VANCOUVER – The Simon Fraser University Clan knocked off the UBC Thunderbirds 26-7 to open the 2009 Canada West regular season with a 16-point performance in the second half sealing the victory for the visiting Clan at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday.
 
"We had our chances to put points on the board in the first half and we didn't which can always be very costly," said UBC running back Dave Boyd who finished the day with 119 all-purpose yards. "We had success moving the ball on the ground but it just wasn't enough, as we couldn't get the points when we needed them."
 
UBC had a chance to take control of the game in the first half but weren't able to convert on offence despite dominating the time of possession with over 18 minutes through the first two quarters.
 
T-Bird quarterback Billy Greene was solid over the opening 30 minutes, going 9-for-13 for 83 yards and a score. He finished the game 14-for-23 with 118 yards and the lone touchdown.
 
His counterpart for the Clan, Bernd Dittrich, finished the game 13-for-23 for 185 yards and combined with a solid rushing attack that averaged 6.6 yards per carry (152 total yards rushing) to help the Clan to their third straight victory over the Thunderbirds.
 
Boyd led the charge on the ground with 57 yards on seven carries in the first half but UBC trailed 10-7 at the break after SFU tailback Gabe Ephard scampered in from 27 yards with just 39 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter to give SFU the lead for good.
 
The Clan carried that momentum into the second half. The T-Bird defence held the visitors to a pair of field goals in the third frame despite SFU having the ball for nearly 12 minutes but it wasn't enough, as the home side couldn't generate consistent offence.
 
Jason Thompson, appearing in his first game for the Clan, also caused problems all day for the T-Birds as he totalled 134 yards in special team returns on just seven attempts with many of the plays coming out of initially good coverage by the T-Birds. UBC totalled just 25 yards on six return opportunities and Thompson gave SFU an advantage in the field position battle throughout the game.
 
SFU opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal by Jason Cook seconds into the second quarter before Greene hooked up with Jordan Grieve on a 10-yard score at 13:25 of the frame.
 
Cook added three more field goals in the second half and Brandon Halvorson sealed the win with a five-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
 
UBC travels to Alberta next week as they take on the Golden Bears (September 4, 6 p.m. PST). The Clan have a week off before taking on the Manitoba Bisons on September 11 at home.
 
UBC Game Notes: Boyd ended the day with 100 yards rushing on 11 attempts and caught a pair of passes for 19 yards…Fellow back Cheng Wei picked up 61 yards on 10 carries…Rookie kicker Billy Pavlopoulos had nine punts for 301 yards with a long of 47Grieve led all receivers with 38 yards and five catches…Alex Babalos led the defensive effort with seven solo tackles from his safety position…DT Serge Kamninsky had five total tackles including two sacks in his first start as a T-Bird…Fifth-year halfback Tyler Codron left the game early in the first quarter with a knee injury.
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