The University of Saskatchewan Huskies just keep rolling along in Canada West football action.
But it wasn’t without a bit of drama this time around against the Alberta Golden Bears.
James Keane hit a walk-off 41-yard field goal to give Saskatchewan a 21-19 victory in cool and rainy conditions on Friday night at Griffiths Field in Saskatoon. The kick completed an impressive comeback by the victors after they trailed by a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter and saw Saskatchewan improve to 6-1 on the campaign. Alberta falls to 2-7.
The Bears had the first solid opportunity to put points on the board early in the first quarter after recovering a fumble at the Huskies four yard line, but the Saskatchewan defence came up huge, getting a run stop and pair of pass incompletions to hold Alberta off the board.
The Huskies couldn’t move the ball on their next possession, though, and conceded a safety for the first points of the game 2:49 in. Saskatchewan then gave up another safety on their following series to make it a 4-0 Alberta lead.
A 30-yard field goal by Charlie Wiersma increased the Bears’ lead to 7-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter, and that’s where things would stand through 15 minutes.
Anton Amundrud got Saskatchewan’s offence rolling to start the second, and a nifty 11-play 100-yard drive would end with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Miller, tying the game 7-7 with 9:06 left until the half.
It was the Huskies turn to force Alberta into a safety to take their first lead with 6:59 remaining, and a missed 29-yard field goal went for a rouge on the ensuing Saskatchewan drive for a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Yet another safety on Alberta’s first possession of the second half increased the Huskies’ lead to five, but that’s when things suddenly started to go awry for the home team.
The Bears started their next drive on their own 54 and rattled off three consecutive big runs before Christian Veilleux found Jack Dumont with an eight yard pass for a 14-12 Alberta lead with 4:04 gone in the half.
A Saskatchewan safety with 5:57 to play in the third and 19-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining ran the Golden Bears lead to 19-12 heading into the final quarter.
Keane went to work from there, hitting from 32 yards on Saskatchewan’s first series with the ball in the fourth and then from the 25 with 4:59 to play to make it 19-18 Alberta lead.
That set up the biggest defensive play of the game, as with Alberta moving downfield in the final minutes, Saskatchewan’s Riece Kack would stuff Eli Hetinger on a third-and-one at the Huskies 42, giving his team the ball back with 30 seconds remaining.
Four plays for positive yardage later — including a 15-yard catch by Aulain Penner — and Keane has his long field goal for the victory.
Amundrud completed 18 of 33 passes for 239 yards, with Keaton Belsher hauling in eight catches for 101 yards to lead the receiving corps. Miller was Saskatchewan’s top ball carrier with 16 carries for 101 yards.
Veilleux completed 11 of 25 passes for 119 yards for Alberta, Sirani Brown had 21 carries for 94 yards and Isaiah Sanderson four catches for 73 yards.
Saskatchewan had 320 yards of total offence, Alberta 228.
The Huskies are back in action on Friday, Oct. 30 when they travel out west to face the UBC Thunderbirds.
