Saskatchewan’s two university football programs generally save their biggest games for teams outside the border.
It’s a short drive between Saskatoon and Regina, but a long wait for what’s about to happen on Saturday — a 1 p.m. Canada West championship clash between the Regina Rams and host University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
The provincial rivals haven’t met in a playoff game since 2012, and in a Canada West final since 2002. But this season, they set things up nicely: The Rams beat the Huskies 33-28 on Sept. 6, and the Huskies won 22-20 on Oct. 19.
“It’s been punches back and forth with them,” says Huskies linebacker Lane Novak. “Both games were tight. They’re a physical team, we’re a physical team. And there’s always just a little bit of that provincial rivalry in the back of our minds.
“They’re trying real hard to beat us, and vice versa. We want to beat them real bad. So yes — there’s always just a little bit more on the table. And especially in the Hardy Cup, there’s going to be lots of fans, lots on the table, lots of that provincial rivalry.”
This has not been an easy trek for either team. The Rams squeezed into the fourth and final playoff spot with a 3-5 record, then upset first-place Manitoba 28-25 this past weekend.
The Huskies, after a 1-3 start, have won five games in a row including last weekend’s come-from-behind 38-33 playoff win over British Columbia. Saskatchewan scored two touchdowns in the last minute, the latter one aided by recovering an onside kick. The Huskies have tried three of those this season, and came up with the ball all three times.
Overall, five of Saskatchewan’s six wins have been decided in the last minute.
“There’s one really cool thing about this team,” Novak says. “Everyone can say it, but on this team, we feel it — and it’s that we’re never out of the game. And the last five minutes of (Saturday’s playoff) game, things were still not going quite our way, but there was a belief.
“Nobody on the sideline was hanging their head. Everyone understood that we’re gonna have to score, we’re gonna have to get the onside kick, and that’s how we’re gonna win the game. And when it came down to it, we were ready.”
“It’s not always what you want,” adds Huskies’ offensive tackle Jack Warrack, “but it’s been our MO. We get it done when it matters. We’re going to try to take care of business a little bit early against Regina, not leave it to the last minute.”
Saturday’s matchup is a statistical oddity, and a neat bit of trivia. It’s the first time since 2002 that the No. 3 and 4 teams in the standings have met for the Canada West final, and that year, Saskatchewan and Regina were the two teams involved.
Saskatchewan — 4-4 during the regular season — beat 5-3 Regina 44-28 on a snowy day at what was then Taylor Field.
“Sometimes you’ll see a team or two kind of separate, but I would say this conference has been wide open from the start,” says Huskies’ head coach Scott Flory. “Six really good teams, and you could make an argument for any two of those six to be in this game. It just happened to be us and Regina, because we both did enough last week to win, to give us that opportunity.
“You always say with provincial stuff, you can throw the records out the window, because the regular season doesn’t matter right now. We’ve got to worry about being at our best for three hours on Saturday.”
Last year’s Huskies were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round after reaching the previous two Vanier Cups. Now they have an unexpected playoff home game, against an unexpected rival.
“The Battle of the Green. That fires me up,” says Warrack, who was named a conference all-star this weekend alongside fellow Huskies Daniel Wiebe (receiver), Ryker Frank (running back), Kody Gutek (fullback/tight end) and Seth Hundeby (linebacker).
“It’s going to be a great game. I hope everyone’s family comes out and supports whoever’s team they’re on. It’s going to be awesome.”
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