Riders to wear Indigenous-designed logo during Saturday's game
21h ago
The logo was designed by Chris Chipak, a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.
By Greg Campbell, HuskieFan
The battle of Saskatchewan Part 2 was an encore to behold, with the Saskatchewan Huskies winning a nailbiter over the Regina Rams 23-20 at Griffiths Stadium to improve to 6-0 for the third time in program history.
Regina came into the contest ranked eighth in the nation and sporting a 4-1 record, its sole loss coming off the foot of the Huskies’ David Solie on Sept. 17 at Mosaic Stadium. Solie’s late field goal gave Saskatchewan an 11-10 victory.
For a second consecutive home contest, the Huskies faced adversity early, falling behind 12-3 four minutes into the second quarter off a Christian Katende one-yard scamper into the end zone.
Yet, in a battle between a fifth-year senior quarterback and first-year freshman, it was Regina kid Mason Nyhus of the Huskies who shouldered the load. The potential nominee for the Hec Crighton Award led back-to-back touchdown drives, flipping a nine-point deficit into a five-point lead heading into the half.
The second half saw the two sides trade defensive blows, with a pair of Solie field goals from 18 and 37 yards respectively extending the Huskies’ lead to 23-12.
From what fans witnessed back at Mosaic Stadium earlier in the season, no lead is safe.
Rams quarterback Noah Pelletier scored on a one-yard run to cut the lead to three following a two-point conversion. Jaxon Ford then recovered an Aldo Galvan onside kickoff to give the Rams a chance to drive for a tie or the win.
On the next play, the freshman quarterback threw his third interception of the afternoon, sealing a 15th straight win at home for the Huskies.
Ryker Frank continues to be a spark for Huskies head coach Scott Flory and his team.
Coming into the contest, the Regina LeBoldus High School product was second in Canada West with 436 yards on the ground. Frank took centre stage on Saturday afternoon, finishing the contest with 18 carries for 86 yards on the No. 1 rush defence in the west (68 yards per game) while also producing eight catches for 132 yards.
Nyhus was 20-for-30 passing for 297 yards. Daniel Perry got in on the action with three receptions for 55 yards, with Kody Gutek securing Nyhus’ sole touchdown through the air.
Linebacker Lane Novak steadied a Huskies defence that held the Rams in check to 228 yards total on 61 offensive plays, including three interceptions.
Pelletier finished 17-for-35 passing for 147 yards, with his longest pass on the afternoon being a 30-yarder. Riley Boersma caught seven passes for 73 yards for the Rams.
A big reason outside the defence why the Rams stayed in this game was the punting ability of Galvan, who continued to impress, averaging 44 yards on seven punts, including two inside the 20-yard line and a 64-yard bomb earlier in the contest.
The win secures home-field advantage through the Hardy Cup playoffs for the Huskies, who will look to ride a similar path to last year en route to a Vanier Cup appearance.