Rookie Belsher breaks through to help Huskies to 44-24 victory in homecoming game

As Keaton Belsher left the field at Griffiths Stadium with a wide smile on Friday night, it’s hard to believe the lanky receiver had completed only his second university football game.

Just months removed from his final classes of high school, the Moose Jaw product had a home debut to remember for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a 44-24 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos.

Belsher strung together one of the best rookie receiving performances in program history, as he hauled in 180 yards and two touchdowns to help the Huskies get their first win of the season in their annual homecoming game.

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“It’s something you dream about when you’re a little kid,” Belsher said. “Playing in the university and putting on for the whole university, and especially the province.”

A true first-year recruit, Belsher quickly elevated to the Huskies starting lineup at receiver after a stellar training camp which caught the eye of Scott Flory.

Post-game, the Huskies head coach glowed about his promising new option and how quickly he’s jumped from high school football to the Canada West level.

“You never really know how it’s going to translate and how fast it’s going to translate too,” Flory said.

“Even with our offence, he’s picked it up. The kid’s been doing great and you’re starting to see a little taste of what’s to come.”

Belsher’s breakout night against the Dinos put him just 20 yards shy from the Huskies’ top-10 single-game receiving performances, as he was targeted a team-high seven times by quarterback Anton Amundrud and averaged over 25 yards per reception.

“Players who can come in as a rookie and make that kind of impact, they’re special,” Amundrud said. “It’s awesome seeing him grow every week and every practice honestly. Coming out here and having the performance he had shows that he’s been working.”

Wearing the same number two uniform as graduated Huskies star receiver and current Saskatchewan Roughrider Daniel Wiebe, Belsher made quite the impact in his first appearance in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,052 Huskies fans.

As for his expectations heading into the first home game of his career, he hoped a moment like this would have been possible.

“That’s always the goal,” Belsher said.

“Did I really think so? No, but that’s always the goal. I came out here and I wanted to compete, and kind of show these guys that I can play with them. I think I’ve done a great job of that.”

A record-setter with the Central Collegiate Cyclones in Moose Jaw, Belsher is now emerging as a potential Canada West star after racking up 102 catches for 2,305 yards and 35 touchdowns in just 23 career high school games.

Keaton credits his time spent with his father Colin, who coached him with the Cyclones, for preparing him for life under the lights at Griffiths Stadium.

“He’s been my head coach all through youth football,” Belsher said. “I look up to him, he’s my mentor. I’m just thanking him for the good genes.”

Friday’s victory was just the medicine the Huskies needed after coming out flat in their season opener last weekend against the Manitoba Bisons, suffering a 40-22 defeat.

Amundrud said the group is ready to turn the page from their underwhelming start to the Canada West season, with their homecoming win playing a big part in that.

“It shows how resilient of a group we have,” Amundrud said.

“We learned from Week 1 and we understand that we can’t let that stuff happen. It’s the Canada West, every team is good and we saw that in the third quarter.”

Saskatchewan wasted no time, as just 1:35 into the game the Huskies made good on their first series with a handoff to running back Javin Boynton on third down.

Boynton bounced the ball to the outside and rumbled 81 yards to the end zone, outrunning the entire Dinos defence for the 7-0 score to ignite the home crowd.

After a safety given up by Saskatchewan, a 7-2 lead held until the final minute of the first quarter.

Calgary drove the field late including a throw from quarterback David Jordan to Tim Duerr to get the Dinos in the red zone, before Jordan threw a three-yard touchdown pass to running back Evan Smith.

On the ensuing two-point conversion, Matt Sibley hauled in the Jordan throw to make it a 10-7 lead for Calgary after one quarter.

Saskatchewan got the lead back on their opening drive of the second quarter, as Flory decided to gamble with a third and goal play on the four-yard line.

Amundrud rolled out to find a wide open Thomas Jule in the end zone 2:39 into the quarter to regain their lead 14-10.

The Huskies kept the offence rolling before halftime, with Belsher getting the ball down to the goal line on a 28-yard throw by Amundrud.

After being stuffed by the Calgary defence twice, Boynton finally plunged into the end zone on third down for his second touchdown of the night and a 22-10 lead for Saskatchewan.

Belsher continued his breakout game 3:40 into the third quarter, as he nabbed a 22-yard pass from Amundrud for the first touchdown of his Huskies career to boost Saskatchewan’s lead to 18.

Calgary managed to get some points back with a long drive to the red zone, which was finished off with an eight-yard touchdown reception by Pasquale Delmonaco with 4:51 left in the quarter to make it a 28-17 game.

On the final play of the third quarter, the Dinos got their biggest play of the night with a catch and run by Sibley which he took 52 yards to the house to cut the deficit to 28-24.

Just as Calgary appeared to be nearing a comeback early in the fourth quarter with a 47-yard field goal attempt to make it a one-point game, Saskatchewan punched right back with a massive special teams play.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies kick returner Daniel Kubongo (#15) running back his record-breaking 123-year missed field goal return touchdown against the University of Calgary Dinos on Sept. 11, 2026. (Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics)

Returner Daniel Kubongo caught the missed field goal attempt from Boaz Comeau and ran the ball 123 yards back to the opposite end zone for the momentum-shifting touchdown to give the Huskies some breathing room.

According to Kubongo, the last 10 yards were a little more than stressful with Calgary players hot on his heels.

“At the corner of my eyes I saw a white jersey creep up on me,” Kubongo said.

“I just said, ‘Daniel, push a little bit more, maybe high step into the end zone.’ Thankfully by the grace of God, I got in the end zone and celebrated with my teammates.”

Kubongo’s 123-yard play marked the longest missed field goal return in program history, beating Brennan Fobel’s 120-yard touchdown return during the 1996 season.

Flory said it was a play which completely flipped the feel of the game, with the Huskies able to build on their 11-point lead over the final 11:51 of the fourth.

“Good teams find a way to tilt it back your way,” Flory said. “To erase that momentum when the other team has it and to get it back, and Daniel did it in a big way.”

Belsher capped off his memorable evening with a 35-yard touchdown reception from Amundrud with 8:12 left on the clock for his second score of the night, which he punctuated with a back flip in the end zone.

It was a milestone night for Amundrud as well, as he reached 500 career completions in his U Sports career to become the fifth quarterback in program history to do so, while he also passed Steve Bilan for the sixth-most career passing yards in a Huskies uniform.

Amundrud, who sits at 6,642 career yards, now trails assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mason Nyhus by 197 yards for fifth-place in program history.

More importantly according to Flory, is the team getting back on track after their rough start to the year and setting a baseline for the rest of the season.

“I said that’s the first step back to who we want to become,” Flory said. “We got a long ways to go, we got a lot of work to do and we got to get back to work, but this was much better.”

The Huskies (1-1) hit the road for their next two games, starting on Sept. 19 when they visit the University of Alberta Golden Bears (0-2) at 6:30 p.m.

Read more:

• U of S Huskies hungry for bounce-back performance against Dinos
• Riders move kicker Alex Hale to practice roster, Dawson Hodge to start in Winnipeg
• ‘He loved the game’: Sask. hockey icon Melrose remembered by cousin, NHL great Clark