VANCOUVER – After a tentative first half performance, the UBC Thunderbirds broke loose in the second half against the Alberta Golden Bears for their first win of the season by a score of 49-13 on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium.
 
It was a 13-6 lead for UBC at halftime, with Alberta actually holding a slight edge in total offensive yards, and neither team looking particularly threatening with the ball. But that changed in a big way after the break, as the T-Birds scored touchdowns on four of their first five drives to pull away from the Bears and get win number one.
 
"The first one's always the hardest to get, I find," said UBC head coach Shawn Olson.  "The longer it goes, the more you get tight and all that kind of stuff, so this was an important one for our guys to find a way to win. It wasn't as clean as we wanted it, and there were opportunities left on the field, but we found a way to win."
 
Freshman slot receiver and return man Marcus Davis had 253 all-purpose yards, a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown to spark the Thunderbirds. He did a lot of damage in the return game, including a 98-yard punt return where he was brought down by the punter at the Alberta one-yard line to set up UBC's first points of the day.
 
"All year he's created some sparks in the return game," said Olson. "I still want to see the one where he got tackled at the one-yard line – trying to figure out how the heck that happened. But he's an athlete that just oozes potential and as he grows you are going to see a pretty special football player."



A big turning point came just before the halftime break, when the T-Birds found themselves trailing 6-3 and sputtering offensively. Carson Williams hit Alex Morrison about 15 yards downfield on the left sideline, and UBC centre Anthony Balce hustled downfield to lay a big block and spring Morrison free for a 48-yard touchdown.
 
That gave UBC a 10-6 lead and the team seemed energized in all aspects of the game from that point on.
 
"At some point, someone makes a play. You get a monkey off your back when Alex takes that first one to the house, and it sort of relaxes people and that was really what we needed was just to relax," said Olson.
 
It was all T-Birds from that point on, as they put up just under 400 yards of total offence in the second half compared to 204 yards for Alberta. Williams finished 21-for-31 for 302 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Running back Terrell Davis got in on the passing attack as well with a 20-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter after taking the toss from Williams. When the defenders converged on him, he found a wide open Ryan Couper in the near corner of the endzone. Davis also added 86 yards on the ground on just six carries.
 
The T-Birds picked up 241 yards on the ground on 31 carries after having just 25 rushing yards heading into halftime.
 
"That has been our identity since I've been here. We have to be able to run the football," said Olson. "It alleviates a lot of stress and it's non-complicated football. We have to be able to own the line of scrimmage and we are still a work in progress in that area. Our front line is very young and have only played four games together."
 
Alberta wound up with 95 yards on the ground. Levon Hawreliak had 35 yards and a touchdown on four carries.  Curtis Dell went 20-for-36 for 272 yards and two interceptions. His favourite target was Aundrey Webster, who had five grabs for 50 yards.
 
Dominique Termansen and Bryan Rideout had the interceptions for UBC. The T-Birds also got one sack each from Donovan Dale and Steve Mawa., and Ian Henderson led the team with nine tackles.
 
Both teams are now 1-3 on the season. Alberta will be home next weekend to host the Manitoba Bisons. The T-Birds are in Saskatchewan next weekend to take on the Huskies. After that comes their bye week before their next home game against Regina on October 18.