Box Score

The Saskatchewan Huskies scored touchdowns on four of their first six drives and cruised to a 53-23 win over the Regina Rams in a Canada West semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at Griffiths Stadium.

The Huskies opened the game with 33 consecutive points, getting three touchdown passes from Laurence Nixon and a pick six, a field goal, and two singles from Grant Shaw – all before the midway point of the second quarter.

Saskatchewan took a 25-point lead into halftime and outscored Regina by a 20-15 margin in the second half to secure the win.

Laurence Nixon threw five touchdowns passes during the game, tossing three to Cory Jones and one each to Braeden George and Travis Gorski. Nixon ended up completing 19 of his 28 passes for 284 yards before being removed in the fourth in favour of backup Trevor Barss. Jones ended up with six catches for 120 yards, while George had four receptions for 135 yards. Jeff Hassler led Saskatchewan again on the ground, rushing nine times for 113 yards.

The Huskies were led defensively by Cody Halseth, who had 4.5 tackles, two interceptions, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery. Nico Higgs led Saskatchewan with eight total tackles.

Forced to the air with his team trailing, Marc Mueller set Rams playoff records with 32 pass completions and 470 passing yards. The third-year quarterback threw two touchdown passes to Jordan Sisco, who ended up with eight receptions for 161 yards and also rushed for a 1-yard major in the third. Brenden Owens caught six passes for 132 yards for the Rams.

The 53 points scored by Saskatchewan ties the record for the most points given up by the Rams in a postseason contest, as Simon Fraser registered a 53-46 win over Regina in a 2003 Canada West semifinal game.

The Huskies, ranked No. 3 in the CIS, will host the winner of the Calgary/Alberta semifinal next weekend at Griffiths Stadium.