For much of their four quarters on Saturday afternoon at Griffiths Stadium, a moment of celebration seemed to be drifting further and further away for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team.
When the clock hit zeroes however, the Dogs became Hardy Cup champions for the first time since 2022. They are now just two wins away from bringing a long-awaited Vanier Cup back to Saskatoon.
“We’re one of four teams that still get to play football in this country,” said Huskies head coach Scott Flory. “So that’s pretty cool.”
Pretty cool indeed for the Huskies, who claimed their 22nd Canada West title in thrilling fashion Saturday with a 25-24 win over the visiting University of Regina Rams in the 88th edition of the Hardy Cup.
Down by a 24-9 score entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies completed their biggest comeback of the season against the Rams, punctuated by a 25-yard game-winning field goal off the foot of sophomore kicker Lukas Scott with 25 seconds remaining on the clock.
It was a moment the former Holy Cross Crusader had been dreaming of after an up and down season with the Huskies, in which his lowest moment coming in a 21-20 loss to the Manitoba Bisons on Sep. 13 which saw a potential game-winning kick sail wide.
“Manitoba earlier this season, I actually ended up missing a game-winner,” Scott said. “I was kind of thinking back to that. I really wanted to be able to lift up the boys and that’s exactly what I did.
Even with the growing pains of a young Canada West career, Flory said he was fully confident sending Scott out to kick the winning field goal against the Rams and also have him in the end zone on the final play of the game as Regina looked to tie the game with a rouge.
“I believe in the kid,” Flory said. “He’s a second-year kid, every player is going to have ups and downs that’s going to happen. We knew with the game on the line we were going to go to him, I just knew he was going to make the play and he made the kick. I think he caught the ball at the end there, too.”
Cold conditions at kickoff limited the offence in the first 20 minutes and there was little movement up field by either the Huskies or Rams. A pair field goals from Scott was the only scoring action.
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Regina finally broke the game open in the second quarter with 17 unanswered points. Quarterback Owen Sieben threw a pair of touchdown passes to Kaleb Senz and Emmett Steadman to give the Rams a 17-6 lead.
Scott would tack on another field goal before halftime to cut the deficit to 17-9, but the Huskies would not be able to answer again in the third quarter with a potential game-changing play occurring with 3:17 left in the quarter.
Rams defensive back Brandon Wong picked up a botched snap over the head of Huskies quarterback Jake Farrell and took it all the way back to the house for a 49-yard scoop-and-score that handed the Rams a commanding 15-point lead.
Saskatchewan began chipping away in the fourth quarter. Farrell threw a touchdown pass to Liam Piccinin with 12:12 remaining on the clock, making it a 24-16 game and giving the home side some life.
The turnover battle would shift the Huskies’ direction with under seven minutes to play. Saskatchewan linebacker Jacob Goldstone picked up a Senz fumble on a deep punt return, leaving Farrell and the offence in good field position.
Farrell needed just one play to find Mason Grabowski in the end zone for the touchdown, but a two-point conversion attempt failed and the Rams kept the lead at 24-22.
Saskatchewan to one more drive with the ball in the final minute of the game with fifth-year running back Ryker Frank scampering 13 yards for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown. The play, however, was called back due to a Huskies holding penalty.
On third down, Scott would be tasked with hitting the chip shot field goal to take the one-point lead. The second-year specialist came through, giving the Huskies the game.
“I wanted that more than anything in that moment,” Frank said. “It’s hard to put into words. I’m just super proud of our team and the way we fought back, didn’t give up. I’m just honoured to be a part of this awesome team.”
According to Flory, the team’s resolve stood out as the game got deeper into the fourth quarter with a message on the sidelines to keep the pressure on the Rams.
“Momentum is real,” Flory sid. “When it’s going the other way you got to level the playing field, you got to stop the bleeding before you can flip the table… In the fourth quarter, it tilted our ways. And when you get that you just got to keep it tilted, and I thought our guys did a great job of that.”
It was a heartbreak for Regina to see their season come to a close, especially considering their two-score lead with just over 12 minutes remaining on the clock.
Unable to complete a Hardy Cup repeat after tasting Canada West glory on the same field a year ago against the Huskies, Rams head coach Mark McConkey was glowing about the team’s performance throughout the season.
“It’s a gut-wrenching loss,” McConkey said. “It’s two good teams, it’s a good football game. Unfortunately, they just made more plays than we did down the stretch there and again that’s how they came out on top. At the end of the day, my message was I’m just so proud of these guys. I really am so proud to be their coach.”
The Huskies, who earned redemption after last season’s Hardy Cup loss on their home field, now advance to the Mitchell Bowl where they’ll host the Ontario University Athletics champion Queen’s Gaels in the U Sports national semi-final.
Frank said their resiliency shown against the Rams on Saturday will be something to draw from as their playoff chase continues, needing one more win to punch their ticket to the 2025 Vanier Cup in Regina.
“Coming down to the wire there it’s just never over,” Frank said. “We’ve been in situations like that before and just having faith in the team, and executing when you need to… It’s never over.”
The Huskies and Gaels will meet in the 2025 Mitchell Bowl at Griffiths Stadium on Nov. 15 with a 2:15 p.m. kickoff.
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