In the final game of the 2013 Canada West conference season, the Alberta Golden Bears and Manitoba Bisons combined to produce 1,751 all-purpose yards, while Manitoba’s star running back Anthony Coombs broke a Canada West record as the Bisons thumped the home-town Golden Bears 60-18 at Foote Field in Edmonton on Saturday, October 26 evening.
The win improved Manitoba’s record to 5-3 on the season, and clinched second place in the conference standings. With that finish comes a home playoff date for the Bisons, as they will host the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday, November 1 at 7 p.m. CT at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
Coombs, a third-year back, broke the Canada West record for longest rush when he took a hand-off deep in his own territory and burned across the Foote Field turf for a 107-yard touchdown run. The previous conference high was set in 1979 by Alberta’s Sean Kehoe, who rushed for 102 yards, while the CIS record is 108 yards, which has been done twice (1967 and 2004).
The two teams, who earlier in the season combined to produce the third highest scoring game in Canada West history with a 65-41 game in Winnipeg, this time produced a whopping 1,751 all-purpose yards.
Receiver Nic Demski caught a pair of touchdown passes for Manitoba, while Coombs and Alex Christie rushed for a combined 286 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Jordan Yantz, the 2012 CJFL Offensive Player of the Year, completed 17 of 22 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns. As a team, the Bisons racked up 790 yards of offence on 70 plays, and added an additional 99 yards on special teams to finish the night with 898 all-purpose yards.
For the Golden Bears, the loss means a 0-8 season and the end of the 2013 campaign. Alberta’s last win came on November 6, 2010, when they rallied from a 27-point deficit to upset the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon during the Canada West playoffs, while their last home win was October 23, 2010, which was a 46-21 victory over Manitoba. Although, they were awarded two forfeit wins in 2011 when it was determined UBC played with an ineligible player throughout the course of that year.
Rookie receiver Tylor Henry had a special night as the Edmonton product ran for an incredible 341 all-purpose yards, and broke a Golden Bears’ record. Henry caught a game high 11 passes for 149 yards, but also returned five punts and two kick-offs for 192 yards and a touchdown. In fact, his 106-yard kick-off return for a TD is the longest in U of A history, surpassing the old mark of 103-yards which was set in 1962 by Ken Neilson. The conference record is 110 yards.
Alberta managed to roll up 488 yards of offence against Manitoba, on 82 plays, and they racked up an additional 350 yards on kick and punt returns for a grand total of 853 all-purpose yards. Fifth-year fullback Smith Wright, playing in his final career CIS game, also scored for Alberta.
Manitoba, meanwhile, found the end zone on their opening possession of the game on Saturday, and never really looked back against the Bears. They soon jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Alberta was able to get one back when Henry bolted through their special teams and hit pay dirt at 11:33 of the first quarter.
Alberta then started the second quarter with two great opportunities to either tie, or even take the lead, but they couldn’t convert from the red zone. Instead, they settled for a 19-yard Stephen Fabian field goal, and during their second opportunity in the Manitoba end, they turned the ball over on downs, which the Bisons quickly turned into a touchdown when Yantz hit a streaking Matt Sawyer for a 60-yard pass and run TD.
Manitoba scored two more majors before half-time, including Coombs’ record breaking run, as they ballooned their advantage to 41-10 entering the third quarter.
The visitors added four more touchdowns in the second half, plus a field goal and a safety, while Wright, a recent draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos, bulldozed in from one-yard out in the third quarter, which all added up to a 60-18 finish.
The Bisons, winners of the Vanier Cup in 2007, will begin their playoff journey next weekend at home to Saskatchewan.
Game Notes:
Fifth-year Alberta receiver Jess Valleau finished his career sixth in all-time Golden Bears receiving yards with 1,636 and sixth in all-purpose yards with 3,406. He is also sixth in career receptions with 110, and he has recorded more kick-off return yards than any other Golden Bear in program history with 1,212. Saturday was also the final CIS games in the careers of Steven Giang (DL) and DB Cayce Kerr.
Photo credit; Llew Welz
Source: Matt Gutsch, University of Alberta Golden Bears Sports Information
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