Few teams can figure out how to win when they fumble the ball nine times in one game, but the University of Saskatchewan Huskies weren’t afraid to try on Oct. 22 under the lights of Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The Huskies, who were lucky that the Regina Rams only recovered three of their nine fumbles, barely hung on to clinch a playoff spot in a 16-15 victory over the Rams.

Despite their clumsy hands, however, the Dogs still managed to tally 269 yards total on offence — 22 yards better than Regina’s total even though the Rams’ offence had nearly 8 more minutes on the field than the Huskies.

Saskatchewan’s defence set the tone early by picking up one of their two interceptions in the game on the Rams’ second play. This gave the offence a short field to work with and allowed running back Ben Coakwell to run the ball into the end zone from 7 yards out, opening the scoring for the Huskies.

The Rams got on the board early in the second quarter after kicker Chris Bodnar matched Huskies kicker Stephen McDonald’s rouge punt for a single point.

A botched Huskies snap only a few minutes later gave the ball to Regina on Saskatchewan’s 17 yard line. Rams running back Adrian Charles capped the five play drive with a short one yard plunge for the Rams’ only touchdown of the game.

Bodnar would put up another single point and boot a 30-yard field goal to put the Rams ahead 12-8 at halftime.

The second half started slow, as the third quarter only yielded one point on a punt from McDonald. It would prove, however, to be a valuable point for the Huskies in the end.

The Huskies kept with their two man quarterback system as Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren started the game while Trent Peterson relieved him of his duties late in the first half.

Peterson had a dominating performance this week. He started the fourth quarter with a 70-yard catch and run play to Rory Kohlert that, combined with a Regina penalty, got the ball down to Regina’s one-yard line. Gilbert-Knorren came in for the one-yard quarterback sneak to give the Huskies a lead that they wouldn’t give up.

It came close, however, when Saskatchewan had the ball on third down with only five seconds left in the game. They wanted to punt it away and let the clock run out, but McDonald fumbled the snap. It was a wild chase for the ball and Regina got possession, but with no time remaining on the clock it was too late for the Rams.

Defensively, the Dogs were solid once more. Besides allowing only one touchdown, linebackers Tom Lynch and Tony Michalchuk combined for 19 tackles. Michalchuk also had a sack and the interception that led to the Huskies’ first touchdown. Cornerback Mitch Friesen had the other interception.

If the Huskies can win this week against Alberta, they will finish no lower than third place. A win combined with a UBC loss to Calgary would give the Huskies second spot. A UBC win would put Saskatchewan in third regardless of how the Dogs play against Alberta.

If the Dogs lose to Alberta, they will also finish in third place unless Manitoba beats the Rams, in which case the Dogs could drop down to fourth spot — which still qualifies them for playoffs.

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File photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf