VANCOUVER – The bulldozer also known as
Brandon Deschamps rumbled his way to two touchdowns and 230 yards rushing on Saturday to lead the UBC Thunderbirds to a 37-27 win against the Rams in Regina.
BOX SCORE
Deschamps was an absolute workhorse for the T-Birds, carrying the ball 35 times for 6.6 yards per attempt as he wore down the Rams' defensive front and kept their high-powered passing attack off the field as much as possible. He scored two different go-ahead touchdowns for the 'Birds in the fourth quarter, the latter of which held up as the game-winning score to help UBC improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Rams fall to 1-3.
Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter finished 34-for-57 for 459 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rams' one-dimensional offence couldn't get the job done consistently enough against a fierce UBC pass rush. They ran the ball just five times compared to those 57 pass attempts. Shutter was sacked just twice but was hit hard many times and was under pressure all night long.
Carson Williams was 14-for-23 for 167 yards and a major under centre for the 'Birds.
Greg Bowcott was 1-for-2 in the passing game, adding a 29-yard run on his only attempt of the night.
It was a great night for UBC special teams too, as Quinn Van Gylswyk hit all five of his field goal attempts and averaged 42 yards per punt. The 'Birds also had a punt block in the first half, allowing them to steal three points just before the break, and
Alex Morrison had a big kick return in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning score.
UBC controlled the first half with defence and special teams.
Kareem Ba sacked Shutter on each of the Rams` first two drives, and the second sack also forced a fumble, which was recovered by
Martin Park at the Regina 30-yard line. That led to a 25-yard back-shoulder touchdown pass from
Carson Williams to
Micha Theil to open the scoring.
Van Gylswyk had field goals of 44 and 43 yards, alternating with Rams kicker Taylor Wandler who also had two field goals before the break. That should have made the score 13-6 UBC heading into halftime, but
Yianni Cabylis came flying in to block a Regina punt with two seconds left in the half, setting up Van Gylswyk for his third field goal and a 16-6 halftime score.
That mistake seemed to light a fire under the Rams though, and Shutter in particular. He came out of the locker room firing, throwing a 31-yard strike to Landon Buch for a touchdown on their first drive of the half. He followed that up with an impressive display of agility in the pocket on their next drive, eluding the pass rush before stepping up to hit Buch down field for a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown to put Regina up 20-16.
It looked like the wheels were really about to fall off for UBC on their next drive, when Bowcott was sacked and fumbled the ball, turning it over to Regina on the UBC 43-yard line. But the T-Bird defence held firm and didn't allow the Rams to cash in on that field position, forcing a punt.
Deschamps picked up 45 yards on five carries on UBC's next drive to set up yet another Van Gylswyck field goal, making it a 20-19 game at the start of the fourth quarter.
After a Regina punt, Deschamps went back to work, battering his way through defenders on a game-high 29-yard run before finishing the drive off with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Williams hit
Joey Gabrick for the two-point conversion to make it a 27-20 UBC lead.
Shutter brought the Rams right back, going 7-for-10 on his next drive, which he capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to Jared Janotta to tie things up at 27 with five minutes left and get the home crowd fired up. But Morrison stole the momentum back for UBC immediately by returning the ensuing kickoff 57 yards into Regina territory. Williams completed a key 16-yard pass on second down to
Patrick Bull to keep the drive alive, and the rest was up to Deschamps, who carried three times for 20 yards and another touchdown on the drive to give the 'Birds another seven-point lead.
That left Shutter with plenty of time to get his quick-strike offence into scoring position again, but this time the UBC defence was up to the task, forcing a two-and-out and a punt. The 'Birds couldn't do anything with the ball and gave it back to Shutter for one last chance with under a minute remaining, but the defence held firm again and forced a turnover on downs, allowing Van Gylswyk to ice the game with his fifth field goal of the night.
Next week the T-Birds are back home to take on the 3-1 Saskatchewan Huskies at Thunderbird Stadium. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
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