The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Huskies fell one win short of winning the 56th Vanier Cup, after a 27-21 defeat to the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s disappointing. We were so close. The Huskies haven’t won since 1998 and we really wanted to bring it back to Saskatchewan. I’m still really proud of how far we came,” said Huskies defensive linemen Nathan Cherry.
Saskatchewan was searching for their fourth Vanier Cup in program history and led 12-10 at half time, but it was the Mustangs third-quarter that was the difference. Western scored twice in the quarter, before adding a field goal in the fourth to take a 13-point lead. In the end, that was an insurmountable deficit for the Huskies.
Much was made about the Mustangs ground game in the days leading up to the Vanier and they showed why. Western ran for 209 yards on the ground, with three different backs amassing over 47 yards. Trey Humes led the way with 79 yards and a score.
It was a dream start for the Mustangs, who scored on the first possession of the ball game, as a Humes 25-yard touchdown capped a five-play 70-yard drive.
But Saskatchewan wasn’t fazed. David Solie added a 26-yard field goal late in the quarter, before Mason Nyhus connected with Daniel Perry in the early going of the second quarter to give the Huskies a two-point lead. The fourth-year pivot stood in the pocket and delivered a dime for the 22-yard score.
Western took control in the third. Evan Hillock and Griffin Campbell connected on 50 and 17-yard touchdown passes to put the Mustangs in front 27-13.
Josh Ewanchyna punched in a one-yard touchdown with under thirty seconds left in the ball game, but Saskatchewan was unable to recover an onside kick, sealing the fate of the ball game and the national championship for Western.
The game spelled an end to what was the best season since 2006 for the Huskies program. They reached the Vanier Cup for the first-time in 15 years, thanks to Hardy Cup and Uteck Bowl wins, which came following a dominant 5-1 regular season that seen five players named U SPORTS All-Canadians and 10 named as Canada West All-Stars.
Esterhazy native, Warriors Alumni and Huskies starting wide receiver Sam Baker mentioned his thoughts on the game saying his thoughts are mixed. “It sucks going all that way and not coming home with it all, but now having a day to look back on it I’m super proud of all the guys on what we went through as a group of men and the hill we had to climb to get the Vanier. From 27 teams to 2 is an impressive feat. There’s never an excuse for losing but the field conditions played a bigger factor than we had thought and it didn’t help at all. All the guys played their hearts out which is just another reason it’s such a heartbreaking loss. They were a good team but we don’t think they were any better than us. Games always come down to a few plays that go in huge favour towards your team and they ended up having more than us.”
Speaking about his plans for the future, Baker added, “For now my plans are pretty simple, training with my strength and conditioning coach Joel Lipinski at Ignite Athlete Conditioning and preparing myself as best as I can for CFL camp whenever it may be this spring.”
Sam wanted to share his appreciation for the community support he received. He said, “Another thing that has meant so much has been the tremendous amount of support. Not only myself, but our whole team had received throughout our whole playoff run. Personally, there were lots of people from my hometown and surrounding area sending messages of support post games and wishing us the best of luck. My high school head coach, Tyler Metz, who was very supportive throughout my whole career, came out to the Hardy Cup game in Saskatoon so I’m always thankful for that. As far as the team, it was amazing to see how much support our team got throughout it all from our school, the city, and the province. Our alumni group also is amazing, they do so much for us and during our week in Quebec and sent us a support video that was so eye-opening so see how many of them were behind us through everything. Having all of that behind you makes you feel pretty special and it’s definitely something I’ll hold with me.”
Noah Zerr, starting left tackle for the Huskies and Langenburg native, shared his thoughts on the game as well. “We knew it was gonna be a close game. We knew they were a good team and so were we. Games like those eventually come down to a handful of plays. The unfortunate part of that coin is that they just ended up making a couple more plays than we did. I think the condition of the turf played a huge factor. It was basically frozen solid, and everyone seemed to be slipping all game”
Zerr is setting his sights on the next level now if things work out. “I think it’s time for me to start preparing for the 2022 CFL draft. It happens to be my draft year this year and due to the amazing season we had I hope to get drafted to a professional football team.”
Noah is considered as one of the top 20 draft eligible players for this year’s CFL draft. He was voted First-Team All-Canadian at the university awards banquet held last Thursday. During the Vanier Cup, he was assigned to protect against Western’s Defensive Lineman Deionte Knight who was named the winner of the J.P. Metra Trophy as the Most Outstanding Lineman of the Year. Throughout the game, Zerr was able to silence the opposing Deionte Knight.
Zerr wanted to thank folks from back home as well. He mentioned, “I would just like to thank my entire community back home for rallying around me and the Huskies Football team. It was so incredible to see so much support from back home. It helped make an amazing season that much more unforgettable. Thanks so much to anyone that followed along this year!”
Rob Zerr of Langenburg, Noah’s father, explained the game well. He mentioned how strong the Huskies football program was in order to get to the Vanier Cup, which is the highest level of University football in Canada. The third quarter was the Achilles heel for the team, but the fact the team made the cup for the first time in fifteen years was huge for the program’s future growth. The opponent, the Western Mustangs, has been to the Vanier three out of the last four years. “It makes a difference when your guys have been to ‘the dance’ before. It was important that the red shirts and the guys not dressing made it to the game. Candice Claussen, head of the U of S Huskies parents group, made that happen..It won’t take fifteen years to get to the next one and they’ll be wanting more in the years to come.”
Rob explained that Claussen was instrumental in ensuring the thirty red-shirt players would be able to make the trip. The parents charter group paid extra so that the red-shirt players could be at the game.
An important point Rob mentioned was that making it to the Vanier Cup helps recruiting and getting to this point should help tremendously. He mentioned how appreciative he was of head coach Scott Flory’s style to build the culture there.
The final result was not what the Huskies wanted last Saturday. Noah Zerr and Sam Baker represented the area well and showed how healthy football is in the area, as well as in the nation. Everyone is behind the Huskies as they look to continue to grow toward the future. Area residents are also eager to witness the continued development of Baker and Zerr as they look to further their football careers.