Huskies fall to Western Mustangs in Mitchell Bowl

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies weren’t able to muster another upset win, falling to the Western University Mustangs 47-24 in the Mitchell Bowl Saturday.

The win puts the Mustangs back in the Vanier Cup for a rematch against the Laval Rouge et Or, as they look to claim back-to-back national championships.

Saskatchewan was looking to continue its season of upsets. After surpassing expectations by finishing the regular season at 5-3, the Huskies went on to capture the program’s first Hardy Cup since 2006 by beating the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary on the road to advance to Saturday’s Mitchell Bowl.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns to begin the game. Saskatchewan’s Colton Klassen opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown catch 4:54 into the game.

Western’s Harry McMaster followed with a 21-yard catch of his own to knot the game at 7-7 after the first quarter.

McMaster scored his second touchdown of the game 1:12 into the second quarter with another pass from quarterback Chris Merchant, this time from 31 yards out to give his team its first lead of the game.

Not to be outdone, Klassen added to his touchdown total with an eight-yard touchdown catch less than seven minutes later.

The teams would trade field goals to tie the game 17-17 at halftime.

That’s when Western began to take control of the game. A safety and a rushing touchdown by Merchant would make the game 26-17 for the Mustangs after three quarters.

Alex Taylor would make his mark on the game in the fourth quarter to extend the Mustangs lead with a 58-yard touchdown run.

Tyler Chow followed up with a 71-yard touchdown of his own before Western wore down the Huskies and ran in two more touchdowns before the game’s end.

Chow finished the game as the top rusher, gaining 143 yards on 21 attempts. McMaster led all receivers with 152 yards on 11 catches.

Western extended its win streak to 23 games with the win.