Saskatchewan Huskies' receiver Keaton Belsher compiled 180 receiving yards during his second career game Friday at Griffiths Stadium.
Saskatchewan Huskies' receiver Keaton Belsher compiled 180 receiving yards during his second career game Friday at Griffiths Stadium.
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Keaton Belsher racked up 180 receiving yards in just his second university football game Friday night, but his coach wanted to talk about something else entirely.
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That something was what Belsher, a rookie receiver for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, did while teammate Javin Boynton toted the ball on a long gainer.
Namely, he "pancaked the DB," Huskies' head coach Scott Flory said after his team's 44-24 home-opener win over the Calgary Dinos — a neat job of blocking that showed he's more than just a pretty pass catcher.
Belsher, who broke records galore during a high-school career with the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones, collected seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns Friday in — and we repeat this — just his second career game at the university level.
The Homecoming contest was witnessed by 8,052 onlookers, and it featured the annual halftime toga run. Belsher ran too, in full Huskie regalia, and added some dodging and weaving.
"He's tall, he's long, his catch radius is unbelievable," Huskies' quarterback Anton Amundrud said after watching, and aiding, one of the best rookie home debuts in team history. "He's super athletic; he can jump. He's kind of got the whole package. He's a beast."
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Belsher scored 35 touchdowns in 23 career high school games, along with a city-record 102 catches and 2,305 yards.
His dad, long-retired quarterback Colin Belsher, was MVP of the Moose Jaw High School Football League in 1994 and spent some time with the Saskatoon Hilltops. He's also coached his kid for years, including at the high school level.
"He's been my head coach all through youth football. I look up to him; he's my mentor," Belsher said. "I'm just thanking him for the good genes."
Belsher scores a touchdown.
Keaton Belsher celebrates a touchdown during Friday's win over Calgary.
Belsher notched four catches for 43 yards the week before, in a season-opening 40-22 loss to the host Manitoba Bisons. On Friday, he looked like an old hand, and patrolled the Griffiths Stadium turf with flair. Belsher caught touchdown passes of 22 and 35 yards, and his longest reception was 48.
"It was a surreal moment running out of that (inflatable) dog, seeing 10,000 people in the stands," Belsher said. "It's something you dream about when you're a little kid."
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He was not, on this night, the only storyline. Saskatchewan led 28-10 late in the third quarter, but two quick Dino touchdowns cut the edge to four. The table, as Flory put it, "had tilted a bit" in Calgary's favour.
But then Dinos' kicker Boaz Comeau missed a 47-yard field goal that would have cut the gap to one, and Saskatchewan returner Daniel Kubongo ran the ball back 123 yards for a touchdown. It's the longest return of a missed field goal in team history; the old record was 120 yards, set by Brennan Fobel in 1996.
Kubongo later said he saw a Dinos jersey from the corner of his eye over the last 10 yards or so, and knew he had to keep his legs pumping. He was almost as fast at the end as he was at the beginning.
"Thankfully, by the grace of God, I got in the end zone," Kubongo said. "The teammate celebration wasn't really what I wanted to do — the legs were a little heavy — but that's why we work in the summer. That's why we work in the off-season, to finish those plays."
That touchdown gave the Huskies a 35-24 lead, and Belsher finished it off a few minutes later with a 35-yard TD catch.
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Amundrud finished 22 of 33 for 332 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Boynton ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by an 81-yard TD run 1:35 into the game.
The defending Canada West-champion Huskies are now 1-1, as is Calgary, which thrashed British Columbia 32-7 last weekend.
The Huskies will play their next two games on the road - in Alberta this coming Friday, and Regina Sept. 26. Their next home game is Oct. 3 against UBC.
kemitchell@postmedia.com
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