

Neither Scott Flory nor Brian Dobie knew when they would lead their teams on to the field to play for a championship.

With COVID-19 forcing the cancellation of last year’s Canada West season, the respective head coaches for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Manitoba Bisons football teams were given extra time to ponder, meet and practise for football’s eventual return.

“We were excited to come in here for that exhibition game,” Dobie said. “Now we’re not happy to have a game. That’s gone. We’re here to compete and to win. Both teams. That’s how we feel.”

The two best teams from the Canada West regular season are set to meet in the 84th edition of the Hardy Cup on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Griffiths Stadium.

The Bisons are looking for the program’s first Hardy Cup title since 2014. Saskatchewan is hosting its first Hardy Cup since 2009 and is looking for its first win since 2018.

While Saturday’s matchup will go down in the record books as the 2021 championship game, this game is about the two years of effort it took to get back to playing meaningful November football.

“Players have trained in their basements and garages. For those kids, this is an unbelievably special time,” Dobie added.

Flory said the pandemic pause allowed his whole program to reflect and get back to its core values.

“At some point we knew it was going to end,” Flory said of the pandemic stopping all team-related activities. “I look back to the vision statement that got me hired. We want to be the premier institution in the country and that’s what we strive for.”

Flory and his team will get a chance to work towards that goal against a Manitoba team both coaches agree is similar to the Huskies.

“Fearless. That’s what we see on tape. They don’t blink (and) don’t bat an eye at things they see out there,” Flory added.

What will be different than the Oct. 30 meeting when the Huskies beat the Bisons 41-12 is the health of both sides. Key players out with injuries then are back in the lineup now.

Jackson Tachinski, the dual-threat quarterback who led the Bisons all season after Des Catellier suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, is looking to open up the Huskies’ defence after missing the previous matchup.

Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus will have his full complement of receivers and running backs that ran over the competition when they were healthy this season.

Nyhus led the conference with 16 touchdown passes, throwing a combined 10 of them to Colton Klassen and Sam Baker. Both figure to be key factors on Saturday, as does the formidable running back duo of Adam Ewanchyna and Adam Machart.

Even though he has yet to lose as a starting quarterback, Nyhus said the team’s 11-game unbeaten streak at home won’t amount to much come Saturday afternoon.

“It’s so hard to get to the Hardy Cup every single year,” he said. “I’m just excited to play.”

There will be 31 players from the Huskies’ 2018 Hardy Cup-winning team on the roster Saturday.

Dobie called the Huskies’ offensive line one of the best in the country, while also calling his defensive line one of the best in the country. As usual in football, players along the line of scrimmage could be the key to controlling the game.

“I think that part’s going to be the most interesting matchup,” he said.

While Flory and Nyhus are happy to be home and comfortable, Flory said home-field advantage disappears when a trophy is on the line.

“I’ve got a lot of scars. I lost a Grey Cup 2008 at home. None of that stuff guarantees you anything,” Flory said.

So what’s the biggest challenge?

“These guys for three hours tomorrow,” Flory said of the Bisons.  “We’ve got to be at our best. I know we’re going to get their best and I know they’re going to get our best.”

The winner will advance to the Uteck Bowl, which serves as a national semifinal, in Montreal against the Montreal Carabins on Nov. 27.