Source: Zach Rogers, Saskatchewan Sports Info / Photo credit: Josh Schaefer
SASKATOON - The No. 8 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies
shutout the visiting University of Alberta Golden Bears 32-0 Friday
night at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon’s PotashCorp
Park.
Saskatchewan’s defense proved to be too much for Alberta as
the Huskies limited the Golden Bears to just 235 total
yards. Rookie cornerback Travoy Martinez led the defensive
corps recording six tackles and two interceptions.
Martinez changed the momentum of the second half with his first
interception of the game. Alberta threatened to score after a
Brent Krawchuck interception giving the Bears the ball on the
Huskies 21-yard line. Martinez shadowed his receiver to the corner
of the end zone and won the jump ball giving the Huskies the ball
back with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter.
That was the closest the Bears would come to scoring.
The win marked the 10th straight season that the Huskies opened
their regular season with a win. It was also the Huskies
first shutout since a 25-0 win over the Calgary Dinos in 2008.
Saskatchewan improves to 14-3 in conference play against theGolden
Bears in the last 10 season.
“I knew were going to be more intense and we were going to
play with more emotion,” said Huskie head coach Brian
Towriss. “We had a pretty good first half. I
wasn’t terribly thrilled with our second half performance on
offence.”
The Huskies scored on their opening two possessions in the first
half. Rookie pivot Drew Burko led a balanced 49-yard opening drive
capped by a Cole Samson 24-yard field goal. With their second
possession tailback Jeremy Andrew broke a 22-yard run to start the
drive before capping it off with an eight-yard touchdown run.
Alberta quarterback Curtis Dell completed 16-of-33 attempts for 147
yards and three interceptions in the losing effort. Dell spread
theball around with five different Bears’ receivers tallying
20 or more receiving yards. Backup pivot Ryan Schwartz went 5-for-6
good for 31 yards.
Tailback Joel Mukendi was the leading rusher for the Bears
registering just 16 yards on 12 carries. Kicker Stephen Fabian led
the Golden Bears rushing for 26 yards on two attempts.
Fabian’s longest run came when he fumbled the snap in the end
zone and took off for 37 yards to avoid the safety.
Burko threw for 187 yards going 13-of-24 with one touchdown and two
interceptions in his first career CIS regular season game. Backup
Chase Bradshaw entered the game in the fourth quarter passing for
43 yards and completed 4-of-7 attempts.
Defensively, Connor Ralph and Tyler Greenslade led the Bears with
six tackles a piece. Middle linebacker Dane Bishop, and
defensive end Zach Hart also had strong performances finishing with
six and 5.5 tackles respectively.
Saskatchewan travels to Winnipeg to meet theUniversity of Manitoba
Bisons next weekend, while the Golden Bears remain on the road to
face the No. 3 ranked University of Calgary Dinos.