U-of-S Huskies running back Ted Kubongo has been named one of the three Canada West Players of the Week for Week 5.
The third year running back dominated Manitoba this past Friday in three facets of the game, racking up 121 rushing yards, 37 receiving yards and three touchdowns, including a 102-yard kick return for a major score on the opening kickoff of what turned out to be a 43-22 victory for the Dogs. Kubongo currently has 370 yards rushing and six touchdowns for the season. Saskatchewan is perfect so far with a 5-0 record and sit in first place in Canada West. The Huskies are on a bye week and will host the 4-1 Regina Rams at Griffiths stadium on October 15. Following is the news release from the Canada West Conference…..
FB: SSK, REG players move up records list with spectacular weekend performances
Saskatchewan’s Kubongo, Regina’s Galvan & Bennett named Players of the Week
3 October 2022
CALGARY – In a weekend chalk-full of highlight reel plays, a Saskatchewan running back stood out against them all. Ted Kubongo was the week five star, joined by Regina’s Aldo Galvan and Anthony Bennett, who have been named the Canada West Football Players of the Week.
Kubongo declared his lethality from the opening kick. The third-year running back took off down the right side of the field, finding the gaps, blocking and leaping over defenders to run back the kick for a touchdown. The 102-yard play made history as the longest kickoff return by a Saskatchewan Huskie. The mark ties the tenth-longest return in CW history.
With the game far from over, Kubongo went back to work, rushing for 121 yards over nine carries.
Trailing by three in the third, Kubongo took a pass from quarterback Mason Nyhus at the 10-yard line before ripping through and grabbing a corner of the end zone for the major score.
Then, with just under two minutes to go, Kubongo took a handoff for a 47-yard touchdown, slicing through defenders seamlessly to put the game out of reach for Manitoba.
Kubongo’s three touchdowns, nine carries, and three receptions were instrumental in keeping Saskatchewan perfect on the season.
He and the Huskies are now off on a bye week before hosting their provincial rival, Regina Rams, at 1:00 p.m. on October 15.
Meanwhile, the already two-time Defensive Player of the Week, Anthony Bennett, showed he’s not ready to give up his crown any time soon. The Regina Ram was lethal on the line.
With Alberta looking to push in the third quarter, Bennett ripped around his defender, overpowering him to take down the Golden Bears’ starting quarterback. Bennett again got his hands on an Alberta playmaker, this time pulling down the back-up QB from behind after spinning off a lineman who couldn’t contain him.
Bennett leads the conference and is now tied for first in U SPORTS with 6.5 sacks on the season.
Bennett finished the game with six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss (17 yards), defensive play that was key in a tight match. The 19-14 victory improved the Rams to 4-1 on the season.
Aldo Galvan earns the Special Teams Player of the Week nod after posting 10 of his teams’ 19 points in a key victory over Alberta. Galvan made three of four field goal attempts on the night from 14, 25 and 32 yards out. The fourth-year kicker gave the Rams a cushion with 43 seconds left on the clock as Regina went on to win 19-14.
Galvan was a key contributor all night, pushing the Golden Bears back deep with monster punts. He averaged 52.7 yards on seven punts, putting three within the Bears’ 20. His longest mark of the night was 64 and four of them sailed over 50 yards.
He added three kick offs for a total of 194 yards.
Galvan has now cracked the top 25 in Canada West history in career points with 210. He’s only the 29th player to record over 200 points.
