On a cold, snow-blanketed November day at Taylor Field in 2002, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies claimed their 15th Hardy Cup championship in program history 44-28 over the University of Regina Rams.
Fast-forward 22 years later and the longtime, bitter Saskatchewan rivals are set to do it all over again.
This time, however, players like Huskies linebacker Seth Hundeby are glad there will be milder conditions this Saturday in Saskatoon.
“I bet you there’s going to be a lot of Regina fans coming up and I know a lot of Saskatchewan fans are going to be coming out,” said Hundeby.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic game. The weather is great, so a lot more people are going to be coming out. I know if it’s a minus-20 game, a lot of people are deterred. Great weather, great fan bases, I think it’s going to be electric.”
It’s an unlikely matchup for the 87th edition of the Hardy Cup, with both Saskatchewan programs upsetting the top-two seeds in the Canada West playoffs to reach the conference final.
Now, the Huskies and Rams will battle in just the second all-Saskatchewan Hardy Cup.
“I think it’s the best case scenario,” said Rams defensive back Jackson Sombach. “Like the coaches have both said, it’s the trilogy. U of R versus U of S, 1-and-1 [records], can’t really draw it up any better than that for the Hardy Cup.”
The Rams became the final team to secure a playoff spot following a 3-5 regular season, however they orchestrated a comeback in Winnipeg last Saturday to defeat the Manitoba Bisons 28-25 to knock off the conference’s number one seed.
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“People kind of saw us as underdogs in that Manitoba game,” said Sombach. “All of us believed in ourselves. We kind of taken over that mantra of believe in ourselves, play for each other and we’re going to win football games.”
As for the Huskies, they too mounted a miracle comeback in the fourth quarter trailing the UBC Thunderbirds by nine points with one minute left in regulation.
What followed was a touchdown from receiver Ercy Avul, a recovered onside kick and a drive led by conference all-star Ryker Frank which saw the Regina product plunge into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with just 29 seconds remaining.
“Going through those ups and downs it was definitely tough to keep a level head,” said Frank. “Just starting out with that Ercy [Avul] hit-stick, to the fumble recovery, we just couldn’t have asked for anything crazier honestly. Coming down to that last drive there we knew we were going to run the ball, so it just comes down to us versus them.”
It will be a historic meeting Saturday, marking the first time since that 2002 Hardy Cup that the Rams and Huskies will face off for Canada West supremacy.
There’s a level of interest and excitement over the game which Huskies head coach Scott Flory said speaks to the passion for football in the province.
“It’s a big deal here and that trickles all the way down,” said Flory. “Right to every six-man football league, from Melville to every small community, it does and it transcends.”
“There is something about the [football] culture in this province, the talent level and the level of importance. It matters.”
All of that history will be put aside once the ball is kicked off, with four quarters deciding the difference between heartbreak and immortality.
“It’s going to be a 10-round boxing match,” said Rams head coach Mark McConkey. “It’s going to go right down to probably the final whistle, the final play. We’ve played each other tough, we’ve won by five, they’ve won by two. We’re just two really good football teams.”
The 2024 Hardy Cup championship game will kick off at 1:00 pm from Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon between the Huskies and Rams.
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