VANCOUVER ā The Blake Nill era at UBC has started with quite a bang.
In his first game as the team’s head coach, his Thunderbirds beat the Laval Rouge et Or, winners of seven of the last 12 Vanier Cups, by a score of 41-16 on Saturday in Quebec City.
UBC took a 27-0 lead into halftime before staving off a comeback attempt by the hosts to come away with the victory in its first-ever meeting with Laval. The triumph caps off an historic week for the UBC program, which also saw the two squads hold joint practices together at Stade TELUS-UniversitĆ© Laval in the lead-up to today’s contest.
The Thunderbirds scored in just about every possible fashion.
Kicker Quinn van Gylswyk (Victoria, B.C.) opened the scoring with a field goal and rouge before reigning Canada West Rookie of the Year Marcus Davis (Victoria, B.C.) ran a punt return back 85 yards for touchdown to make it 11-0 for UBC with less than three minutes gone in the second quarter.
UBC then finished the half with a safety bookended by two touchdown passes from quarterback Michael O’Connor (Ottawa). Ten minutes into the second quarter, O’Connor found receiver Trivel Pinto (Toronto) with a five-yard pass, capping off an 85-yard drive, to put UBC 18-0. Then just seconds before halftime, Marshall Cook (Nanaimo, B.C.) caught a 20-yard toss from O’Connor.
Following a van Gylswyk single in the third, Laval found the end zone to close to within three scores. The Rouge et Or continued to build momentum with a touchdown and safety to cut the UBC lead to 31-16 with 11 minutes to go in the final quarter.
However, the Thunderbirds were able to stem the tide, closing the game with 10 straight points. Kevin Wiens (Mission, B.C.) picked off Laval quarterback Hugo Richard for the second time on the day and returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown, before van Gylswyk finished off the day with his third field goal.
Wiens, Cook and Pinto recorded their first Canadian Interuniversity Sport touchdowns on Saturday.
In all, UBC’s defence intercepted Richard four times, with Dominique Termansen (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Taylor Loffler (Kelowna, B.C.) getting the other two.
Terrell Davis (Victoria, B.C.) and Troy Hansen (Edmonton) led the T-Birds with six tackles each.
In his UBC debut, O’Connor completed 18 of his 32 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Backup Trevor Casey (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) was effective in moving the ball during his stint, going 6-for-12 for 60 yards and an interception.
The favourite targets for the pivots were David Mann (Delta, B.C.), who caught six passes for 156 yards, and Will Watson (Surrey, B.C.), who also hauled in six passes, for 71 yards.
Running back Brandon Deschamps (Prince George, B.C.) was the team’s leading rusher with 77 yards on nine carries.
UBC will travel to Calgary next weekend for the Canada West regular season opener for both squads. It will be Nill’s first game back at Calgary, where he won six Canada West titles, after leaving the Dinos to come coach the Thunderbirds.
Then the team will return to Vancouver for its annual Homecoming Game, on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., against the Regina Rams at Thunderbird Stadium.
Source: UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information
UBC (1-0) vs. LAVA (0-1)
Score by QuartersĀ | 1Ā | 2Ā | 3Ā | 4Ā | ScoreĀ |
UBC Ā | 3Ā | 24Ā | 4Ā | 10Ā | 41Ā |
LAVA Ā | 0Ā | 0Ā | 7Ā | 9Ā | 16Ā |
SCORING SUMMARYĀ | Ā UBC -LAVA Ā | |||
1stĀ | 03:00Ā | UBC Ā | Q. Van Gylswyk 18 yd field goalĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 5 plays, 22 yards, TOP 2:02Ā | 3 – 0Ā |
2ndĀ | 01:32Ā | UBC Ā | Q. Van Gylswyk 41 rougeĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 4 – 0Ā |
Ā | 02:57Ā | UBC Ā | Marcus Davis 85 yd punt return (Q. Van Gylswyk kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 11 – 0Ā |
Ā | 09:59Ā | UBC Ā | Trivel Pinto 5 yd pass from M. O?Connor (Q. Van Gylswyk kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 4 plays, 85 yards, TOP 2:03Ā | 18 – 0Ā |
Ā | 11:39Ā | UBC Ā | TEAM safetyĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 20 – 0Ā |
Ā | 14:56Ā | UBC Ā | Marshall Cook 20 yd pass from M. O?Connor (Q. Van Gylswyk kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 1 play, 20 yards, TOP 0:06Ā | 27 – 0Ā |
3rdĀ | 03:51Ā | UBC Ā | Q. Van Gylswyk 28 rougeĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 28 – 0Ā |
Ā | 11:04Ā | LAVA Ā | Chr. Dallaire 31 yd pass from Hugo Richard (Dom. Levesque kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 3 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:21Ā | 28 – 7Ā |
Ā | 15:00Ā | UBC Ā | Q. Van Gylswyk 32 yd field goalĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 8 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:48Ā | 31 – 7Ā |
4thĀ | 02:19Ā | LAVA Ā | Etienne Moisan 3 yd pass from Hugo Richard (Dom. Levesque kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:19Ā | 31 – 14Ā |
Ā | 03:45Ā | LAVA Ā | Team safetyĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 31 – 16Ā |
Ā | 10:48Ā | UBC Ā | Kevin Wiens 30 yd interception return (Q. Van Gylswyk kick)Ā | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā | 38 – 16Ā |
Ā | 13:10Ā | UBC Ā | Q. Van Gylswyk 35 yd field goalĀ | |
Ā Ā | Ā Ā | Ā Ā | 4 plays, 49 yards, TOP 0:56Ā | 41 – 16Ā |
Kickoff time: 13:11 Ā ā¢Ā End of Game: 15:51 Ā ā¢Ā Total elapsed time: 2:40 Referee: RON PALUZZI Ā ā¢Ā Umpire: RENALD DULAC Ā ā¢Ā Linesman: ERIC CLOUTIER Ā ā¢Ā Line judge: MARTIN CAUX Ā ā¢Ā Back judge: WALTER BERRY Ā ā¢Ā Field judge: ERIC GASCON Ā ā¢Ā Side judge: BRENT YOUNG Ā ā¢Ā Scorer: ESTHER TURGEON Ā ā¢ Temperature: 21 C Ā ā¢Ā Wind: OSO 13KMĀ ā¢Ā Weather: PART. ENSOLEILLE |
Team Statistics
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Team Statistics (Final)
Ā Team TotalsĀ | UBCĀ | LAVAĀ |
FIRST DOWNSĀ | 23Ā | 11Ā |
Ā Ā RushingĀ | 5Ā | 2Ā |
Ā Ā PassingĀ | 15Ā | 9Ā |
Ā Ā PenaltyĀ | 3Ā | 0Ā |
NET YARDS RUSHINGĀ | 102Ā | 95Ā |
Ā Ā Rushing AttemptsĀ | 20Ā | 19Ā |
Ā Ā Average Per RushĀ | 5.1Ā | 5.0Ā |
Ā Ā Rushing TouchdownsĀ | 0Ā | 0Ā |
Ā Ā Yards Gained RushingĀ | 107Ā | 95Ā |
Ā Ā Yards Lost RushingĀ | 5Ā | 0Ā |
NET YARDS PASSINGĀ | 352Ā | 161Ā |
Ā Ā Completions-Attempts-IntĀ | 24-44-4Ā | 16-31-4Ā |
Ā Ā Average Per AttemptĀ | 8.0Ā | 5.2Ā |
Ā Ā Average Per CompletionĀ | 14.7Ā | 10.1Ā |
Ā Ā Passing TouchdownsĀ | 2Ā | 2Ā |
TEAM LOSSESĀ | -44Ā | -25Ā |
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDSĀ | 410Ā | 231Ā |
Ā Ā Total offense playsĀ | 68Ā | 52Ā |
Ā Ā Average Gain Per PlayĀ | 6.0Ā | 4.4Ā |
Fumbles: Number-LostĀ | 0-0Ā | 0-0Ā |
Penalties: Number-YardsĀ | 8-50Ā | 9-72Ā |
PUNTS-YARDSĀ | 5-171Ā | 12-433Ā |
Ā Ā Average Yards Per PuntĀ | 34.2Ā | 36.1Ā |
Ā Ā Net Yards Per PuntĀ | 25.2Ā | 29.2Ā |
Ā Ā Inside 20Ā | 0Ā | 1Ā |
Ā Ā 50+ YardsĀ | 0Ā | 1Ā |
Ā Ā TouchbacksĀ | 0Ā | 0Ā |
Ā Ā Fair catchĀ | 0Ā | 0Ā |
KICKOFFS-YARDSĀ | 5-297Ā | 4-223Ā |
Ā Ā Average Yards Per KickoffĀ | 59.4Ā | 55.8Ā |
Ā Ā Net Yards Per KickoffĀ | 42.2Ā | 38.5Ā |
Ā Ā TouchbacksĀ | 0Ā | 0Ā |
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TDĀ | 6-83-1Ā | 4-45-0Ā |
Ā Ā Average Per ReturnĀ | 13.8Ā | 11.2Ā |
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TDĀ | 4-69-0Ā | 5-86-0Ā |
Ā Ā Average Per ReturnĀ | 17.2Ā | 17.2Ā |
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TDĀ | 4-72-1Ā | 4-13-0Ā |
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TDĀ | 0-0-0Ā | 0-0-0Ā |
Possession TimeĀ | 35:43Ā | 24:17Ā |
Ā Ā 1st QuarterĀ | 9:34Ā | 5:26Ā |
Ā Ā 2nd QuarterĀ | 7:38Ā | 7:22Ā |
Ā Ā 3rd QuarterĀ | 10:06Ā | 4:54Ā |
Ā Ā 4th QuarterĀ | 8:25Ā | 6:35Ā |
Third-Down ConversionsĀ | 2 of 3Ā | 0 of 1Ā |
Red-Zone Scores-ChancesĀ | 3-3Ā | 1-1Ā |
Ā Ā TouchdownsĀ | 2-3Ā | 1-1Ā |
Ā Ā Field goalsĀ | 1-3Ā | 0-1Ā |
Sacks By: Number-YardsĀ | 2-8Ā | 4-38Ā |
PAT KicksĀ | 4-4Ā | 2-2Ā |
Field GoalsĀ | 3-6Ā | 0-0Ā |
Individual Statistics
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Individual Statistics (Final)
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FUMBLES: UBC-None. LAVA-None. |
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