Kevin Mitchell, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Full moon, full house, a full scoresheet.
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies enjoyed a full night of football Friday.
They thrashed the visiting British Columbia Thunderbirds 51-14 before a spillover Griffiths Stadium throng of 9,551, while guys like Daniel Wiebe ran and ran and ran.
“Man, I love watching him get the ball. He’s so fast,” Huskies’ linebacker Seth Hundeby says of Wiebe, who — buoyed by a lengthy stint at Saskatchewan Roughriders camp — recorded nine catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns Friday night.
Wiebe played both of the Roughriders’ CFL exhibition games before getting sent back to the U of S for his fifth and final season of eligibility. He recorded five catches for 34 yards and scored a two-point convert during his time in the pros.
“The experience there is like nothing else,” Wiebe, an eighth-round pick this past spring, said after Friday’s victory, which ran the Huskies’ record to 2-0. “You get to learn a lot, get to know the game a little bit deeper. Having that experience against pro players helps a lot, and bringing that back to the team is huge.
“It’s a little bit different coming back, but it’s a talented league out here, too. It’s not the pros, but it is still very good. And (being at CFL camp) helped in every regard.”
Says Huskies’ head coach Scott Flory: “I told him, he’s not covered until somebody shows they can cover him. He’s playing at a different speed right now.
“He just makes plays. We’ll keep finding a way to get him the ball — that’s not going to be a secret.”
Saskatchewan’s victory, on a Homecoming night that featured the traditional running of the togas at halftime, saw all kinds of players put up all kinds of numbers. The Huskies notched 660 yards of total offence. Defensively they allowed 346, but UBC’s ground game maxed out with the team-high four carries for six yards posted by Jaxon Allan.
Wiebe set up his first touchdown with a leaping 18-yard grab that was followed by a 79-yard pass-and-run into the end zone.
Saskatchewan quarterback Anton Amundrud hit 26 of 38 passes for 443 yards and four touchdowns, Lukas Scott booted four field goals, and linebacker Jacob Goldstone picked up five tackles, a sack and an interception.
Saskatchewan opened its season with a 29-20 road win over the Alberta Golden Bears, while UBC beat Manitoba 21-9. The Thunderbirds are now 1-1.
The Huskies are back in action Saturday with a road game in Manitoba. They’ll return home Sept. 19 against the Regina Rams in the first and only contest between the teams this season.
Flory issued a warning after the Friday clobbering: It’s just two games. There’s lots of season left.
“Maybe there’s some confirmation of all the work we’ve done. We can do this,” said Flory, whose team entered Friday’s game with the No. 7 national ranking, just ahead of No. 8 UBC.
“But we’re only two games into the season, so let’s hit the pause button for a second and understand that we’re just getting started. There’s a lot of football ahead. Odds are we’re going to lose a football game at some point. It’s not our goal, but man — there’s some really good football teams in this conference, incredibly coached, incredible athletes. Each and every week it’s a dog fight. We’ve got to try and get better.”
kemitchell@postmedia.com
