Saskatoon, SK - A late push from the UBC Thunderbirds would not be enough as UBC lost 31-25 to the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday night in Saskatoon. With the loss UBC falls to 1-4 on the season, while the Huskies improve to 4-1.
Down 29-10 early in the fourth quarter UBC rookie Marcus Davis returned a kickoff 107 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 29-17. The Thunderbirds had to settle for a single point after a Quinn van Gylswyk missed field goal attempt went wide making it 29-18. UBC then surrendered a safety extending the Huskies lead to 13 points. However, Carson Williams hooked up with Niko Jacobs for a major with 1:25 left to make it a six point games, 31-25.
It looked as if UBC would get another chance on offence after the Thunderbirds stripped Saskatchewan of the football. Unfortunately, the ruling was reversed on the field and the Huskies kept the ball and were able to run out the clock and preserve a 31-25 victory.
"We just weren't good enough," said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. "We missed a lot of opportunities in all three phases of the game and put ourselves in a situation where we needed to get a call to go our way. We failed to capitalize on our opportunities, especially in the second half."
"We don't have to look too hard to find five plays that could have changed the game. We had some pretty glaring mistakes that cost us tonight."
UBC looked to hold the Huskies to just a field goal on the game's opening possession, but an unnecessary roughness penalty kept the Saskatchewan drive alive. On the following play from the 11-yard line Huskies quarterback Drew Burko would pitch the ball to Shane Buchanan on the option to score the touchdown at 4:22 to put the home side ahead 7-0.
T-Bird quarterback Carson Williams connected on a 43-yard pass to Marcus Davis setting up the visitors inside the Saskatchewan five-yard line. Davis would take a handoff into the end zone on the next play to even the game at 7-7.
Buchanan would find the end zone for the second time in the game at 5:12, again taking the option pitch from Burko for an eight-yard score increasing the lead to 14-7.
After the T-Birds conceded a safety, Denton Kolodzinski split the uprights from 37 yards out to give Saskatchewan a 19-7 halftime lead.
After an extended delay at halftime due to lingering smoke from a fireworks show, UBC went back to work hoping to cut into the Huskies lead. A forced fumble by the UBC defense set up the T-Birds with good field position on the Saskatchewan side of half. The Thunderbirds looked like they had an easy touchdown, but David Scott dropped a Williams pass in the end zone, forcing the Thunderbirds to settle for a 38-yard van Gylswyk at 7:48, 19-10 Huskies.
The Saskatchewan offense got back on track in the second half with a long drive that was capped off by a seven-yard pass from Burko to receiver Brydon Ozmun making the score 26-10.
The next Huskie possession ended with Kolodzinski's second field goal of the night, this time from 16-yards to give Saskatchewan a 29-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Third-year running back Shane Buchanan finished the game with 105 yards on 19 carries. UBC's Brandon Deschamps had his best outing of the season, eclipsing the 100 yard mark for the first time this year, finishing with 129 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Burko completed 19-of-33 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Williams finished the game 21-for-40 through the air with 296 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Patrick Bull hauled in six passes for a team high 83 yards.
"This is a resilient group," said Olson. "If anything, our guys proved tonight they are never going to give up, playing to the final whistle. Our defence was strong, especially in the second half, Marcus Davis continues to show he is a real playmaker and it was great to see Brandon Deschamps breakout. Hopefully we can build off those things in two weeks time."
Both teams will enjoy Thanksgiving weekend off before returning to Canada West action the following weekend. Saskatchewan visits Manitoba (2-3) on October 17, while UBC will host Regina (1-4) on October 18 at David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.
