WINNIPEG – The road to the 2021 Hardy Cup will go through Griffiths Stadium. The No. 5 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies won their fourth straight game on Saturday to secure Canada West's top seed, 41-12 over the No. 6 ranked Manitoba Bisons.
In front of 710 fans at IG Field, the Huskies' offence was kept silent through most of the first half, as the teams traded field goals until the waning moments before halftime. A touchdown pass from Mason Nyhus to Everett Iverson, though, set off an avalanche of scoring that carried the Huskies all the way through the third quarter.
Scoring 23 unanswered points, Saskatchewan took a small 6-3 lead and ballooned it to 29-3 before the six-minute mark of the third quarter. The Bisons would get a major before the quarter was out — a pass and catch from Sawyer Thiessen to Gavin Cobb — but there was no late rally for Manitoba on this afternoon.
The loss was Manitoba's first at IG Field in over three years, with the last one coming on October 27, 2018 to UBC — snapping a home win streak of six games.
"It was a very tough game," said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie. "It was a combination of a very good team in Saskatchewan doing most of the right things throughout the game and forcing a Manitoba team to become undisciplined, not just in penalties but in several ways. They frustrated us and we bent. That's a very well-coached team over there and we did not rise to the bar that they set."
The win moves the Huskies to 4-1 on the season and secures them the top seed in Canada West. Despite the loss, the Bisons did clinch a playoff spot based on other Saturday results.
And, with UBC also losing today, the 3-2 Bisons can still secure the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game with a win over Regina next week.
Saturday's game started slow for both offences, as the teams took time to settle into windy, cool conditions in Winnipeg. The Huskies were the first to get momentum in the first quarter, marching the ball down the field for a 13-play, 74-yard drive that ate up almost seven minutes of clock. Manitoba's defence made a big play to keep them out of the endzone, though, as linebacker Nick Thomas made an open field tackle on Adam Machart to force a Huskies field goal.
That story repeated itself early in the second, when a Huskies drive nearly four minutes long stalled thanks to a strong Bisons tackle — this time by Brody Williams in the open field on Josh Ewanchyna. Saskatchewan kicker David Solie was once again up to the task, though, as he nailed a 39-yarder to put the visiting side up 6-0.
Starting a fourth-string quarterback in true freshman Sawyer Thiessen, it wasn't surprising to see the Bisons offence stuttering at the start of the game. They finally got into gear, though, on their second drive of the second quarter, as Thiessen completed three straight passes to his receiving corps to win back field position. Though the Herd would miss a 45-yard field goal attempt, it showed the promise of their offence against a veteran Huskies defence.
The turning point for the game, though, may well have come on Manitoba's final drive of the half. Starting a drive at their own 21-yard line, Thiessen fumbled the ball while trying to scramble toward his team's sideline. With the ball poked out by Charlie Ringland, linebacker Ramsey Derbas recovered the ball and set the Huskies up in the red zone. Shortly after, Nyhus would find Iverson for the game's first major, and Saskatchewan went into the break leading 13-3.
The third quarter was all about chunk plays for the Huskies. After a Manitoba two-and-out, the Huskies had the game's biggest play — a 70-yard bomb from Nyhus to Daniel Perry, who shed a Markos Bockru tackle and took it to the house to extend Sask's lead to 20-3. Perry would lead all players in receiving yards, totaling 99 on just three catches. At the pivot position, Nyhus went 18-for-39 for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
The Huskies' veteran skill players weren't done yet, though. On the team's next drive, Nyhus found Sam Baker for a 38-yard reception to go from midfield to Manitoba's 12. Two Bisons penalties later and the Huskies were goal-to-go from the one, an opportunity that was paid off by an Ethan Watson sneak into the end zone. Infractions hurt Manitoba all game, as they would commit 15 penalties for 134 yards — compared to just eight for 80 for Saskatchewan.
Down by 24, the Bisons did get an excellent drive going late in the third quarter. Thiessen marched the team down the field, completing five passes — two to Braeden Smith — while running back Noah Anderson rushed for 22 yards to get the Bisons in scoring position. The 18-year-old QB would then find Gavin Cobb for a 25-yard score, narrowing the Huskies lead to 27-10.
Thiessen would finish the game 18-for-28 for 178 yards through the air with a touchdown, while running three times for 13 yards. It was his first U SPORTS start, as the top three quarterbacks for Manitoba — Des Catellier, Jackson Tachinski, and Riley Naujoks have all sustained injuries that kept them out of the Week 5 game.
\In the ground game, Anderson led the Bisons with 50 yards on 13 attempts, while fifth-year Macho Bockru led Manitoba in receiving with four catches for 49 yards.
In the fourth quarter, the Bisons were unable to sustain momentum from their score, as a Michael Ritchott fumble on their first drive of the frame once again set up the Huskies near the Manitoba goal line. While they would go three-and-out and come up empty, the mistake cost the Bisons much-needed time, and they weren't able to sustain a long drive again before the afternoon was up.
"It's one thing to get opportunities, everyone gets opportunities. But [Saskatchewan] got opportunities and went bang, bang, bang — thank you Manitoba — and the game was over at the end of the third quarter," said Dobie.
The Bisons conclude their regular season in Regina next Saturday, November 6 — kickoff is at 3 p.m. CDT. Saskatchewan will host the Calgary Dinos on the same day at the same time.
