Huskies take on Dinos in key Canada West football clash

The University of Saskatchewan football Huskies are in tough Saturday as they prepare for a rematch loaded with U Sports playoff implications.

The dogs are at McMahon Stadium attempting to topple the undefeated University of Calgary Dinos.

The game could go a long way in deciding the Canada West playoff picture as the Huskies (3-1) and Dinos (4-0) look to gain some breathing room from the teams hot on their heels.

For now, Huskies head coach Scott Flory and his squad are looking to keep the high-flying Dinos offence in check after quarterback Adama Sinagra nearly broke the U Sports record for passing yards in a game with 569 in a 37-28 win over the Huskies at Griffiths Stadium two weeks ago.

“They’re a really good football team, there’s no doubt about it,” Flory said before reflecting on the last outing. “Just a bunch of missed opportunities on our part.”

“We missed those that week, and all the other weeks we’ve made those plays.”

Flory knows where his team will have to battle if they hope to keep Sinagra and any big-play potential in check.

“We got to be good up front and that just helps the back end,” he said. “They’re a big play team.”

“We got to win the line of scrimmage and we hope to do that on both sides of the ball.”

Defensive lineman Tristian Koronkiewicz is one of the men Flory will be trusting to keep Sinagra in check.

“I think we’re a little bit more ready this time around,” he said of the rematch. “We got to work as a whole unit, play together in every aspect of the game.”

“Going into the bye week, coming out 4-1 would be absolutely huge for us.”

The Huskies will look to rely on Kyle Siemens, Colton Klassen and Tyler Chow to shoulder the offensive load in Calgary.

Siemens thinks his team’s best defence is a good offence.

“We can help out or defence and  keep (the Dinos) off the field and just put together some long drives,” Siemens said. “We just execute on our side of the ball, we know they can stand up and make plays on their side.”

The Huskies were the biggest movers on the national top ten rankings this past week, jumping from ninth to sixth.

There’s also a record watch to note Saturday as Kyle Siemens needs just 219 yards to pass his father Doug for fourth all-time in Huskies passing yards.

Both Siemens and Flory shrugged off the statistic

“I don’t even know if he knows the stat, if he does, then I’ll smack him to get it out of his head because that’s none of his concern,” Flory said. “That’s something you reflect on when your career is done.”

“We got to be here in the moment, we got to worry about today and get better today.”

The Huskies will move into a bye week over the Thanksgiving holiday before travelling to Vancouver to face the Thunderbirds on Oct. 12.