U of S Huskies lost to the Guelph Gryphons in a non-conference game on Friday 24, 2012, with a final score of 21-26.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team was hit hard Aug. 24 in a 26-21 non-conference loss to the visiting University of Guelph Gryphons at Griffiths Stadium.

Six Huskies, including the squad’s first- and second-string tailbacks, left the field with injuries.

“I’m not so concerned about the score but I am concerned that we didn’t hit anybody,” Huskies head coach Brian Towriss said following the game. “We paid a physical price and it looks like we’re going to lose a couple guys for a little bit. That just tells me that we got out hit big time.”

Dexter Janke, who is expected to be the Huskies’ starting tailback this year, watched most of the game on crutches after suffering a knee injury early in the first quarter.

His backup, Shane Buchanan, went down with a hamstring injury late in the first half after putting up 33 yards on eight carries.

Fifth-year Huskie safety Bryce McCall also left the game early after taking a crushing block from Gryphons receiver Dillon Dimitroff. Receiver Garrett Burgess, who suffered the most serious injury, was forced to leave the game after breaking his collarbone.

While Towriss said Burgess will be out indefinitely and that Janke will likely miss two to four weeks, he expects to see Buchanan and McCall return to the lineup shortly.

Guelph “really, really took it to us physically at the start of the football game,” Towriss said.

Drew Burko

The Gryphons scored the first touchdown of the game after defensive back Zachary Androschuk intercepted a tipped pass from Huskie quarterback Drew Burko and gave Guelph the ball on Saskatchewan’s 43-yard line.

Gryphons quarterback Jazz Lindsey hit receiver Carl Trivieri with a deep pass that landed the Gryphons on the one-yard line and gave running back Robert Farquharson an easy touchdown.

Burko, a first-year slated to be the Huskies’ starting quarterback this year, immediately bounced back from the interception and led Saskatchewan on a strong drive, highlighted by a 63-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kit Hillis, to finish the first quarter.

The two squads went back and forth until halftime, with the Huskies leading 15-14 going into the break.

The game slowed to a standstill in the third quarter and neither team could add to the scoreboard until late in the frame. With less than two minutes remaining, Guelph quarterback Mike Carney ran in a three-yard touchdown. His squad capitalized on a two-point conversion to take a 22-15 lead.

While the Huskies added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, a Guelph field-goal and rouge punt kept the game out of Saskatchewan’s reach.

Burko, who played for most of the game’s first half, threw for 176 yards and completed 13 of 19 pass attempts. He also rushed 37 yards on three carries.

“I just tried to play my game. I didn’t try to do anything extra special,” Burko said. “The O-line made great holes and the receivers were blocking downfield so it made it easy to pick up some yards.”

Second-string quarterback Chase Bradshaw, the former starting quarterback for the Saskatoon Hilltops junior team, ran a few plays in the second quarter and played the entire fourth quarter. He completed 10 of 19 passes, threw for 159 yards and ran in a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Third-string quarterback Matthew Bonaca played in the third quarter. He rushed for 14 yards and completed one of five pass attempts.

“Quarterback is the least of our problems,” Towriss said after the game.

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Photos: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf