The Saint Mary’s Huskies quickly unravelled in Saturday’s Uteck Bowl and it all started with a key injury.
The Huskies lost all-Canadian defensive lineman Dan Schutte to a calf injury on the first series, a crippling blow against the Calgary Dinos’ high-powered offence that averaged almost 40 points per game and led the nation in rushing.
“We scrambled to fill that void,” acknowledged Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah after the game.
The Dinos proceeded to put up 19 points in the first quarter and the Huskies were never able to recover.
Sophomore quarterback Jack Creighton threw three interceptions and finished with 199 yards and a touchdown in the 38-14 loss.
He led hard-fought 83- and 54-yard touchdown drives in the second quarter to give fans a reason to stick around for the second half, but that was all the Huskies could muster.
“We made some good plays, then we’d make a mistake and we’d get thrown off,” said Creighton, who was intercepted just four times in the previous eight weeks. “They have a really good offence and they countered our mistakes.”
Sumarah said there was a level of frustration on the sidelines as things went from bad to worse. But the team downplayed the significance of Erik Glavic returning to Huskies Stadium with Blake Nill and dismantling his former team.
“He’s just a part of Calgary … It’s not Glavic, it’s not personal,” said tailback Devon Jones. “He made his decision. He’s not a part of my life anymore and I could care less.”
