VANCOUVER – The No. 6-ranked UBC Thunderbirds went into McMahon Stadium as the unquestioned underdog on Saturday afternoon, but rode a terrific first half and some timely defence to an upset 34-26 win over the No. 1-ranked Calgary Dinos to claim the 79th Hardy Cup.
 
UBC linebacker Warren Reece (New Westminster, B.C.) and defensive back Kevin Wiens (Mission, B.C.) forced two fumbles late in the fourth quarter to seal the win, as the 'Birds claimed their first Canada West title since 1997.
 
UBC quarterback Michael O'Connor (Orleans, Ont.) played his heart out on the conference's biggest stage, completing 27-of-40 passes for 374 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Marcus Davis (Victoria, B.C.) had a terrific game catching the ball out of the backfield, as the sophomore from Victoria reeled off eight receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Will Watson (White Rock, B.C.) was also key in the aerial attack, as the receiver caught seven balls for 130 yards.
 
On the ground, Brandon Deschamps (Prince George, B.C.) racked up 77 yards and a score on 12 carries, while kicker Quinn van Gylswyk (Victoria, B.C.) nailed all four of his field goal attempts, including a 46-yarder at the tail end of the third quarter.
 
Head coach Blake Nill, in his first season with the T-Birds, was almost at a loss for words after the contest, especially when it came to describing the performance his side put forward.
 
"This group right here, I can't say enough about them," Nill said.  "What a bunch – you know, for most of them, we've been practicing with less than 60 players most of the year, most of them have taken every rep in practice, every rep in the games, and I just can't explain how it works sometimes."
 
On the Calgary sideline, Andrew Buckley had a terrific day at quarterback, passing for 447 yards and a touchdown, adding 39 yards on the ground. Rashaun Simonise, Canada West's leader in receiving yards duting the regular season, hauled in four balls for 111, while Mac Sarro nabbed 5 receptions for 59 yards and a score. Mercier Timmis finished with 109 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
 
Nill, who was the head coach at Calgary for nine seasons prior to making the move to the west coast, felt the heartbreak of the team that he helped build.
 
"The Dinos kids in that dressing room mean a lot to me. We've gone through a lot together over the years, and I know they're devastated right now. Legitimately, I feel for them, because they were the top team in the country, and on this one day, things didn't work out for them."
 
After van Gylswyk got the day's scoring started with a single off of the opening kickoff, some solid open-field tackling from the Thunderbirds and a few costly Dinos penalties kept Calgary off the board on their first drive of the contest.
 
Taking over for the 'Birds at his own 33-yard line, O'Connor worked Watson over the middle in the early portion of the drive, hitting the receiver for a 17-yard gain on his first throw. Watson made a catch on a crossing route on the next play, getting to the Calgary 35 before cornerback Hunter Turnbull knocked the ball loose. UBC receiver Alex Morrison (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) made a heads-up play, pouncing on the loose ball at the Dinos 27-yard line.
 
A couple of short gains by Deschamps left the T-Birds with a third-and-two situation deep in Calgary territory, and van Gylswyk stepped up to give UBC a 4-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal with just under four minutes gone in the opening quarter.
 
In the shadow of his own goal post, Buckley showed the arm that made him the 2014 Hec Crighton winner. The Dinos quarterback hit Rashaun Simonise on an 84-yard completion. UBC defensive back Wiens did well to chase down Simonise and force a fumble downfield, but Calgary retained possession as the ball went out-of-bounds at the T-Birds 12-yard line.
 
Two plays later, Calgary backup quarterback Jimmy Underdahl punched it in on a one-yard plunge, giving Calgary a 7-4 lead 10 minutes into the contest.
 
The' Birds responded immediately. Deschamps started off UBC's next drive with a 20-yard scamper before O'Connor went back to work. The Penn State transfer hit Davis for a 21-yard gain, then dialed up a 39-yard toss to Watson down the seam.
 
O'Connor capped the drive with 12-yard touchdown pass, showing great patience to sit in the pocket before lobbing a ball up to Davis in the back of the end zone.
 
On a drive that bridged the first and second quarters, Calgary closed the gap to 11-10 with a 42-yard field goal off the foot of Johnny Mark.
 
Trivel Pinto (Brampton, Ont.) made his impact felt off the ensuing kickoff, as the electric UBC return man weaved his way down the right sideline for a 66-yard run back, putting UBC at the Calgary's 46-yard line.
 
With great field position, it only took the T-Birds two plays to hit pay dirt. First, it was Watson again, as the third-year receiver shed a tackler en route to a 13-yard reception.
 
Then, O'Connor hit Davis for his second score of the afternoon, finding the sophomore in tight coverage on a 33-yard bullet. The touchdown put UBC up 18-7 at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter
 
After a nine-yard sack from UBC linebacker Mitchell Barnett (North Vancouver) forced another Calgary two-and-out, the T-Birds offence struck again.
 
Starting at their own 25 yard-line, O'Connor called Morrsion's number, hitting the 6-foot-4 wideout on a 70-yard bomb down the left sideline and taking the 'Birds into the red zone.
 
Deschamps got UBC down to the Calgary two-yard line on a pair of strong runs, bringing in T-Birds backup pivot Trevor Casey (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) for the short-yardage situation. Casey made no mistake, keeping it himself on the two-yard touchdown run.
 
Calgary's defence made a splash with four minutes left in the opening half. Under tremendous pressure from the Dinos pass rush, O'Connor threw up a jump ball to the Calgary 35-yard line where Dinos defensive back Adam Laurenesse was waiting to make the interception.
 
Buckley and Timmis made sure to take advantage of O'Connor's miscue, as the running back slashed UBC for 32 yards on four carries, while Buckley made two key throws, including a 15-yard strike to receiver Mac Sarro for a touchdown in the back left corner of the end zone.
 
van Gylswyk capped off the scoring in an explosive first half, as he hit a 21-yard chip shot to extend UBC's lead to 28-17 with under a minute left in the frame.
 
Both defences stepped up coming out of the break, as a rouge from Mark and a 46-yard field goal from van Gylswyk were the only scoring plays of the third quarter, as both offences were held to a combined 191 yards of offence. Heading into the fourth stanza, the Thunderbirds held a 31-18 advantage.
 
Calgary nearly made it a one-possession game early in the final frame. Taking a deep shot from the UBC 41-yard line, Buckley had receiver Denzel Radford wide open in the end zone, but the ball hit the wideout's helmet, falling to the turf.
 
Still down 13 points late in the contest, Buckley put the Dinos on his back, orchestrating an 80-yard touchdown drive of which he accounted for 78 (63 passing, 15 rushing), before Timmis capped it off with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:16 remaining to cut the Dinos deficit to 31-25.
 
Then, following a UBC punt, Reece made his mark in coverage with 1:05 left, as he raced downfield and delivered a heavy blow on Dinos returner Robert Woodson at the Calgary 6-yard line. Woodson couldn't hold on to the ball, and Evan Horton (Mission, B.C.) scooped it up for the T-Birds at the 11.
 
van Gylswyk knocked another field goal through, this one from 30 yards out, to bring the score to 34-26 for the T-Birds with 55 seconds remaining.
 
With the game on the line on the ensuing Calgary drive, Buckley drove Calgary to near midfield. Then, the Dinos quarterback hit receiver Brett Blaszko in the flat for an eight-yard gain, but Wiens was in place to make a terrific tackle, jarring the ball loose at the Calgary 54-yard line and recovering it himself, sealing the win for the Blue and Gold.
 
With his decision to move on from Calgary, and his accelerated rebuild of the UBC football program, Nill has been through a lot in the past year.
 
Out on the field, amidst his players all revelling in the win, the UBC head coach had only one thing to say to that.
 
"You see these kids, and what this means to them, and it's worth it."