‘A heartbreaking loss’

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This article was published 01/09/2023 (1126 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Bisons couldn’t have imagined a more stunning start to the Jackson Tachinski era.

A dream half for the football program quickly took a nightmarish turn in the form of 23 unanswered points by the Saskatchewan Huskies in the second half to spoil a promising season-opener for the Bisons 30-27 at IG Field on Friday.

The Bisons dropped to 0-1 on the campaign and continue a winless drought against the Huskies that dates back to 2019.

“Just took our foot off the pedal,” said Tachinski, who already has a season of experience under his belt, having led the Bisons to the Hardy Cup final in 2021. “We stopped playing with full intensity and they made some adjustments, they came back.

“We just have to be better. Have to be more physical, more assignment-sound — we just have to be more in tune with the game. Honestly, a lot of things went right but a good amount of stuff went wrong so there’s a lot of things we got to fix.”

The Bisons, who opened the season as the No. 10 team in the country, looked every bit of a force to be reckoned with in the Canada West conference in the opening half.

Tachinski was brilliant, leading a lethal offensive attack on the strength of three touchdown strikes to De Shawn Le Jour (10 yards), Brendt Adams (40 yards) and AK Gassama (52 yards) and looking equally impressive as a runner, cruising to a 25-7 lead into halftime.

The Huskies, meanwhile, looked like they had yet to get off the bus. Not much went right for the visitors out of the gate, whether it was the several unforced penalties and missed tackles, four drops on offence, or a pair of interceptions by Sebastien Reid — who had two takeaways on the night — and Nick Conway, respectively.

The two-time reigning CanWest champs flipped the script after the break. The Bisons’ big-play offence evaporated while holes opened on the defence.

Huskies quarterback Anton Amundrud shouldered the comeback on the first drive of the second half, hitting Charlie Ringland for a 15-yard major. The downpour continued, as he found Daniel Perry on a slant over the middle before the receiver scampered for an 85-yard touchdown, then Daniel Wiebe for a 49-yard strike to complete the comeback.

“We warned them at half time, ‘Hey, this is far from over,’ said head coach Brian Dobie. “In my career, I feel that Saskatchewan has always been the best team at adjusting — how much adjusting they did I don’t know — but we made big plays and we just weren’t able to make those plays in the second half.

“Saskatchewan earned that win in the second half and it shows why they’re the team to beat. They’ve been there done it and they know to win but I think we know how too now. That was a heartbreaking loss, it really was, after that lead we had at halftime, but I feel that our guys feel that they’re there.”

The Bisons’ offence had several late opportunities to put points on the board, including a missed field goal in the final two minutes that would have drawn the team within two points, but the squad couldn’t help themselves. Tachinski, who got up limping after a few big hits in the second half, was not nearly as effective with his legs in the second half, but assured he was good to go.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said. “We have a lot of season left and this is a really good football team and I’m proud of us but I trust in our guys a lot, so I’m sure we’ll bounce back.”

The Bisons will try to right their wrongs in Alberta when they face the Golden Bears on Sept. 9.

Jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam