VANCOUVER – For the first time since 2017, the UBC Thunderbirds are competing for Canada West football supremacy as they battle the Saskatchewan Huskies for the 85
th Hardy Cup on Saturday, November 12 in Saskatoon.
Last hoisting the trophy in 2015 en route to the Vanier Cup championship, it's been a long title game drought for UBC, perhaps felt no more than by veteran Head Coach,
Blake Nill.
"I'm very happy, it's great to be back and great to be competing amongst the best," said Nill, who has captured seven Hardy Cup titles and knows Saturday's matchup with the defending champion Huskies is a tough task indeed. "I think we're closer than we were at the start of the season for sure. Full credit to (Huskies Head Coach) Flory and his crew, his athletes for everything they've done to turn that program around the last few years. I believe that to become a champion you should beat the champion in their hometown. Is it an easy task? No. Is it probable? Yes. But not without our best effort, and to be quite honest, not without a little bit of luck."
While luck certainly plays a role in any given week, UBC will have to be at their very best to upend a Huskies team that cruised through the regular season with a 7-1 record, advancing to their fourth straight conference title game with a 37-9 victory over the Manitoba Bisons last week.
But that '1' in the Huskies loss column is courtesy of none other than the UBC Thunderbirds in a 35-29 week seven battle in Vancouver. It was a key result for the 'Birds in many ways, most importantly the belief they have the tools necessary to be successful again.
The Hardy Cup will be a contest of retribution. For Saskatchewan – payback for that loss at Thunderbird Stadium. For the T-Birds – revenge for the Huskies ending UBC's 2021 season in the semifinals at Griffiths Stadium.
"All playoff experience is valuable, it lets the athletes know this is a different time," Nill explained as he reflected on last season's loss. "Your mistakes are ultimately going to determine if you continue or if your season's over. Did we learn from that? Yes. Was it enough? We probably have to do a lot more than say we've been there before."
Someone who's been there plenty before – aside from Nill himself, of course – is Saskatchewan's veteran quarterback, Mason Nyhus. With 2,759 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, the veteran pivot was named Canada West Player of the Year for good reason. Along with a bevy of talented receivers, the Huskies offence will be a big challenge for UBC's defence which has been gaining traction throughout the year and is coming off perhaps their best performance to date last week in Regina.
"Coach (Pat) Tracey and his staff have our defence playing their best football of the year right now," said Nill. It's a challenge though, that Sask offence. Nyhus is a veteran, you can't get pressure on him because the ball's gone usually very quickly. Their young O-line is solidifying, their receivers are among the best in the country. It's still November football, Saskatchewan knows it as well as anyone, you still have to move the ball on the ground. That program's been built to win games late in the year like I'm trying to do here. We're expecting the most difficult of challenges going in there."
The run game Nill speaks of is indeed UBC's offensive strength. Last week,
Dane Kapler proved how dangerous the T-Birds' two-headed monster of himself and
Isaiah Knight can be. While Knight led all Canada West rushers in the regular season with 754 yards, Kapler's 71 yards and a touchdown led all players in Regina.
Where the starkest contrast between the two teams may be is at the quarterback position. Juxtaposed to Nyhus' veteran presence is second-year T-Bird
Derek Engel who was thrust into the starter's position at the end of the regular season after
Garrett Rooker was lost to injury in the first quarter of week seven's game against Saskatchewan. But since that point, Engel has calmly thrown for 666 yards and four touchdowns without a single interception on 100 pass attempts.
"He's a quality quarterback, he was just waiting for his chance. I thought
Derek Engel in Regina was the best offensive player on the field for us. He's only going to get better and more confident. My challenge to our program was to rally behind this guy and to make sure he's carrying as light a load as possible. The burden can't be solely on
Derek Engel."
The collective burden and collective drive to claim UBC's first Hardy Cup championship since 2015 goes down Saturday at 11:00 a.m. PT at Saskatoon's Griffiths Stadium. The game will be available on Canada West TV as well as Telus – channel 997 and 998.
