A swarming Regina Rams defence kept the Saskatchewan Huskies football team at bay during much of Saturday's Canada West semifinal, won 39-27 by the Rams.
A swarming Regina Rams defence kept the Saskatchewan Huskies football team at bay during much of Saturday's Canada West semifinal, won 39-27 by the Rams.
Article content
The bus carrying the Regina Rams' defensive players broke down Friday while motoring to Saskatoon, leaving them temporarily stranded.
Thankfully for those boys on the bus, the breakdown was not a foreshadowing of things to come.
The Rams, 4-4 during the Canada West regular season, beat the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 39-27 in Saturday's semifinal playoff game. The outcome ends Saskatchewan’s campaign after a 6-2 regular season record, and a national ranking that went as high as No. 3.
"We love adversity," said Regina head coach Mark McConkey, noting that the original game time of 2 p.m. was pushed five hours back in a Friday decision because of forecasts calling for potentially dangerous winds.
"Change the game time? We don't care. I hope our bus breaks down on the road home, because that's what we're about. We thrive on adversity, and kudos to these guys. I'm so proud of them. They worked so hard."
The Rams advance to next Saturday’s conference final against the first-place British Columbia Thunderbirds, who beat the Manitoba Bisons 30-23 in the other semifinal.
"It's not done yet," said Rams' running back Carter Ashman, who ran 16 times for 139 yards and a touchdown. "We've got to go back home, watch film, and reset for next week against UBC. That's all we've got on our minds right now."
Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.
Article content
"This is a hard place to win," McConkey summarized as his players hugged and whooped on the Griffiths turf, and then he told a little statistical tale.
"The last 16 games, the Huskies are 15-1 (at home), and now 15-2. The only two losses? Rams."
McConkey's numbers are right. Saskatchewan's only two home losses, dating back to 2024, came against Regina in the 2024 Hardy Cup, and then again on Saturday.
"There's only one team at the end of the season that's happy, one out of 27, and that's not going to be us this year, unfortunately," said Saskatchewan head coach Scott Flory.
If you’re a Huskie, the first half was a complete flop. The Rams outscored them 26-10, with Saskatchewan’s lone touchdown coming with 30 seconds to go.
Anton Amundrud, Canada’s top passer, hit just four of 13 throws for 45 yards and two touchdowns heading into the final three minutes of the half. But that late TD scoring drive upgraded his halftime stats line to nine-for-18, 121 yards.
A Regina touchdown three minutes into the third quarter stretched their lead to 33-10, but that's when the Huskies' offence sparked up. Two Saskatchewan touchdowns and a James Keane field goal cut the gap to 33-27 with 8:47 on the clock, but despite spirited pushing, they got no closer.
Two Tyler Gorniak field goals in the last 4:26 sealed the game for Regina.
"I'm proud of everyone in there for battling and going 'til zeros hit on the clock," Amundrud — who led the nation in passing yards — said after completing 30 of 49 tosses for 387 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. "We gave it our best, and sometimes that's how it falls in football. It's the sad reality."
The Huskies reached last season's Vanier Cup without Amundrud, who discovered late in the season that he had cancer — T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He went into remission this spring, and got his body ready for a final season few people expected he would play.
"I'm super happy I was able to come back and play one last year here," Amundrud said. "I'll be forever grateful for that, and the moments and memories I had with my teammates. It's something I'll hold onto forever. I'm going to miss this team and miss my friends. It sucks, but I'm super happy I was able to come back and play one more year."
Rams' QB Owen Sieben hit 14 of 26 passes for 216 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Rhett Vavra — who, like Amundrud, played his last game of collegiate football — caught nine passes for 183 yards and a major, while Aulain Penner picked up 11 catches for 115 yards and ran 17 times for 48 more.
"Obviously it sucks," Vavra said. "(Regina) fought hard, we made mistakes, they capitalized. But we fought hard too, and it was a good game."
Next up for the Huskies: Preparation for next season. Next up for the Rams: UBC, which beat them 25-20 and 21-17 during the regular season.
"They're a great football team," McConkey said of UBC. "All I know is I've been coaching for 11 years, and it's hard to beat a team three times. I'll leave it at that."
Meanwhile, Ashman — a freshman — said he thoroughly enjoyed his taste of the Saskatchewan/Regina rivalry. This was, after, no ordinary playoff game.
"They're an extremely good team," Ashman said of the rival Huskies. "We're an extremely good team. We grew up with a lot of them, we've played football with each other. Everyone loves football, and we just go and play."
kemitchell@postmedia.com
*The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.*