Two football teams played pinball with the rickety old scoreboard at Griffiths Stadium Friday night.
Once the caroms had ended, once the ricochets had settled down, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies found themselves on the winning end of a wild 44-40 overtime game against the visiting Calgary Dinos.
As victorious head coach Scott Flory walked out to meet the press later, the first thing he talked about was what a great game of football it had been.
“Back and forth,” he said. “They made plays, we made plays. They’ve got some talent, we’ve got some talent. It was just a good football game.”
He emphasized “good”, giving it extra timbre, and he won’t meet many detractors on that count.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game that close, at the end, coming down to inches,” said Huskies’ tailback Ryker Frank, who will get serious consideration as conference offensive player of the week after running 34 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
The Huskies needed this win. They entered the contest with an 0-2 record, and they’d lost five of their last six regular-season and playoff games dating back to last season.
The teams were knotted at 34-34 heading into overtime — Calgary’s Tyson Rowe scored the tying touchdown from a yard out with 3:08 on the clock — and they made a nail-biter of it during a pair of mini-games.
Saskatchewan’s Lucas Scott kicked a 25-yard field goal on the Huskies’ first possession, and Calgary’s Vince Triumbari responded with a 25-yarder of his own to send the OT into a second session.
Triumbari booted a 42-yard field goal after the Dinos scrimmaged first, and the Huskies knew they’d need a touchdown to win. Flory opted for a do-or-die gamble on third-and-one at Calgary’s 26, and rookie Javin Boynton made it pay off with a two-yard run.
Four plays later, Boynton scored from three yards out, giving the Huskies the win before a homecoming crowd announced at 8,733.
“I knew we had it,” Flory said of the gamble, which he chose instead of attempting a tying field goal. “I believe in our guys. I just do .We’d done pretty well up front and controlled the line of scrimmage, for the most part, on the offensive line. And you’ve got to make some plays every now and again. That’s just what it is. As (Kansas City Chiefs head coach) Andy Reid said, you’ve got to risk it for the biscuit.”
Saskatchewan quarterback Anton Amundrud hit 25 of 33 passes for 286 yards and an interception. His Calgary counterpart, Dom Britton, completed 17 of 32 for 284 yards and a touchdown.
Saskatchewan scored five touchdowns on the ground, including the aforementioned three from Frank (nine, 15 and four yards), and two from Boynton (one and three yards).
Scott connected on all three field-goal attempts, hitting from 37, 45 and 25 yards.
Calgary got a 30-yard touchdown off a blocked punt from Connor Jones, along with a 60-yard TD catch from Isaiah Woodley, a four-yard run from Britton and the one-yard run from Rowe.
Triumbari added field goals of 41, 25 and 42 yards for the Dinos, who are also 1-2.
“Can West is always super-competitive,” said Saskatchewan linebacker Seth Hundeby, whose unit was missing a handful of injured front-seven starters. “I think this year is going to be more competitive than ever. Every win, every point you can get, is going to be crucial at the end of the season.”
The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Vancouver for a game with the British Columbia Thunderbirds.
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With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.