USask Huskies making final preparations ahead of Vanier Cup vs. Montreal

There’s no more team meetings, video sessions or walk-throughs needed for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team, as they look ahead to the final four quarters of their season on Saturday.

One game separates the program from their fourth Canadian university championship and immortality at the 60th edition of the Vanier Cup.

“The hay is in the barn, so to speak,” said Huskies head coach Scott Flory. “The game plan is in, the prep work is done, just to get out here and move around a little bit, some reminders and things like that.

“At the end of the day, we’re ready and I know our boys will be ready [Saturday] at 1 p.m. for kickoff.”

The Huskies wrapped up their final practice of the season on Friday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, which will serve as the host site for the 2025 Vanier Cup between Saskatchewan and the University of Montreal Carabins.

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Last weekend, the Huskies claimed the 2025 Mitchell Bowl on their home field in a 22-11 victory over the visiting Queen’s University Gaels to secure their spot in the national championship game.

While it was their final time practicing together as a group Friday, defensive lineman Charlie Parks said it’s what they set out to achieve at the beginning of the season.

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“It’s always nice to control when your last practice is,” said Parks. “If we lost last week, which we didn’t, it wouldn’t have been up to us when our last practice was. Being our last practice, this is because of us and this is what we decided we wanted.”

The Huskies will be chasing their first Vanier Cup championship in 27 years, last coming home with the top trophy in Canadian university football back in 1998 when Flory was a player.

Saturday’s game will mark the final appearance in a Huskies uniform for six veterans set to graduate, something which has been at the forefront of the team’s preparation.

“There’s a few guys who will play their last college football game,” said Flory. “It means a lot to them and it means a lot to the other guys, to everybody else to be able to support them and understand that. There are no guarantees, we are fortunate we got a chance to play in this game.”

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Among the group set to depart as Huskies include Canada West Football Player of the Year and record-breaking receiver Daniel Wiebe, all-star running back Ryker Frank, defensive stalwarts Anesu Latmore and John Stoll, offensive lineman Derek Beaubien, plus injured veterans Jayden Engel and Rhett Vavra.

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Linebacker Seth Hundeby, meanwhile, is preparing for his own finale with the program which has helped him become a Saskatchewan Roughriders prospect and one of the most feared defensive players in the nation.

“There’s been a couple times especially this week where I’ve sat back and just soaked it in,” said Hundeby. “Like, ‘Man, this is Huskie football.’ I’m just so grateful of the experiences and the amount of games I’ve gotten to play.

“Super thankful, super excited and I’m just happy I get to wear the ‘S’ for one more game.”

Hundeby is coming off a stellar season netting 55 tackles, five and half sacks, four forced fumbles, and an interception returned for a touchdown.

2:08 USask Huskies, Montreal Carabins looking ahead to 2025 Vanier Cup

On Thursday night in Regina, Hundeby was honoured with the U Sports President’s Award given to the top defensive player in the country, which made him the fourth player in program history to win the award after Nelson Lokombo, Mike Letandre and former defensive coordinator Warren Muzika.

Story continues below advertisement “I really looked up to [Muzika] as a player and he had won it when he was a Huskie player,” said Hundeby. “To win that, it was cool just to share that accomplishment as one he also accomplished. It’s not just all me, we have a kickin’ defence who makes my job really easy.” Trending Now

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That defence has brought the Huskies to within one victory of a national championship, with Flory praising the work done this season by his eight defensive linemen plus the contributions from impact players such as Hundeby and Jacob Goldstone.

“They wreak havoc and they make a difference,” said Flory. “The defence, they just have so much confidence and they can just play. With what [defensive coordinator Cody Halseth] has done with those guys just letting them play fast and free, that’s what defence is about. They fly around, it’s fun to watch.”

One experience binding this year’s group of fifth-year vets has been a sense of heartbreak at the Vanier Cup which they experienced not just once, but twice in 2021 and 2022 with losses to the Western Mustangs and the Laval Rouge et Or.

Stoll was a young defensive back in both of those crushing losses, not knowing if an opportunity like this would present itself again.

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“It’s everything you dream of,” said Stoll. “The first couple of years you kind of take it for granted, you ride some coattails and you get there thinking this is pretty easy. The next couple of years it’s like, ‘Oh maybe it’s not so easy.’

“To put in all the time and effort to get back to this and have one last go-round, it means the world.”

The Huskies would go on to lose in Canada West playoffs in 2023 to the Alberta Golden Bears, before being upset in the 2024 Hardy Cup by the Regina Rams to see back-to-back seasons come to unceremonious ends.

With that experience, Hundeby is chasing that winning feeling one more time to write a final chapter with the Huskies he’ll be able to look back on with a smile.

“I think it was a reality check for sure that year after coming off of Vanier,” said Hundeby. “This is what a season can be, losing in playoffs or losing a [Hardy Cup]. To get back here, I think you appreciate and you value the amount of work. Twenty-seven teams are fighting for this and it’s not an easy feat, so I’m super proud of the guys for getting here.” Story continues below advertisement

“I just hope we close it out.”

It will be the Huskies’ Jake Farrell against Montreal’s Pepe Gonzalez in Saturday’s quarterback matchup, with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Mosaic Stadium for the 60th Vanier Cup.