The University of Saskatchewan Huskies faced off against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Canada West semifinal action on Saturday afternoon at Griffiths Stadium. (Wray Morrison/HuskieFAN)

By Wray Morrison

Canada West football final goes through Saskatoon

Huskies secure Hardy Cup appearance

Nov 13, 2021 | 6:11 PM

University of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach Scott Flory admitted that his football team was inconsistent at times.

The 2021 Canada West semifinal at Griffiths Stadium on Saturday may have lacked style points, but in the end, the Huskies came out victorious, 39-17 over the UBC Thunderbirds.

With only three rouges on the board for most of the first quarter, the Huskies found the endzone at the 13:12 mark when Adam Marchart scored on a 14-yard run to help the Huskies to a 13-7 lead. At no point did the Thunderbirds have the lead in the football game, but Flory still admitted that his team struggled at times.

“We were up and down a little bit,” said Flory. “We were a little inconsistent, but we fought.”

Thunderbirds’ first-year quarterback Garrett Rooker, who finished with 222 yards in passing, capped off a four-minute, 40 second drive with a one-yard run mid-way through the second quarter to cut the Huskies’ lead to 10-7.

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Flory was impressed with the T-Birds young pivot.

“He’s a hell of a player,” he said. “He got out of the pocket and made some plays.”

The injury bug appeared to bite the Thunderbirds when star tailback Isiah Knight came out with what looked to be a lower leg/foot injury. Lucas Mastrodomenico became the Thunderbirds feature back in the second half. He finished with four carries for 42 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown.

The Huskies kept their distance in the third quarter when Daniel Perry hauled in a 20-yard pass from quarterback Mason Nyhus to widen the margin to 20-10.

“We just needed to play our brand of football and just settle down,” said Flory. “Generally, there are a lot of emotion in the playoffs and games are going to be tight. They are a good football team and well coached. We just needed to play mistake free and take advantage of opportunities. That’s really what it comes down to.”

With the score 22-17 in the fourth quarter, Machart scored his second touchdown of the day on a 23-yard pass from Nyhus. Nyhus finished the game with 381 yards in passing and three touchdowns, including a 14-yard strike to Sam Baker late in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

Baker didn’t play last week against Calgary but finished with eight catches for 148 yards. Perry had seven grabs for 143 yards.

The Huskies defense made some big plays in second half and held UBC to just seven fourth quarter points.

“It’s huge to get it done in the fourth quarter like that,” said Nick Wiebe, Huskies’ linebacker.

The Huskies put up four sacks, as Carson Bell had 1.5 sacks, while Nathan Cherry was credited with half a sack.

“It’s easy to play when you got Big John (Leggett), (Nathan) Cherry and (Riley) Pickett out there,” said Weibe. “These guys keep guys off of me.”

Wiebe finished the contest with 3.5 tackles. Linebacker Lane Novak also contributed defensively with a first half interception.

Frustrations caught up with some members of the Thunderbirds late in the game. Defensive back Dustin Maggee was given a 25-yard penalty and was disqualified from the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter for objectionable conduct after a Huskies’ extra point on a late Sam Baker touchdown.

The officials were forced to walk about 20 yards off the field in the south end to ensure Maggee was not going to return to the field of play and engage with the Huskies’ bench.

The Huskies now host the Hardy Cup for the first time since 2009 on November 20th at Griffiths Stadium. The team will be searching for their 20th Hardy Cup title in program history. They will take on either the Manitoba Bisons or Alberta Golden Bears in the final.

Flory has made it known he has bigger goals for his team.

“We’re happy with that, but we know we’re not satisfied.”