The Saskatchewan Huskies moved to 4-3 on the season and clinched their 12th consecutive playoff berth with a 27-10 win over the Alberta Golden Bears Oct. 20 at Foote Field in Edmonton.

Saskatchewan quarterback Chase Bradshaw, starting in place of the injured Drew Burko, tossed three touchdown passes and went 17-for-28 accumulating 230 yards through the air and one interception. Bradshaw also rushed the ball eight times, picking up 27 yards on the ground.

The Canada West leading receiver, Kit Hillis, amassed 111 yards and a touchdown for the Dogs on seven catches in the game. Huskies receiver Charlie Power also caught the ball four times for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Shane Buchanan ran the ball 19 times for 61 yards to lead the Huskies’ ground game. It was through the air that the rookie tailback managed to score, however, catching a nine-yard touchdown pass after the Bears turned the ball over to the Huskies at the end of the first quarter. The score put the Dogs up 10-3.

After another Golden Bears fumble in the second quarter, Power caught his first CIS touchdown on a 17-yard pass from Bradshaw.

Alberta battled back and tightened the match before halftime. Quarterback Curtis Dell orchestrated a six-play drive for 77 yards that ended with a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Dillon Prince and made the score 17-10 at halftime. Dell finished the game completing 20 of 43 pass attempts for 174 yards with one touchdown, two sacks and three interceptions.

Saskatchewan’s fifth-year safety Bryce McCall caught one of the interceptions, the 21st of his career, tying a CIS record. Corbin Eskelson also had a strong defensive showing for the Huskies. The fifth-year linebacker led the team with seven tackles, one interception and one sack.

Alberta linebacker Ryan Dean led his team in tackles with 7.5. Dean also forced one fumble and recovered two more, including one for an 80-yard return.

With the loss the Golden Bears remain winless on the season while the Huskies win means they will most likely finish third in Canada West and travel to Regina in the opening round of the playoffs.

With one week remaining in the regular season the Dogs will take on the 2-5 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at home Oct. 26. Kickoff is at 7 p.m at Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.

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Photo: Beibei Lu