For the third straight season, the Saint Mary’s Huskies’ season has ended one week shy of the Vanier Cup.
The Huskies saw their Canadian Interuniversity Sport football season come to an abrupt end in Saturday’s Mitchell Bowl national semifinal, falling 35-8 to the host Calgary Dinos at McMahon Stadium.
In a -16 C chill, the Huskies’ offence turned the ball over five times in the first half and didn’t get on the board — aside from a single — until just 10 minutes remained.
“We had a great game plan but as soon as we got down by a couple of scores, we had to get away from it,” said fifth-year defensive back Neil King. “Both sides of the ball, we played well, we were just put in some (crappy) situations, got into some field trouble, and that’s the way it goes.”
Huskies starting quarterback Micah Brown was forced to the sidelines in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Before he returned in the second half, Mack Blewett threw three interceptions. Although the Huskies only trailed 8-0 at the half, they piled up 105 penalty yards and the Dinos struck twice in the third quarter to grab a 22-1 lead.
“Turnovers and penalties, the two biggest things you can’t have happen in bowl games,” Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah told The Canadian Press. “We gave them too many opportunities and they’re too good a team.”
Huskies slotback/returner Jahmeek Taylor had 248 all-purpose yards in his return from a one-game suspension. Tailback Craig Leger scored with 10:01 left on a 37-yard catch-and-run.
Former Huskies star Erik Glavic threw three touchdown passes for the Dinos, including a pair of strikes to game MVP Nathan Coehoorn. “It took us a bit of time to figure out what they were doing,” Glavic told the Calgary Herald. “But we figured it out and did what we were supposed to in the second half. We didn’t expect to roll them … they gave us a tough game in the first half.”
