VANCOUVER – Consistent growth is the name of the game for the UBC Thunderbirds as they return to Canada West Football action this weekend when they visit the Regina Rams Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium.
The first two weeks of the season for the young T-Birds (0-2) was a bit of baptism by fire for the 30-plus rookies who took the field for the blue and gold. But the Thanksgiving weekend bye helped provide some extra preparation and practice time, along with some rest, as UBC enters a critical phase of the shortened conference season.
"We had an active bye week, just working with our young guys," said UBC Head Coach Blake Nill who's biggest challenge this year may be balancing patience and urgency. "We're not at a point in the program where we can take advantage of what a bye week brings, so we had three, four hard practices, the kids got some time off to rest a little but we're focusing on becoming better each and every week and that past week enabled us to continue in that type of mindset."
At a quick glance, the results from weeks one and two of the Canada West season might look eerily similar for UBC, but there was noticeable improvement in many facets of the game, and much more so in the coach's eyes since then as well.
"We have a tremendous amount of athletes, a lot of physically active players, we can play the game the right way," said Nill. "But what we lack is game experience and a little maturity. To improve on those elements just requires repetition, it requires game reps, it requires adversity. And eventually you are able to overcome that. We just have to keep getting better and let's try to make it a little easier on ourselves, eliminate mistakes and just try to outwork other teams."
The Rams (1-1) entered last weekend's bye with some strong momentum having dispatched the defending Vanier Cup Champion Calgary Dinos 34-21 in week two.
Regina will certainly be hungry Saturday afternoon to garner their first home win of the season after a narrow 21-17 defeat to the first place Manitoba Bisons back on September 25
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"They're a very good football program. Everyone knows Saskatchewan football is a breeding ground for tough, intense football players, and that's what you get when you go into Regina, you get young men who are motivated to play the game the way it was played years ago. We have to be able to go onto their field, match their initial intensity and learn and realize we can make plays as well."
Making plays, especially on offence, has been a proven ability already for the T-Birds. Freshman UBC quarterback Garrett Rooker leads the Canada West with 57 completions and is second in total yards (655) and completion percentage (72.2).
T-Bird receivers Jason Soriano and Edgerrin Williams are third and sixth, respectively, in conference receiving while Isaiah Knight's 151 yards on the ground has him second in Canada West rushing.
No doubt going into Regina is a big test for this young T-Birds team, but it's one that will help continue to push the group forward.
Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium is 1:00 p.m. PT. The game will be available live on Canada West TV.
