SASKATOON, SK – The Saskatchewan Huskies welcomed the Calgary Dinos to Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park for the team's final home game of the 2023 Canada West regular season. The Calgary Dinos would escape Saskatoon with the 13-12 win over the Huskies.  
 
Starting at quarterback for the Calgary Dinos was third year Dom Britton, who has started four of six regular season games for the Dinos. Saskatchewan's Anton Amundrud had his sixth start at quarterback for the Huskies. The second year has had a stellar season and is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.  
 
Saskatchewan stumbled on their first drive of the game, when a bad snap caused quarterback Amundrud to fumble the ball in Dino territory. The field goal team was called out on third down, with David Solie's 27 yard field goal attempt going wide of the uprights. Calgary would run the ball out of the end zone and start their first drive of the game on their 20 yard line.   
 
The Huskies defense would force a fumble on a Dinos punt return with six minutes left in the first quarter. Recovered by the Huskies, a series of incomplete passes would bring the field goal team out again. This time, Solie wouldn't miss, hitting the 27 yard field goal and giving Saskatchewan the 3-0 lead in the first quarter.  
 
The second quarter presented challenges for both team offences until late in the quarter. A 47 yard Chris MacLean punt was returned by Saskatchewan's Branson Pipko for a 68 yard touchdown and the first major of the game.  
 
A tough hit on Britton in the second quarter would see Xavier Vaillancourt come in as quarterback for the Dinos.  
 
Amundrud would throw an interception late in the quarter that was picked off  by Calgary's Nate Beauchemin at the Saskatchewan 41 yard line. Beauchemin ran it back 28 yards to give the Calgary offence prime field position. The Dinos capitalized on the Huskie error when quarterback Vaillancourt connected with receiver Matt Sibley for the Dinos touchdown. The Huskies headed into halftime with a narrow 10-7 lead over the Dinos.   
 
Dom Britton would be back behind the helm for the Dinos to start the second half.  
 
A flurry of penalties brought Calgary back to their eight yard line with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Vaillancourt's pass was picked off by Saskatchewan's Lane Novak and hauled in for the touchdown, but an unfortunate penalty on the Huskies negated the TD, keeping things at 10-7 Huskies.  
 
The Huskies defence forced a Calgary fumble with just over a minute left in the third quarter, which was recovered by Ramsay Derbas at Calgary's 47 yard line. Amundrud fired one into the endzone that was picked off by Calgary's Jordan Chizda to get the ball back. The score after three quarters of play would remain 10-7 in favour of the Huskies.  
 
Triumbari would again attempt a long field goal for the Dinos midway through the fourth quarter, looking to connect from 40 yards out to tie the game. His attempt was a success, and it was a 10-10 game with 8:37 left in the fourth quarter.  
 
The Huskies brought backup quarterback Griffin Sander into the game. The second year from Saskatoon, SK hasn't seen much action yet this season, going 1-for-2 and a 50% completion percentage in the September 8 game against the Regina Rams. Sander would play one series before Anton Amundrud made his return.  
 
With just two minutes left in the game, Triumbari would have an exciting kick that would hit the upright and fall through, giving the Dinos another three points and the lead for the first time in the game at 13-10. They would give up the safety in the last seconds of the game and leave Saskatoon and Griffiths Stadium with the 13-12 win.  
 
The loss gives the Huskies a 4-3 record with the Dinos improving to 2-5. The Huskies will head to the playoffs on Saturday, November 4 but whether they are at home or on the road has yet to be determined.  
   
The Saskatchewan Huskies honoured their graduating players before kickoff. The program will say goodbye to kicker/punter David Solie, defensive back Nixen Voll, and receiver Daniel Perry after the 2023 season.  
 
NEXT UP 
The Huskies will head to Regina on Saturday, October 28 to take on provincial rival Regina Rams in U-Prairie Challenge  action. Kickoff for the final game of the Canada West regular season is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Mosaic Stadium.  
 
Fans can catch the live stream at CanadaWest.TV or listen live at HuskieFan.ca. 
 
The U-Prairie Challenge presented by SaskMilk is a celebration of varsity sport in Saskatchewan. The annual points-based competition between the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan involves 11 different men's and women's events, including soccer, football, hockey, volleyball, basketball, track and field, and cross country.