It was a duel of the backup quarterbacks on Saturday night in Saskatoon as Saskatchewan won their fifth game of the season in a 31-24 victory over Alberta.
Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Farrell was named the starter over Anton Amundrud, and Alberta quarterback Trey Reider got the start over Eli Hetlinger after replacing him in last week's 38-18 win over UBC.
The Golden Bears were searching to make it two in a row and came close, but it was the Huskies who walked away with the victory to keep pace with Regina for first in Canada West.
Farrell showed promise as the possible heir to Amundrud in the win. The first-year signal caller tossed for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 20 of 32 completed passes, while allowing just one interception. Daniel Wiebe recorded another 100-yard game with a touchdown on Saturday. The wideout continued his player of the year campaign as he chases down sole possession of the Huskies' all-time receiving touchdown record.
Reider held his own in his first U SPORTS start with 238 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 16 of 28 completed passes. The fourth-year quarterback also did some damage on the ground Saturday night. Reider took off 10 times for 56 rushing yards. Kettyle showcased his versatility once again, collecting 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.
Huskies stay hot
The Golden Bears got on the board first, but it was not conventional. A snap sailed over the head of Huskies punter Lukas Scott on the snap, and Scott kicked the ball off the turf through the back of the end zone before a Golden Bear could get to the ball. Alberta went up 2-0 after the safety with 8 minutes left in the opening quarter, but that was as close as they would come to a touchdown for a while.
Saskatchewan started to find their groove on offence after Farrell got more comfortable in the pocket. Farrell fired a 20-yard pass to Daniel Wiebe, who fought through a sea of Golden Bears to find the end zone on a 55-yard touchdown play.
The Huskies added to their 7-2 lead from the first frame with another touchdown halfway through the second. This time from 14 yards out, Farrell found Dawson Leanna to his right at the goal line for the touchdown, which turned out to be his only reception of the game. Up 14-2 in the back half of the second quarter, the Huskies were firing on all cylinders.
However, the game was about to take a wild turn.
The Golden Bears came alive to end the first half and capped off a 31-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run from Duncan Critch to cut the Huskies' lead to 14-8 at halftime. Then, five minutes into the third quarter, it was Carter Kettyle's turn to reel in an eight-yard touchdown pass to give the Golden Bears a slim 15-14 lead. The two sides would trade score for score, with the Huskies grabbing a rushing touchdown from Ryker Frank four minutes after the Alberta touchdown and Kettyle responding with his second of the night five minutes later to end the third.
Alberta took a 24-21 lead into the fourth, but Saskatchewan took over control of the game in the final frame. The Huskies nailed a 31-yard field goal to tie the game and squeezed out a 28-yard passing touchdown to Mason Grabowski with 1:18 to go for a 31-24 lead. Trey Reider attempted to drive down the field for a miracle drive, but ended with throwing an interception to ice the game.
Up next:
Alberta Golden Bears (1-5): Oct 18 vs Regina (5-1)
Saskatchewan Huskies (5-1): Oct 17 @ UBC (2-4)