VANCOUVER – The No. 9 UBC Thunderbirds football team gave its fans lots to cheer about in a 29-23 Homecoming Game win over the No. 10 Manitoba Bisons on Saturday afternoon. The win improves UBC's record to 3-1, the team's best start since 1999.
  "This is a big win because of where we are in the season, where it puts us as far as possibilities for playoffs and that was a very good football team," said UBC head coach Shawn Olson of the victory over Manitoba.
 
UBC quarterback Billy Greene (Surrey, B.C.) found Jordan Grieve (Salmon Arm, B.C.) behind the Manitoba coverage on a 72-yard touchdown catch and run play at 12:34 of the third quarter for the winning score.
 
Grieve would end the day with a career-high 176 receiving yards on seven catches. It was his fourth touchdown catch of the season, his third over 50 yards.
 
"I think it's just hard work," said Grieve of his team's ability to make the big play. "We know every week, we have to run. Our goal is to get better every day and as along as we keep doing the right things, executing our jobs, the big plays just fall into place."
 
Grieve's latest big play put UBC ahead 27-20.
 
Manitoba kicker Nick Boyd's third field goal of the game to start the fourth quarter made it 27-23.
 
But UBC's special teams pinned the Bisons deep in their own half of the field on a punt.
 
Manitoba then chose to give up a safety at 10:50 of the fourth quarter, which rounded out the scoring at 29-23.
 
Still, the Bisons had several late opportunities to take the lead but were unable to execute.
 
Halfway through the final quarter, a Serge Kaminsky (Richmond, B.C.) sack on the UBC 29 stalled a Manitoba drive, forcing the Bisons to attempt a field goal, which Boyd missed.
 
With 1:43 to go fourth, and the ball on the UBC 35-yard line, Manitoba quarterback Khaleal Williams threw a pass into the front corner of end zone for Tyson Takasaki, only to have the ball knocked away by Alex Babalos (Delta, B.C.).
 
Later that same drive after a third down conversion and a facemask penalty, the Bisons were on the UBC nine-yard line, but a third down pass from Williams to Kienan LaFrance was off the mark.
 
That allowed the Thunderbirds to celebrate the team's third win in 2011 in front of an ecstatic Thunderbird Stadium crowd of 2,000.
 
"Our philosophy on defence is sort of to bend, but don't break," said Olson. At different points, you're going to have to come up and make a play."

"Two of our best people on this team made big plays for us when we needed to," said Olson of Babalos and Kaminsky. "And if you look throughout the course of history, in an sport, your best players need to be your best players and I think specifically in the second half, defensively, that was the case."
 
UBC held the Bisons to just three second-half points as the Thunderbirds came back from a 20-13 halftime deficit.
 
Micha Theil (West Vancouver, B.C.) caught an eight-yard pass from Greene at 3:40 of the third quarter to tie the game at 20. It was Thiel's second touchdown catch of the game. His first gave UBC a 13-10 lead at 9:13 of the second quarter.
 
The Bisons then came back with ten straight points. Williams threw a touchdown pass to Stu Schollaardt late in the second quarter before Boyd added another short field goal right at half time to make it 20-13.
 
Billy Pavlopoulos (Georgetown, Ont.) also kicked two first-quarter field goals for UBC.
 
The Thunderbirds' Greene completed 17 of 30 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 11 touchdowns on the year against no interceptions.
 
Dave Boyd (Duncan, B.C.) rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries.

Defensively, Vivie Bojilov (New Westminster, B.C.) recorded nine tackles, while Levar Hayden (Calgary, Alta.) made one interception, which he returned 63 yards leading to UBC's first field goal.
 
For Manitoba, Williams was 27 of 38, throwing for 391 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Takasaki caught six passes for 118 yards while youngster Nic Demski gained 107 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
 
UBC (3-1) is now in sole possession of second place in the Canada West. The team will now face Saskatchewan (2-2) in Saskatoon on Friday night at 6 p.m. Pacific, while Manitoba (2-2) will travel to play Regina (1-3).