Anton Amundrud engineered quite a finish to cap his first start.
He threw four touchdown passes, including the game-winner midway through the fourth quarter, to spearhead the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ rally from a 25-7 halftime deficit and eventual 30-27 Canada West football victory over the host University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday at IG Field in Winnipeg.
Amundrud, succeeding the graduated Mason Nyhus behind centre for the Scott Flory-coached U of S side, completed 18 of 31 passes for 313 yards.
“We came out flat, but the whole time we knew we could play and we knew we could perform as well as we can,” Amundrud said on Tuesday from Saskatoon.
“We went in at halftime and Coach kind of just told us, ‘OK, that half is done. There’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s settle in here and let’s play our brand of football.’
“We came out in the second half and I thought we did just that.”
After finding Rhett Vavra for a 16-yard score in the second quarter, Amundrud connected with Daniel Wiebe for four- and 49-yard majors in addition to finding Daniel Perry for a 90-yard TD bomb.
Wiebe’s 49-yarder put the U of S ahead to stay at 7:56 of the fourth quarter.
The latter three TD throws unfolded in a 20-minute span during the second half.
“It was really exciting,” Amundrud said. “It was awesome seeing the guys rally around and not give up on each other.
“It’s a really great locker room that we have. Everyone believes in each other. There wasn’t a single bit of doubt during any time of the game, so it was really awesome to see.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Amundrud, who hails from Lloydminster, Alta., has ascended to the No. 1 role after dressing for 13 Canada West games over the previous two seasons.
“It’s a great honour,” he said of being the Huskies’ starting QB. “I take it with a lot of pride. I have a lot of guys who believe in me in that locker room and I have a lot of best friends on the team. It’s awesome being able to be the quarterback for them and to do what I can to help us win.”
Amundrud is, in turn, appreciated by his teammates.
“I thought Anton played great, taking up the big role Mason left,” said the Swift Current-born Vavra, who on Friday caught Amundrud’s first TD pass in the university ranks.
“He’s doing a great job stepping up, making plays, and leading us to wins. His game is only going up from here, so he’s going to be an elite member of our team.
“I’m excited to be riding the Huskies wave with him.”
Once that wave gathered momentum in Friday’s regular-season opener, the Huskies were virtually unstoppable.
“In the first half, we had a few drives that we didn’t quite finish out, so we knew everything was out there,” Vavra said. “All we had to do was go out and execute and that’s exactly what we did.
“We made a few mistakes which all led to Bison points on the board but, if we clean those up in the weeks to come, we are going to have a great season and go deep in the playoffs and hopefully make it to Queen’s for our third Vanier Cup appearance in a row.”
The talent is certainly in place.
“It’s honestly amazing, having weapons at every single spot on the offence,” Amundrud marvelled.
“We have five receivers and backups who all can do just about the same stuff and even more. They’re all wonderful. Every single one of our running backs can go in there and do amazing things.
“It’s wonderful as a quarterback to be able to just literally get the ball to anyone and they’ll make a play for you.”
The kicking game is also in good hands — or feet — due to the presence of David Solie,
who attended the Roughriders’ 2023 training camp.
On Friday, Solie converted all four Huskies touchdowns in addition to averaging 43.7 yards on seven punts.
Manitoba linebacker Nick Thomas, the Roughriders’ seventh-round draft choice in 2023, had two assisted tackles.
At Mosaic Stadium on Friday, the UBC Thunderbirds downed the University of Regina Rams 25-10.
UBC’s Garrett Rooker completed 19 of 25 passes for 301 yards and one TD — a 61-yarder to Sam Davenport.
The Thunderbirds’ Isaiah Knight rushed 20 times for 100 yards.
D’Sean Mimbs — whose father is former Roughriders running back Robert Mimbs — led the Rams’ offence with six catches for 92 yards.
Noah Pelletier, a 2023 Roughriders training-camp attendee, scored the Rams’ lone TD on a one-yard run.
The Rams and Huskies are to return to action on Sept. 8 when the provincial rivals collide in Saskatoon (7 p.m., Griffiths Stadium).
In addition to welcoming back alumni for the annual Homecoming Game, the U of S is kicking off this season’s U Prairie Challenge — a points-based competition between the Huskies and U of R Rams/Cougars.
The universities of Regina and Saskatchewan compete in 11 different men’s and women’s sports, including football, basketball, cross-country, hockey, track and field, soccer and volleyball.
The inaugural U Prairie Challenge was held during the 2022-23 athletic season. The U of S emerged victorious.
PFC SHOWDOWN
A provincial rivalry game will also take place on Saturday, when the Regina Thunder will play host to the Saskatoon Hilltops in Prairie Football Conference action (7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
Both teams carry a 3-0 record into their first of two regular-season meetings in 2023.
