REGINA, Sask. – The UBC Thunderbirds rode outstanding defence and clutch special teams play to a 25-10 season opening win over the Regina Rams at Mosaic Stadium Friday night.
Making his return to Canada West action,
Garrett Rooker threw for 305 yards and a second quarter highlight reel touchdown to transfer receiver
Sam Davenport while
Kieran Flannery-Fleck went a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals, just one shy of a single game Canada West record.
"As I mentioned to the young men, we're on the road in the Canada West which is never easy. We're playing our first game of the year, we tried something different with same day travel and we were able to get it done, there were a lot of positives," said UBC head coach
Blake Nill following his team's fifth straight win in Regina dating back to 2018. "Other than the penalties, I thought we played very well on defence and we will be better there too."
On the first drive of the game, Rooker got the 'Birds down to the Regina 31-yard line after a good mix of plays including back-to-back 20 yard passes to
Isaiah Knight and
Jason Soriano. But the Rams held strong when they needed to, forcing UBC to attempt their first field goal of the game where Flannery-Fleck was good from 38 yards out for the early 3-0 advantage.
The third year kicker made good on a 14-yard chip shot in the final minute of the opening quarter to double UBC's lead, capitalizing on a Rams turnover initiated by
Jerrell Cummings' forced fumble.
On the 'Birds' next possession which started on their own 15, four straight Knight rushes got the ball nearly to midfield. Rooker then found Davenport around the Regina 50 and the veteran receiver turned on the jets, weaving through a number of Rams defenders and straight to pay dirt for UBC's first touchdown of the season. Flannery-Fleck's convert gave the visitors a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Rams' offence pressed late in the half, but the only points UBC conceded were courtesy of a safety.
Rooker finished the opening 30 minutes 12-of-17 for 210 yards and the Davenport touchdown while Regina quarterback Noah Pelletier was limited to 110 yards on 10-of-20 passing.
Three more Flannery-Fleck field goals from 22, 30, and 30 yards gave UBC a 22-2 advantage with 11 minutes left in the game.
With some help from penalties later in the final frame, the Rams managed to get the ball down to the UBC one-yard line. After a pair of T-Bird defensive line stands made it third-and-goal for Regina, Pelletier called his own number on a handoff fake and scampered into the end zone. Regina's two-point conversion was successful to cut UBC's lead to 22-10 with exactly six minutes remaining.
The major score reignited the Rams' struggling offence but time was not on their side. UBC's defence once again stood up to the challenge and the hosts were held off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
"Our team speed is probably as good as it's been in my career here at UBC," added Nill when asked about his squad's defensive prowess in the season opener. "You can see that on teams, on our coverage units and you can see that in our secondary and our linebacking core. What we got to do is just tighten up a bit and gain more experience. Even though we're a veteran team there's a lot of young men who haven't started before so they'll get better. (Defensive Coordinator) Coach
Pat Tracey and Coach Dom (Termansen) and Coach Shomari (Williams) – my defensive staff is so good and so hard working, they'll do a great job of getting us even more prepared for next week."
Flannery-Fleck's six field goals sets a new personal record and stands tied for second all-time in a single Canada West game.
"To see Flannery-Fleck have the kind of night he did put a smile on my face to because that was the difference with us last year, we would stall and not come out with anything," said Nill. "It was nice to see those kicks going through the uprights."
Rooker didn't play in the final quarter of the game but still managed to finish with his 305 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions.
Derek Engel took the remainder of the snaps, as well as some others interspersed throughout the game.
Knight finished with an even 100 yards rushing on 20 carries and 140 all-purpose yards while Davenport led all UBC receivers with 80 yards.
The T-Birds will now head home and get ready to host the Calgary Dinos next Saturday, September 9
th for their home opener at Thunderbird Stadium. The game – presented by the B.C. Lions – kicks off at 1:00 p.m. PT and
tickets are available now.
