CALGARY –  Defence was the story in the 83rd Hardy Cup Saturday at McMahon Stadium as both the Saskatchewan Huskies and Calgary Dinos played stifling defence before the Dinos pulled away late for a 29-4 victory.
 
It's the ninth conference title in the last dozen years for the Dinos, and avenges the Huskies' upset win on the same field in 2018.
 
Calgary's defence, which has been the driving force for this team all season, was outstanding again, giving up just four points, forcing two turnovers, as well as stopping Saskatchewan on both their third down attempts.
  
Both defences came to play in the first half, as after two quarters of football the scoreboard read 4-1 for the Dinos.
 
The offences had their opportunities in the first half, with both offences being inside the opposing teams five-yard line, and coming away with zero points. For Calgary, a fumble by Calgary's short-yardage quarterback Josiah Joseph on the Huskies' one-yard line took almost sure points off the board, while Saskatchewan gambled at the end of the half, electing to go for the score from the two-yard line and seeing the pass attempt sail incomplete.
 
The Dinos finally put the ball in the end zone 5:20 into the third as Adam Sinagra would stand in, took a hit, and delivered his best throw of the game for a 30-yard touchdown strike to Tyson Philpot. It was also the last throw of the day for Sinagra, who was shaken up on the play after a hard hit from Clovis Lumeka and gave way to Josiah Joseph.
 
After David Solie drilled a field goal to make it a one score game, Joseph led a 10-play 75-yard drive that he finished off himself with a one-yard plunge.
 
A Niko DiFonte 37-yard field goal made it a three-possession game, and the Dinos added another Joseph touchdown for good measure in the dying seconds of the game to take the 29-4 lead.
 
Fighting through an injury Saskatchewan star running back Adam Machart had another productive day with 16 carries for 122 yards. Jesse Kuntz snagged six catches for 125 yards while Mason Nyhus finished 18-29 for 240 yards.
 
The Dinos outrushed the Huskies 168 to 132 on the day. It was a team effort for the Dinos, as Robinson Rodrigues carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards, while Sinagra added 53 yards of his own, and Joseph had 27.
 
Defensively Nicholas Dheilly was a monster for Saskatchewan, finishing with a sack, an interception and two tackles.
  
The loss brings an end to an outstanding season for the Huskies who made their way back to the Hardy Cup title game for the second year in a row and were the recipients of five of seven Canada West major awards.