The ultimate bragging rights are up for grabs at Griffiths Stadium Saturday afternoon. After two meetings during the regular season between the Huskies and Rams with the provincial rivals splitting the U-Prairie Challenge at a game apiece, the rivalry will be renewed to new heights with Saturday’s winner not only winning the annual U-Prairie Challenge, but will walk away as Hardy Cup Champions. The ultimate bragging rights.
Before the 2024 Canada West season even started or any season for that matter, any fan of the Huskies or Rams would dream of an all-Saskatchewan Hardy Cup once November rolls around. It’s been 22 years since these two teams have met in the championship game, which was also the first and only time these teams have met. That year saw the Huskies coming out victorious 44-28 claiming the Hardy Cup on Regina soil. Despite 22 years since their last Hardy Cup meeting and a complete change in players and personnel, Regina would undoubtedly love to return the favor after all these years.
Let’s start back on September 6th, the first meeting of the season. The Huskies are coming off a stunning loss to Manitoba in Week 1 while Regina was flying high winning their first game against Calgary. Week 2 was the first of two meetings in the U-Prairie Challenge with Regina getting the last laugh. After the opening quarter, Regina would lead 8-7 before the Huskies put up 21 points in the second quarter alone thanks to a 60-yard Anton Amundrud pass to Daniel Wiebe followed by a blocked punt return also recovered by Kayden Miller for the major, now 22-21 Huskies lead. Ryker Frank would rush in another touchdown from the one-yard line making it 28-22 Huskies going into halftime. The second half would be dominated by the Rams defence as the Huskies were held to zero points, while Regina would claw their way back to regain the lead and eventually seal the victory 33-28. Regina entered Week 3 as one of the top teams in the conference as a perfect 2-and-0, while the Huskies found themselves in very unfamiliar territory as a winless 0-and-2 team in the basement struggling to find answers.
Fast forward to Week 7, the Huskies have finally found their groove, winning three of their last four games since falling to the Rams. Two of those victories would come against the ninth ranked Alberta Golden Bears and seventh ranked Manitoba Bisons. Regina on the other hand, have lost their last four since starting the season 2-and-0. Recent play and records aside, both are very good football teams and expected to put on a show at Griffiths Stadium, and did they. Anton Amundrud had 278 passing yards for the Huskies that included an impressive 7 play and 95-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game finished off by Ryker Frank who then became the program’s all-time rushing touchdown leader. Regina would go into halftime with an 11-10 lead which would be quickly erased thanks to a Lukas Scott field goal and Daniel Wiebe touchdown late in the fourth quarter giving Saskatchewan a 22-14 lead. For Regina, Noah Pelletier had 235 passing yards including a late fourth quarter sneak-play touchdown bringing the Rams within two to tie the game, but would fail on the two-point convert sealing the win for Saskatchewan, their third in a row and the fifth loss in a row for Regina. The Huskies would clinch a playoff spot in the process while Regina would have to win their last game of the season against Alberta, which they’d do in comeback fashion scoring 16 unanswered points in the fourth stunning the Golden Bears 29-22 to clinch the final playoff spot in the conference.
Canada West semifinals would see the underdog on both sides come up victorious. The Huskies snatched victory from the hands of defeat against the defending champion UBC Thunderbirds on the road 38-33, while Regina stunned Manitoba 28-25, one of the top ranked teams in the country to setup an all-Saskatchewan Hardy Cup. So just how do these two teams match up against one-another? Here’s my three keys to Saturday afternoon’s showdown.
Defence wins championships
Saskatchewan’s defence struggled in their first two games of the season allowing 70 points while being unable to hold onto leads at any point in the game. Even with convincing victories over Manitoba and Alberta late in the season, Saskatchewan has, statistically, the worst defence in the conference allowing 29.1 points per game. But the bright side to that stat? In last weekend’s semifinal against UBC where the Thunderbirds held the lead lots and scored 33 points, the Huskies only allowed 84 yards on the ground. The defence for Saskatchewan has had its issues throughout the season, but have shown flashes amid their five-game winning streak that they’re much better than what the stats say.
Regina on the other hand has the best defence in the conference, only allowing 22.1 points per game. Remember that second meeting between the Huskies and Rams? Regina allowed 22 points on the dot, but that wasn’t enough for the victory. The Rams only allowed 25 points in their upset victory last week against the Bisons which was enough thanks to their game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Regina’s biggest goal is limiting the Huskies rush game led by Ryker Frank who is averaging 119 rushing yards per game and has 10 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Much like Week 7 where both defences were on display in the Huskies 22-20 win, whoever can keep their offence on the field longer and limit the other’s time of procession will have the best chance at winning the Hardy Cup.
Don’t sleep on Special Teams
Special teams will play a huge factor in Saturday’s matchup, but exactly what kind of factor we won’t see until then. When it comes to field goals, which we’ll probably see a few come Saturday, that advantage goes to the Huskies. Besides Manitoba, Saskatchewan has the best field goal percentage in the conference at 77.2 percent (13-for-18) while Regina has the worst percentage in the conference at 50 percent (9-for-18). As for punt returns, Saskatchewan is averaging 10.7 yards per punt return, the best in Canada West. Regina on the other hand is only averaging 6.0 yards per game which is the worst in the conference. However, Regina is second, next to Alberta, in kick return yards averaging 20.4 yards per game while Saskatchewan isn’t far behind averaging 19.1 yards per game, good for fourth in the conference.
It’s easy to look at the stats and give the better team the advantage, but in the postseason, nothing is predictable and both special teams will play a factor Saturday, but what and when that will be won’t be determined until opening kickoff.
Which Quarterback out performs the other?
Noah Pelletier has had a fantastic season for the Rams which may have gone a little under the radar due to their five-game losing streak during the season and all of the other quarterback that had great seasons. Pelletier averaged 208.9 yards per game this season which was slightly better than Bisons quarterback Jackson Tachinski, who was the Canada West Player of the Year. Just shows how deep the quarterback talent is in Canada West. Pelletier only threw four touchdowns during the regular season, but also found himself on the receiving end of some touchdowns thanks to some trick plays. That’ll be something to look out for on Saskatchewan’s end, Pelletier and the Rams offence aren’t scared to try new things.
As for Huskies quarterback Anton Amundrud, he led in every major quarterback category this season including 11 touchdowns, 284.4 average passing yards per game, and completing 68.8 percent of his passes on the season (194-for-282). Amundrud accumulated a total of 2275 passing yards in the regular season, also the best in Canada West. Even as the leader in all these major categories, Amundrud’s biggest challenge will be figuring out the Rams defence. In the pervious two meetings this season, Amundrud has thrown for 513 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. Compare that to Noah Pelletier, who in two games against the Huskies has thrown for 594 yards, three touchdowns, and only one interception which came in the last meeting.
Each quarterback is capable of leading their offence and team to victory, but Saturday will come down which quarterback can keep their squads on the field longer, limiting the mistakes, and of course capitalizing on every opportunity they get.
You can go through all the stats between these two teams, you can watch the previous two meetings in the regular season, and you can make all the predictions in the world, but the fact of the matter is both these teams have overcome significant hurdles during the regular season just to have a chance at playing for the Hardy Cup. Saskatchewan had to dig themselves out of a 0-and-2 start, while Regina had to search for their game and begin playing desperate football after losing five straight. Each team were underdogs in their respective semifinal matchups against Manitoba, one of the top teams in the country and UBC, the defending champions.
It may be the third ranked team against the fourth ranked team in the conference based of the standings, but as the last two teams standing it’s truly the two best teams battling for the Hardy Cup Saturday afternoon with each team having legitimate chances at not only advancing to the Vanier Cup, but winning it as well.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, the 87th BioSteel Hardy Cup comes first, and opening kickoff is at 1 p.m. from Griffiths Stadium.
