2019 FOOTBALL CANADA CUP PREVIEW – SASKATCHEWAN

By Ameeta Vohra

In 2018, Saskatchewan was no longer the bridesmaid of the tournament. After recent years of coming so close and suffering heartbreak, they finally won the elusive gold medal in Calgary, taking out Alberta in a dramatic championship game that was decided in the dying minutes of the game.

Jeff Stusek returns at the helm to guide Saskatchewan in their defence of the gold medal.  This will be his second year as head coach and was previously special teams coordinator for two years.  This past January, Stusek was in charge of the wide receivers and special teams for the under-18 national squad that participated at the International Bowl in Arlington, Texas.

One potentially dynamic offensive tandem to watch for is quarterback Noah Pelletier and running back Ryker Frank.  Not only are both players returning from the gold medal winning team, but they Over the course of their careers, both players have gotten extremely comfortable and had success on different stages including last year’s Football Canada Cup gold medal victory, 2017 U-16 Western Challenge in Lethbridge, where the tandem helped Saskatchewan claim the silver medal in the tournament.  For their efforts, both were selected as tournament all-stars and represented Canada at the 2018 International Bowl. Frank also joined Stusek at this year’s International Bowl.

Saskatchewan’s defence is led by returning linebacker Tyson Krushelniski, whose aggressive and physical play will be a challenge for opposing offences.

2018 RESULT: defeated Alberta 31-26 in gold medal game and won national championship
HEAD COACH: Jeff Stusek – second year in role, was Special Teams Coordinator previous two years
2019 GAME DAY 1 – will battle eighth seeded Nova Scotia on July 7, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. EST
NUMBER OF RETURNING PLAYERS: 9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: