The Saskatchewan Huskies hurt their playoff positioning by losing their last Canada West regular season game in decisive fashion as they dropped a 59-24 decision on the road to the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night.
The Huskies allowed 29 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunderbirds handed them their first defeat since their first game of the campaign. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak.
The lopsided loss hurt the Huskies’ positioning heading into the playoffs, too. Though the Huskies finished the season 6-2 and secured a home game, falling to the Thunderbirds relinquished their grip on the top seed in the conference.
The Thunderbirds, also 6-2, overtook them in the standings thanks to their plus-25 point differential in the two head-to-head matchups. The Huskies beat the Thunderbirds 34-24 in Saskatoon on Oct. 3.
The Huskies let this one slip away after controlling much of the first half and only heading into the break down 17-16.
Fourth-quarter touchdowns from Zach Patfield and Trey Montour – his second of the game – secured the win for UBC. The Thunderbirds threw salt in the wound when defensive lineman Alex Longo intercepted a pass and returned it 33 yards to the end zone. Riley Michaud ran one in from three yards out with 1:35 left in regulation to pad the lead even more.
Huskies running back Aulain Penner opened the scoring with a touchdown less than five minutes into the contests. Rhett Vavra hauled in a 20-yard pass from Jake Farrell late in the fourth quarter for Saskatchewan’s only other major.
The rest of the Huskies’ points came off kicker James Keane’s foot.
Despite the loss, Saskatchewan will host least one playoff game. Griffiths Stadium is the site of a Hardy Cup semifinal next Saturday at 2 p.m.
The opponent visiting Saskatoon has yet to be decided. Saturday’s contests between Manitoba and Regina, and Calgary and Alberta will determine the final two playoff seeds.
