No. 3 Huskies make statement with opening-week win over No. 1 Calgary

CALGARY – The third-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies scored on their opening possession and easily handled the top-ranked Calgary Dinos in all facets of the game to earn a 34-13 season-opening win Saturday night at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

It was far from the result the top-ranked Dinos were looking for heading into the season, and it snapped a 13-game overall home winning streak. Calgary’s last loss at home came Sept. 29, 2007.

A 69-yard touchdown scamper by Jeff Hassler just 96 seconds into the contest set the tone for a first-half explosion by the Huskies, who racked up 409 offensive yards in the first 30 minutes. An injury-riddled Calgary defence had trouble against the run and the pass, while the high-powered Dinos offence turned the ball over three times in the first half to give the visitors a 25-13 lead at the half.

Things went from bad to worse in the second for the Dinos as the rain began to pour over McMahon Stadium, with a scary moment coming early in the third quarter. Receiver Anthony Woodson was rocked by Huskies safety Bryce McCall trying to catch an Erik Glavic pass and lay on the turf for an extended period of time. Woodson was taken to hospital via ambulance as a precaution but is expected to be released later Saturday night.

With Woodson out and All-Canadian Anthony Parker also sidelined with a first-half injury, the Dinos offence sputtered through the last two quarters and didn’t put any points on the board. After a scoreless third quarter, Saskatchewan put the final nail in the coffin with just over three minutes to play in the fourth when Ben Coakwell found the end zone on a 20-yard run.

Saskatchewan’s Laurence Nixon finished 14-for-29 for 290 yards in the contest, with 262 of those yards coming in the opening half and a significant portion of those on an 87-yard TD strike to Jade Etienne, who led all receivers with 95 yards on the day. Braeden George had the other Huskies touchdown while Hassler was unstoppable in green and white, churning up 168 yards along the ground and another 41 through the air.

Reigning Hec Crighton trophy winner Glavic was 15-of-35 for 194 yards and one interception before walking off the field late in the fourth quarter. He had the Dinos’ lone touchdown on the day, a one-yard run early in the first quarter. His top target was Nathan Coehoorn, who had five catches for 71 yards. Glavic was also the Dinos’ leading rusher with 69 yards, while Matt Walter had 62.

Halfback-turned-linebacker Sam Hurl was a bright spot defensively for the Dinos, recording 12.5 tackles – 11 of which were unassisted – including a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss in a losing cause. McCall’s seven tackles led the way for Saskatchewan.

Aaron Ifield was good on both his field goal attempts from 33 and 41 yards for the Dinos, while Denton Kolodzinski hit a 20-yarder in the first quarter that put the Huskies in the lead for good. A 46-yard punt single by Kolodzinski and a conceded safety by the Dinos early in the fourth quarter rounded out the scoring.

The Huskies (1-0) return home to host the UBC Thunderbirds (0-1) next week at Griffiths Stadium, while the Dinos (0-1)  will look to regroup as they host the Regina Rams (1-0) Friday, Sept. 10 in the University of Calgary’s annual KICKOFF game.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter
SASK – Hassler 69-yard TD run, 1:36 (Kolodzinski convert), 7-0 SASK
CGY – Glavic 1-yard TD run, 5:01 (Ifield convert), 7-7
SASK – Kolodzinski 20-yard FG, 6:56, 10-7 SASK
SASK – Etienne 87-yard TD catch from Nixon, 15:00 (Kolodzinski convert), 17-7 SASK

2nd Quarter
SASK – George 11-yard TD catch from Nixon, 7:10 (Kolodzinski convert), 24-7 SASK
SASK – Kolodzinski 46-yard punt single, 10:40, 25-7 SASK
CGY – Ifield 33-yard FG, 12:31, 25-10 SASK
CGY – Ifield 41-yard FG, 13:46, 25-13 SASK

3rd Quarter
No scoring.

4th Quarter
SASK – TEAM safety, 0:18, 27-13 SASK
SASK – Coakwell 20-yard TD run, 3:01 (Kolodzinski convert), 34-13 SASK

Source:

Calgary Sports Info