The Huskies made their return to Griffiths Stadiums Saturday afternoon to play a regular season football game for the first time in 714 days. And they did so in triumphant fashion beating the Alberta Golden Bears 54-27. Quarterback Mason Nyhus threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. The Huskies will welcome the Regina Rams to Griffiths Stadium next Saturday afternoon with kick-off at 2 o’clock.
Below is the post-game write up from the Huskies…
The Huskies waited 714 days to return to Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park and wasted no time making a statement. Adam Machart opened the scoring on the first play from scrimmage, rumbling to a 68-yard touchdown. The Huskies did not disappoint in front of their faithful fans, rolling to a 54-27 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears.
The Huskies (2-1) racked up a total of 543 yards of total offence with Mason Nyhus accumulating 385 yards through the air and four touchdowns. Sam Baker caught two, while Adam Machart and Rhett Vavra picked up the other two passing touchdowns from Nyhus.
Adam Machart continued his blistering form, rushing for 132 yards on the ground and accumulating 89 yards through the air, including a 39-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
It was a long-awaited home coming for the Huskies after starting the season with two road games, however the Dogs looked calm and collected throughout the game. “The guys were dialed-in and locked-in all week, and we understand that this is a six-game season, it’s short and everything’s tighter, everything’s shorter. It’s like playoff mode from week one. So, we understand that, and we’re not stressed about it, but we understand the level of importance of each and every game”, said Huskies Head Coach Scott Flory. “I’m proud of the guys, we competed in all three phases of the game, for sure. We just settled down and just played smart, detailed Huskie football.”
The Alberta Golden Bears (1-2) struggled early but turned up the intensity in the fourth quarter – amassing two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game. Alberta saw three quarterbacks get game time with Luke Hornung taking the lion’s share of the snaps. However, it was third-year quarterback Brad Launhardt who made the biggest impression for the Golden Bears. Launhardt totalled 133 yards through the air, with one touchdown completing eight of his nine attempts. In total, the Golden Bears passing attack amassed a total of 242 yards shared amongst the three quarterbacks. Alberta totalled 86 yards on the ground. Ultimately, the Golden Bears troubles on offence were compounded by the Huskies ability to move the ball when they were in possession.
After Machart’s early score, Alberta marched the ball 56 yards down the field. Jonathan Giustini hit the 27-yard field goal to get the Golden Bears on the board.
With 2:35 left in the first quarter, Sam Baker scored his first of two touchdowns on a 7-yard pass from Nyhus – capping a 6 play, 75-yard possession. The first quarter came to an end with a Saskatchewan 18-3 advantage.
Machart continued to be a menace to the Alberta defence, scoring early in the second quarter off a 39-yard pass from Nyhus. Alberta answered back late in the second on a Luke Hornung QB sneak on the goal line after three attempts to break through the Huskie defence. David Solie traded field goals with Giustini to end off the half, with the Dogs taking a 29-13 lead into the break.
“We just honestly executed. All aspects of the offense were delivering. Our o-line was good, we got downfield blocking from the receivers, and you can’t really ask for much more than that”, said Huskie running back Adam Machart. “We haven’t played in front of fans in 700 and some days, so we’ve been juiced up all week to get out here and play for these guys and they were loud cheering us on, so it was awesome.”
The Huskies came out strong in the third quarter with both Rhett Vavra and Sam Baker picking up a touchdown a piece on 24 and 20-yard receptions from Nyhus. The Huskies took a commanding 43-13 lead into the final frame.
In the last quarter of play, Solie added a 32-yard field goal, and Logan Bitz recovered a fumbled punt return in the endzone to extend the Huskies lead. Alberta answered back with late touchdowns from Launhardt and Kolby Hurford who caught a 21-yard to cut the Huskie lead to 54-27.
“I think every week you see us improve and I think we’re still going to improve”, said Machart. “I think today was a little more indicative of what we are and what we can do. So we’re just going to try to keep that momentum going.”
The Golden Bears will look to get back on track next Sunday on the road at the University of Calgary against the 1-2 Dinos
For the Huskies, they are back at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park on Saturday at 2 PM when they take on their provincial rival the University of Regina Rams (1-2).
