EDMONTON — For the first time since 2006, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is 4-0, after a 38-16 win over the Alberta Golden Bears on Friday night at Foote Field.
In what was their third-straight meeting against a team ranked inside the U SPORTS Top 10, the No. 2 Huskies took care of business once again.
Katley Joseph and John Stoll each recorded their first career Canada West interceptions in the win, anchoring an opportunistic Saskatchewan defence that picked off Golden Bears quarterback Eli Hetlinger three times on the night.
The first-half interceptions by Joseph and Stoll helped the Huskies take a 15-point lead into the locker rooms at halftime, which was a lead they would never relinquish as they moved the Golden Bears to 2-2.
Mason Nyhus, who entered the night as the country's leader in passing yards-per-game, continued his tremendous fifth-year campaign by throwing for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Nyhus connected with seven different pass catchers, including Daniel Perry and Caleb Morin, who each passed the century mark, hauling in 115 and 110 yards through the air.
Rhett Vavra and Branson Pipko hauled in the two majors from Nyhus, with Pipko's touchdown being his first as a Huskie.
"Flory always has a good game plan, a good scouting report and watches a ton of tape. We have good players. Our receivers are getting open and obviously, it makes my job a lot easier," said Nyhus, who is now one passing touchdown shy from cracking the top-20 in the Canada West all-time. "I don't think I have a rushing yard this year, so I'm just trying to get the ball in the playmakers hands and they make me look good."
Despite their success through the air, Saskatchewan also continued to get it done on the ground with Ryker Frank leading the way. The second-year running back from Regina scampered for 128 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown— good for 10.7 yards-per-carry. Ted Kubongo chipped in 62 yards of his own on 10 carries.
When the offence did stagger, David Solie was there. Solie followed up his clutch Week 3 performance that earned him both the Huskie Athlete of the Week and the Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week by knocking through five field goals on the night (27, 27, 14, 44 and 44 yards).
On the defensive side of the ball, Charlie Ringland led Saskatchewan with five total tackles, while Nixen Voll recorded his first-career interception of the season.
As mentioned, the Huskies now sit at 4-0 and remain atop of the Canada West with the win. The 2022 edition of the team is now just the fourth since the turn of the century to win their first four games, with two of the previous three reaching the Vanier Cup. The victory also ensured they would control the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Golden Bears, as this was the only meeting of the season between the pair of programs.
Having said that, Nyhus understands there's still lots of work to do.
"First and foremost, we can't get complacent," said Nyhus, when asked about what the team needs to do going forward. "I think the last two games, offensively, we've left a lot out there."
"We just have to clean it up. Our defence is playing great. We know we have a good backbone so we can kind of let it sling out there. We just can't get complacent and stay focused every single week at practice."
After back-to-back games on the road, Saskatchewan is back home in Week 5. The Huskies will play three of their final four games at Griffiths Stadium, including next Friday night against the Manitoba Bisons in a rematch of the 2021 Hardy Cup. Kick off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
