It's a fresh start in many ways for the No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds who open up the 2019 Canada West football season Saturday, August 31
st when they host the Regina Rams at Thunderbird Stadium.
Fans and coaches alike will get their first real look at what is a very different team from the squads that have graced the gridiron at Point Grey the last few years. Gone are the likes of quarterback
Michael O'Connor, running back
Ben Cummings, and defensive backs
Stavros Katsantonis and
Malcom Lee, among others.
But where there are holes to fill, there's opportunity for one of the strongest T-Birds recruiting classes in recent memory.
After a slow start to the 2018 season, UBC won their final three games to finish 5-3, earning a home playoff berth for the Hardy Cup semifinal where they lost to the eventual conference champion Saskatchewan Huskies in overtime.
Entering his fifth season at the helm, head coach
Blake Nill, who guided the 'Birds to a Vanier Cup championship in 2015, is pleased with training camp and what appears to be a cohesive, hard-working young group. But the real test comes Saturday night against a Rams team in a similar situation.
Much like O'Connor at UBC, Regina no longer has the services of starting pivot Noah Picton who started for the Rams the last five seasons, leading the conference in passing twice.
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Regina finished 1-7 and out of the playoffs in 2018 having lost to the Thunderbirds in the 2017 Hardy Cup semifinal.
The new look 'Birds kick off the 2019 campaign Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium.
Tickets are available online now on Ticketmaster.
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Last Meeting
UBC has won the last three meetings with the Rams dating back to the 2017 season. Regina's last visit to Thunderbird Stadium was for the 2017 Hardy Cup semifinal with their most recent regular season visit one week earlier for the final game of the campaign where the T-Birds earned a convincing 44-15 victory.
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Players to Watch
Lliam Wishart (#13, REC) – Returning for his third season as a Thunderbird, Wishart boasts the greatest offensive production among all returning T-Birds having amassed 446 all-purpose yards in 2018. The Kamloops native was second in team receptions and receiving yards last season.
Ben Hladik (#52, LB) – Named a first team Canada West All-Star and a first team All-Canadian in 2018, the Vernon product finished last season with 49.5 tackles, the second highest total in the conference. Hladik also amassed three sacks and a conference leading three fumble recoveries and won the 2018 Canada West Outstanding Defensive Player award.
Coach's Take
Without the benefit of a pre-season contest, the Thunderbirds' first opportunity to truly test their mettle will be Friday night and
Blake Nill believes his group is ready for this initial challenge.
"I'm excited with this group of guys, I think we have a great character, a great understanding of one another and now we just got to find a way to win games and improve each and every week," said the three-time Vanier Cup champion coach. "We need to set the tone early by playing with our athleticism. We're going to require a number of athletes in different positions to step up, I believe they're ready for that."
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When it comes to the Rams, Nill expects a hard working, confident team ready to battle. The T-Birds may enter the game as the higher ranked team, but the veteran coach knows prognostications aren't anything more than educated guesses.
"The game is played on the field. In this particular conference if you don't bring your A game, you're going to lose, no matter who you are, what your record is and who you're playing against. So in that aspect it doesn't really matter. But what I think it says is that the people who are in the know realize who we've lost but they also know what we have in the program currently and are impressed with it."
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