Road warriors move to .500 on the season

Winnipeg  – The UBC Thunderbirds are proving to be road warriors in 2013 as they defeated the #10 Manitoba Bisons 28-24 Saturday afternoon at Inverstors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba to improve to 3-3 on the season and a perfect 3-0 on the road.

BOXSCORE

UBC linebacker Riley Jones made the play of the game, stripping the ball out of the hands of Anthony Coombs on third and 12 in the end zone and denying the Bisons the go ahead touchdown with just 33 seconds remaining in the game. Manitoba turned the ball over on downs and Carson Williams only had to take a knee to earn the Thunderbirds a crucial victory.

“To be honest I was more focused on the line of scrimmage because I thought there should have been a holding call so I didn’t really see Riley strip the ball,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “We’ve talked a number of times this year about how some plays are just bigger than others and how we need to step up at crucial times and that is what we did today.”

Both UBC and Manitoba are now tied in the Canada West standings with a record of 3-3, but the Bisons currently hold the tiebreaker, which is points for against other teams and so they remain in third place, while the Thunderbirds sit in fourth place.

Williams was outstanding Saturday, putting together the best day of his career as UBC’s starting quarterback. He finished the day 22-40 for 348 yards and two touchdowns. He orchestrated an eight play, 89 yard drive for the winning points, connecting with Micha Theil in the end zone with 3:24 remaining to put the ‘Birds in front 28-24. He was 4-for-4 for 51 yards on the drive.

“Carson played very well today, making good decisions and putting us in good positions,” said Olson. “He has been very hot and cold so far this year, but today was a big step and I am happy for him.”

UBC’s defence was outstanding all day long keeping Coombs, receiver Nic Demski, and quarterback Jordan Yantz in check. Yantz finished the day with just 194 yards passing. He did the most damage with his feet running for 85 yards. Coombs was held to just 87 yard rushing, while Demski picked up only 44 yards receiving, none of which came in the first half.

Full credit to the Thunderbirds front four of Kareem Ba, Donovan Dale, Spencer Wilson, and Martin Park who combined for five sacks and a couple of forced fumbles on the day.

“Those guys up front were absolutely relentless and that is what we needed on this day,” said Olson. “Kareem Ba has come on as of late, getting better every week and he was just too much for their offensive line to handle.”

Trailing 3-0 after the first quarter of play, the Thunderbirds went to work in the second quarter. A 58 yard Williams completion to David Scott put UBC inside the 15 yard line and from there Greg Bowcott punched it in from two yards out to put the Thunderbirds in front 7-3.

After a Quinn Van Gylswyk single off a punt and a 22 yard field goal, Kareem Ba stripped Yantz of the ball and recovered the fumble to put UBC 1st and 10 from the Manitoba 27 yard line with 33 seconds left in the first half. Williams didn’t waste anytime, hooking up with Scott on a 27 yard touchdown pass to give UBC a 18-3 lead at the half.

It didn’t start off well in the second half for UBC. On their second offensive play, Greg Bowcott fumbled and D.J. Lalama picked up the loose ball and scampered 50 yards for the major to cut the lead to 18-10. On the Bisons next possession they would march all the way into the red zone and Kienan LaFrance would cap it off with a three yard touchdown run to make it a one point game, 18-17 Thunderbirds.

Before the third quarter was out, Van Gylswyk hit an 18-yard field goal to make it 21-17 UBC. However, the BIsons engineered an impressive drive thanks to a couple of clutch runs from Yantz and finished it off with a five yard touchdown reception by Coombs to put the Bisons back in from 24-21.

Scott had an outstanding day receiving making seven grabs for 170 yards and one touchdown. Josh Kronstrom finished with eight catches for 92 yards, and Theil had four receptions for 47 yards and a major.

UBC defensive back Miguel Barker was taken off the field in an ambulance after injuring himself early in the third quarter. Medical staff decided to take precautionary measures because he was experiencing some pain in his neck and head.

The Thunderbirds now get a much needed week off for Thanksgiving and will be back in action Saturday October 19 when they play host to the Alberta Golden Bears at David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium. Kickoff is 2:00 pm for the final home game of the regular season.

Photo credit:  Rich Lam

Source:  UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information

As Yogi Berra once said, “It was déjà vu all over again”…almost.

The Manitoba Bisons football team look to rally for another fourth quarter win over the UBC Thunderbirds during the 2013 season but fell short on a last second touchdown attempt and the visiting T-Birds prevailed with a 28-24 road win over #10 Manitoba at Investors Group Field on Saturday, October 5 afternoon.

With the win, UBC moves into a tie for third place in the Canada West football standings with Manitoba at 3-3. Both teams are one game back of second place Saskatchewan. Moving into the conference bye weekend, the last two conference games remaining will set-up a three team race for the second spot and hosting a Canada West playoff match in 2013.

With less than two minutes left, the home side started a drive on their own 44 and moved to UBC’s 22 yard line and had third and ten with less than 30 seconds left in the contest. At home earlier this season, UBC had been the recipient of a 17 point fourth quarter comeback by the Bisons when Manitoba rallied for a 36-32 win but this time the Thunderbirds stopped the drive and were victorious.

LB Riley Jones broke up a potential touchdown in the end zone as Bison RB Anthony Coombs looked to grab the ball but Jones stuck his hand in to knock away the ball at the last second and preserve the win.

Coombs said afterwards, “I lost a moment of my concentration and he made a great play on the ball in the end zone.”

Prior to the final drive by the hosts, UBC snatched the lead back earlier in the fourth with an eight play, 89 yard drive that culminated with a 15 yard pass from QB Carson Williams to Micha Theil for the eventual winning score.

Manitoba had jumped into the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a Coombs five yard reception touchdown to open the fourth but UBC responded on their very next possession and made the final score hold up over the last nine and half minutes.

The Thunderbirds held the lead for the majority of the game. The Bisons took the first lead at 3-0 but UBC scored 18 unanswered points in the second quarter (Greg Bowcott two yard TD run; David Scott 27 yard TD reception and add a field goal with a rouge) to walk into halftime with a 15 point lead.

The momentum shifted early in the second half for the home side as Manitoba forced a fumble and LB DJ Lalama returned it for a 50 yard TD fumble return and that kick started the rest of the quarter for the Herd. RB Kienan LaFrance scored on the next drive with a three yard scamper to close the lead to one point before the suspense in the fourth.

“I am very disappointed on how we came out,” commented Bison Football head coach Brian Dobie. “UBC played well and deserve credit as they outplayed us today…we need to move on and have two regular season games left to get this thing done.”

In team stats in the UBC win, Manitoba had 23 and the Thunderbirds with 24 first downs while UBC accumulated 468 total offence yards to the Bisons’ 353 in brisk fall-like conditions. In addition, Manitoba was flagged for 13 for 100 penalty yards while UBC had 7-65 and the T-Birds had the time of possession with 32:40 to 27:20.

Individually for UBC, Carson Williams was 22-40 for a game-high 348 yards and 2 TDs. Jeff Effah had 49 rushing yards and David Scott added 170 receiving yards on seven catches and 1 TD along with Josh Kronstrom with eight receptions for 92 yards and 32 rushing yards. Quinn Van Gylswyk was 2-2 in field goals and had a 39.6 punting average in some strong 26 km winds. On defence, DB Brian Rideout had 6.5 total tackles with DL Kareem Ba with 6.0 tackles plus 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. DL Donovan Dale also had 5.5 tackles with 1.5 sacks and DL Spencer Wilson added another sack.

For the home side, QB Jordan Yantz went 14-30 for 194 passing yards and 1 TD plus rushed for 85 yards on 12 carries. Coombs had 87 rushing yards on 15 attempts plus added 36 receiving yards and 1 TD on three grabs. SB Andrew Smith hauled in four balls for 60 yards and kicker Nick Boyd was 1-2 in FGs and 42.7 punting average. On defence, Bami Adewale had a game-high 7.5 total tackles with one forced fumble while DL Lauren Kroeker added 6.5 tackles. LB Riley Wiggett had 5.5 tackles and one sack and Lalama added 5.5 tackles with one fumble recovery for a TD.

With only two conference games left on the schedule, it will be a tight race until the final whistle for playoff positions. Saskatchewan host Manitoba on Friday, October 18 while UBC host Alberta (0-6) on Sat., Oct. 19 in week seven action. In the final weekend of the regular season, Manitoba plays at Alberta on Sat., Oct. 26; UBC at Calgary on Fri., Oct. 25 and Saskatchewan travels to Regina (2-4) on Sat., Oct. 26 in week eight to decide second place in the conference.

Game Notes:

– UBC DB Miguel Barker was injured and on the ground for approximately 15 minutes after a hit on Manitoba Nic Demski near the goal line early in the third quarter. No update was on his condition at this time. 

– In a quirk of the schedule, Manitoba has completed their home dates in the inaugural season at Investors Group Field and finished with a 2-2 home record in 2013.

– Coombs TD was his ninth overall touchdown of the season and moved him into a tie for second in team history with 27 total touchdowns (2011: 9; 2012: 9; 2013: 9) so far in his Bison career.

Photo credit:  David Lipnowski

Source: Manitoba Bisons Sports Information