SASKATOON – The No. 6 ranked Manitoba Bisons started off strong but couldn't hold off the potent offence of the No. 4 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, who overcame a 16 point deficit en route to a 45-17 win in the 84th Hardy Cup on Saturday afternoon at Griffiths Stadium.
The Bisons cashed in on their first two drives, but were outscored 33-1 the rest of the way, thanks in part to three sacks and three interceptions from Saskatchewan, who claimed their second conference title in the last three seasons. Adam Machart led the way on the ground with 223 rushing yards and three scores for the U of S, who had 54 points in the second half in two games against Manitoba this year. The Bisons were led by linebacker Nick Thomas, with seven tackles and a forced fumble, while running back Mike Ritchott added 80 yards and a major on the ground.
"Their defence is obviously very good, but it's their offence. The more reps they get, they just grind you down," Bisons head coach Brian Dobie said postgame.
"They don't throw the ball downfield a lot. They were throwing the ball at five to ten yards, just complete passes and they get the ball into athletes' hands and pick up a few yards. Then they mix it up with that run game and it just grinds you. They're so good at what they do. Heck, they were down 16-0 to a really good football team and they didn't flinch. They just kept grinding away, came out in the second half and did all that damage."
Manitoba's defence, ranked in the top ten nationally in total points and passing yards per game, came up big once again in the first quarter. Veteran field corner Arjay Shelley set the tone with an interception on the opening series as the Huskies were driving. He took a throw off of U of S pivot Mason Nyhus' back foot and jumped it from the Manitoba 30 all the way to the Saskatchewan red zone. Three plays later, pivot Jackson Tachinski found paydirt from the one on a quarterback keeper.
A safety following a high snap on a punt made it 9-0, and Manitoba added to their lead on the ensuing drive thanks to Ritchott. The fifth-year man had 72 yards rushing on three carries, including a 53-yard touchdown. The Bisons did a great job blocking up front on the score, as they doubled the nose tackle and let the Huskies athletic defensive ends rush up field, creating all kinds of room for Ritchott to do his thing.
Machart, who had 116 rushing yards on 11 carries in the first half, looked to have put the hosts in scoring position on the following drive, however he was tracked down from behind by linebacker Nick Thomas. He punched the ball out at the Bisons' 25 and Jarrett Alcaraz recovered for the Herd.
Saskatchewan tightened up on defence shortly after, getting on the board with a safety to close out the quarter. They continued to roll with Machart to start the second. He capped off a six-play, 36-yard drive with a seven-yard major that took up three minutes.
Despite holding the ball for nine minutes less than their opposition (19:42 compared to 10:18), Manitoba continued to maintain a lead on the strength of their defence. The Herd forced their third turnover of the half with seven minutes to play, as linebacker Isaac Dokken and safety Stephen Adamopolous stepped up to stuff a run play on third down.
Saskatchewan opened up their passing game as the second quarter continued, with Nyhus throwing for 155 yards in the half. Six different players had at least one catch, a large portion of which came in the flats, as the hosts finished off the second with a 41-yard field goal on a nine-play, 50-yard drive to end the first 30 minutes.
The Huskies continued to chew up the clock in the third quarter, outscoring the Herd 14-0, while giving up just three first downs. Their first two series took up over five minutes, including a five-play, 57-yard drive to open the frame. Thirty of those yards came from Machart, including a three-yard major which gave the hosts their first lead at 19-16.
Defensively, the Huskies pass rush, led by conference all-stars Nathan Cherry and Riley Pickett continued to create problems. Cherry had a sack on Manitoba's opening drive in the third and the team had two overall, while pressure in Tachinski's face forced an interception on the Bisons third drive. The Lane Novak pick resulted in a major just three plays later as Machart scored from four yards out.
The Huskies added 17 more points in the fourth, thanks in part to their defence. Receiver Colton Klassen scored from 17 yards out on a drive set up by Machart, while a Solie 26-yard field goal and Ryker Frank 50-yard major both came following interceptions.
Tachinski, who had 31 rushing yards on the day, found a few lanes in the fourth and spread the ball out well, however the offence was unable to finish. A single at 6:17 of the fourth was their lone score in the second half.
Despite the score, it was a stellar run for Manitoba, who dealt with adversity all year, including in this game, where three key starters didn't play due to injury. Additionally, Tachinski and a number of others were sick during the week and didn't practice much, but continued to dial it in on game day.
"There wouldn't have been a team that I've ever coached that's gone through what they've gone through. What team did I ever coach that lost their starting quarterback 38 minutes into the season? I've never experienced one of our coaches and colleagues suddenly passing away during the season, and the emotional trauma of that," said Dobie.
"This week, we were missing nine players with sickness, one of those players was our starting quarterback. Last week, we lost three really important players in [running back] Breydon Stubbs, [defensive lineman] Connor Kyliuk and [offensive lineman] Joel Cardinal. The list keeps growing and growing. Those can be perceived as excuses, well those are reasons why it was a challenging year. In 47 years of being a head coach in the sport of football, I've never gone through a season with a team that's been so challenged and dealt with so much adversity, and still responded in such amazing ways."
