The Saskatchewan Huskies football team want to prove any doubters wrong as they kick off their 2018 U Sports season.
As he enters his second season as the Huskies’ head coach, Scott Flory intends on ending the team’s losing streak that carries over from 2017.
After winning their first two games last year, the Dogs lost their remaining six and are ranked last in the six-team Canada West conference heading into the new season.
“We have to prove ourselves … you have to do that on a daily basis. You got to prove yourself out here on the practice field, you got to prove yourself on the field during game day,” Flory said.
“So poster board material, that kind of stuff, we don’t worry about that. What we care about is inside these walls, inside this locker room, and we concern ourselves with what we can control and we don’t worry about stuff we can’t.”
Kyle Siemens is returning for his third-year as starting quarterback and final season for the Huskies. He had an outstanding 2017 season, leading Canada West in both passing yards with 2,572, and 19 touchdown passes.
“(Our ranking) goes into the back of everyone’s mind to know that people are kind of doubting us. But we just have a lot of internal motivation where we just want to do the best that we can do, and it doesn’t matter what other people think,” Siemens said.
A new season bring renewed optimism. A tangible reason for this is the return of 18 starters from last year as well as Huskies running back Tyler Chow. After most of last season due to injury, the former Canada West all-star is back at full strength.
“It was definitely there at the back of my mind that being able to be ready and play that full, 100-per cent game again … I just love being out here. I’m very passionate about this sport and that’s the big thing about me,” Chow said.
“(Chow) is a huge, integral part of our offence. I mean, just in running the football and protection. He’s so smart, he’s smooth, he’s elusive and we got two other really good tailbacks,” Flory said.
Saskatchewan will host the Alberta Golden Bears in their home-opener starting at 7 p.m. CT on Friday at Griffiths Stadium. The theme of the game is “Support Our Troops.”
The Huskies and Golden Bears have met eight times in the past five seasons with the Dogs holding a 6-2 advantage.
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