Huskies FB: Dogs and Golden Bears clash for a windy pre-season match

Even though it was an exhibition game, Griffiths Stadium still brought in a crowd of 1,789 to see the Saskatchewan Huskies grab a 35-1 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears on a cool and breezy August evening. Among the many storylines from training camp and ahead of next weekend’s season opener, the biggest was the return of fifth-year quarterback Anton Amundrud after stepping away from the team last October to battle non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Amundurd was under center for the first quarter and a half and completed nine-of-14 targets on the evening for 154 yards and was sacked once. Amundrud’s longest throw was a 33-yard connection with Tyrus Flory to bring the Huskies into the redzone, eventually leading to a Dogs touchdown. That was the first scoring play of the game with running back Aulain Penner taking one of his eight attempts in the first half into the endzone. Penner finished the first half with 63 yards, his longest dash being a 19-yard pick up early in the game while finishing the game with 95 total rushing yards.

Amundrud led the charge down field again in his final appearance of the game to set up fellow quarterback Elias Flory in short yardage territory and punched home the second touchdown on the evening for Saskatchewan, giving them a 14-0 lead. The biggest play of the first half came from Saskatchewan’s defence late as the Golden Bears marched the ball to the Huskies three-yard line before the Dogs stopped Alberta in their tracks with Kai Kukurudza knocking down a pass attempt on third down. Jake Farrell stepped in at quarterback for Saskatchewan late in the half, helping setup Lukas Scott for a 48-yard field goal to end the half 17-0 for the Huskies.

The second half saw both sides sit most of their starters and gave chances to their backups and younger players. Alberta got the first crack early but was foiled by a Sam Prett interception to give Elias Flory his first look at quarterback for the Huskies. The Golden Bears eventually found their way on the scoreboard with a single, making it a 17-1 game for Saskatchewan.

The fourth quarter saw much more action, highlighted by a sack for Saskatchewan’s Jace Zidar on the first play that was followed by Elias Flory connecting with Ethan Clazie with a beautiful throw into the endzone, increasing Saskatchewan’s lead to 24-1. The Dogs would find the endzone one more time before time expired to help seal the win 35-1.

Week 1 of the Canada West regular season begins next Friday, September 4th with a doubleheader including the Alberta Golden Bears home to the Regina Rams at 6:30 p.m., while the Saskatchewan Huskies open their season next Saturday, September 5th on the road against the Manitoba Bison at 2 p.m. Saskatchewan’s home opener is Friday, September 11th against the Calgary Dinos.

Following is postgame audio from scrums with Huskies Head Coach Scott Flory, quarterback Anton Amundrud, and running back Aulain Penner…

Scott Flory