By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Feature photo: Manitoba pivot Des Catellier back to pass. Photo by getmyphoto.ca.
This article originally appeared on gobisons.ca by the same author. It can be viewed here.
In week two at Investors Group Field — the first time that Manitoba and Saskatchewan met — it was an offensive showcase, with 94 combined points put on the board. This time around at Griffiths Stadium, however, it was a defensive battle. Both teams came up with huge stops at the goal line, including a third down stuff on a run play from safety Jayden McKoy, which resulted in a 4-4 deadlock at halftime.
“I think they played quite well,” Dobie said of his defence. “I think first of all, they took away the run, which either put Saskatchewan in second and long or at least an advantageous position for us. And that lasted for a good chunk of the game. Despite how the score may have looked, I think our defence had a pretty good day.”
Unfortunately, for as good as the Bisons played on defence, Saskatchewan was a little bit better, holding the conference’s third-leading passer Des Catellier to just 142 yards on 12 completions as Manitoba was unable to find the end zone.
The Huskies then developed a rhythm offensively in the second half, scoring on three of their first four drives while the visitors battled against a strong wind in the final 15 minutes that had played a bit of a factor all game.
“We just weren’t able to keep possession of the ball,” Dobie said.
“I think our defence got worn down for sure, I think that was part of it at the end in the fourth quarter. We were only down seven going into the fourth, but we’d now given up the wind advantage. It wasn’t a hurricane, but it counted, so we kind of faced a double whammy.”
Manitoba has now lost two games in a row, but due to Alberta’s loss to UBC, have clinched a playoff birth for the first time since 2015. The only question now is whether they finish in third or fourth place in the standings.
The Bisons need to beat UBC by 11 points at home this weekend to lock up third place, as the T-Birds defeated them by ten in the opening game of the regular season. If they are able to succeed in this venture then they’ll travel right back to Saskatchewan to do battle with the Huskies in the conference semi-final on Nov. 3. If UBC knocks off Manitoba, then the Bisons will head to Calgary to take on the No. 3 ranked Dinos while the Thunderbirds will host Saskatchewan.
A victory against UBC will be no easy task however, as they’ve won two games in a row and are starting to click on both sides of the ball.
“One thing that we always comment about UBC, is that they’re a team that always gets better as the season goes along,” Dobie said. “Their second half is always better than their first half.”
In Dobie’s eyes, one of the major keys to success in week eight will be a strong opening 15 minutes.
“First and foremost, we have to have a good first quarter. That has to be our focus right now. And then we need to worry about the second,” he said.
“Now, if we get into the late third and early fourth and we start thinking about scores, well hey, it’s a two-point converted touchdown and a field goal. Those things are all doable, heck we’ve done it several times this year. But it isn’t doable if we panic in the first half.”