Bisons’ comeback falls short
Number two-ranked Huskies now unbeaten
Sherri Lamb
Photo by David Lipnowski
It was a valiant comeback effort, but in the end the number two-ranked team in the nation, the University of Saskatchewan, was just too strong for the home side this past weekend.
The University of Manitoba Bisons’ four-game winning streak over Canada West conference opponents came to a screeching halt on Sept. 10 as the 2004 Vanier Cup finalists came away with a 27-21 win.
Despite the loss, Bisons head coach Brian Dobie was happy with the effort his team showed in the second half, erasing a deficit and proving they can play with the Huskies.
“We came back. There was a lot of confidence in the dressing room at halftime. [The team] knew we’d made a couple of mistakes that would cost us big,” said Dobie. The Herd outscored the Huskies 13-3 in the second half after trailing 24-8.
“Even though it was a loss, it was an absolute character win for us,” said Dobie. “Our program’s taken a big step in today’s game.”
At the time of their season-opening win over the University of Calgary Dinos, the Bisons had won four consecutive games, including the final two regular season games in 2004 and a pre-season win over the University of Regina Rams in August.
Last season, the herd had the number one rushing defense in Canada West, but this time they couldn’t stop the Huskies’ fifth-year running back David Stevens, who accumulated 185 yards on the ground. Stevens racked up 54 yards when he broke through the Bisons’ defense in the first quarter, running all the way to the end zone after the Huskies’ gamble on third-and-one. The touchdown gave the U of S an early 10-0 lead.
“It was a battle every time I got the ball. They were pounding me and I give credit to their defense – they’re a big physical defense and I’ll be feeling that for a week,” said Stevens.
Stevens also added another rushing touchdown in the second quarter, when he scampered two yards to put the Huskies up 17-7. He was also Saskatchewan’s leading receiver, with 88 yards on the day, including a 40-yard touchdown reception to give the U of S a 24-8 lead at the half. In total, Stevens had 273 of the Huskies’ 384 offensive yards.
“Sometimes you just get beat by another team that has an excellent play and all the right personnel in place to make that play,” said Dobie. Stevens ran for 128 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns in the Huskies first-week win over the Regina Rams.
After lighting up the Dinos’ defense last week, Bison third-year quarterback Ryan Zahara had trouble penetrating the Huskies’ defense in the first half. He did settle in to a rhythm in the second half, finding second-year wide receiver Terry Firr, for a 15-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, linebacker Cory Huclack recovered an on-side kick at the Huskies’ 25-yard line, and returned it to the 21. Before fourth-year running back Darwin Thompson made a one-yard dive for the touchdown, pulling the Herd to within a field goal at 24-21, Zahara completed a pass to third-year slot back Blair Atkinson to set up the play at the one-yard line.
Zahara finished the day at 17-for-31 with 209 yards and one interception, while his counterpart with the Huskies, fifth-year Steve Bilan, was 14-for-24 with 202 yards and two interceptions. The Bisons seemed to have a case of “fumble-itis” as they coughed up the ball three times. Saskatchewan managed only one fumble on the day.
The win moves the Huskies to 2-0, for a share of the top in the Canada West conference with the University of Alberta. The loss drops the Bisons to 1-1, tied with Regina for third.
The Bisons are off to British Columbia to face the recently ninth-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, Sept. 16. The Thunderbirds (0-1) suffered a home loss to the Regina Rams in their first game, 41-23.
