SASKATOON, Sask. – It was a game fitting of two nationally ranked contenders with four lead changes and a fourth quarter comeback – but for the UBC Thunderbirds (3-2), it's a tale of one that got away as the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-1) earned a 34-24 win Saturday night in Saskatoon.
With UBC leading 24-20 midway through the fourth after a
Trey Montour touchdown, the Huskies found the end zone twice in the final four minutes to snap the 'Birds' three-game win streak heading into the Thanksgiving weekend bye.
"With five minutes left, we're in the lead, we have to be the team that can finish," said UBC head coach,
Blake Nill. "Full credit to Saskatchewan. Where they're better than us right now is the culture of playing 60 minutes. We're not quite there yet."
It was a series of self-induced errors which ultimately cost the 'Birds a shot at lone possession of first place in the conference, after everything seemed to be pointing the way of a fourth straight UBC victory.
Facing third and short just across midfield on their first drive of the final frame, the Huskies' gamble backfired when Anton Amundrud was sacked, giving UBC instant field position which they used to their advantage. Seven plays and four minutes later,
Drew Viotto connected with Montour for a 12-yard touchdown pass and the lead.
The Huskies counter-punched to go ahead 27-24 on an 11-yard Aulain Penner rushing score, still with four minutes remaining.
Forced to punt after Viotto took a sack, Penner capped off the ensuing Saskatchewan possession with his second touchdown of the quarter, a drive extended by a UBC offside penalty when the Huskies had lined up for a field goal.
"We knew that was going to happen," said a frustrated Nill. "That's them making a play, you have to give credit for their ability to make plays, it's just unfortunate from our perspective."
UBC still had time, albeit with fading hopes, but those hopes were stamped out when Viotto was intercepted by Ethan Laing. The Huskies needed just two first downs to run the clock out, securing their fourth straight win.
"They're a very good football program and we went toe-to-toe with them for most of the game," said Nill who saw plenty of positivity from his group, aside from the untimely late breakdowns. "Except for a couple minutes in the first half and a couple minutes in the second half, I felt you could justify saying we held the edge. But ultimately, in the last five minutes, they scored 14 points."
"They're who they are because of their approach to the game. We know what we need to be, we just need to find a way to reach that level of performance."
The T-Birds took their first lead of the game late in the first with
Ben Gutek's first career Canada West touchdown, a 36-yard toss from Viotto into the end zone.
Not long after coming up with his first interception as a Thunderbird, third-year linebacker
Isaiah Cooper made a terrific special teams play when Huskies punt returner Kayden Miller fumbled, the UBC linebacker batting the loose ball out of bounds to give UBC possession deep inside Saskatchewan territory. Five plays later on second and goal, tight end
Zach Patfield lined up under centre and handed off to none other than
Marvyn Larozar who scampered in for his conference leading ninth touchdown of the season and a 14-3 UBC advantage.
Larozar finished the night with 137 yards rushing and another 27 receiving for the third 100-plus yard ground effort of his remarkable rookie campaign.
Perhaps foreshadowing what was to come in the final minutes of the fourth, the T-Birds squandered their 11-point lead late in the opening half, thanks in part to some Huskies trickery.
Facing third and long, Saskatchewan lined up for a field goal, but Keane took the snap directly and executed an onside punt, recovered by the hosts to keep the ball in their hands, eventually resulting in a Javin Boynton rushing score, cutting the lead to five.
After Viotto was picked off by Nathan Casimir with just over a minute on the clock, Miller made up for his earlier gaffe, catching a nine-yard Amundrud touchdown pass to put the home side back ahead at the halftime break.
An
Alexander Hillyard 25-yard field goal got UBC within a single point at 18-17 midway through a largely uneventful third quarter while Montour's third touchdown of the season had the blue and gold looking positive with the four point lead, only to have it quickly washed away.
The T-Birds will get another crack at the Huskies when they pay a visit to Thunderbird Stadium in the final week of the regular season, a game which could have massive consequences for playoff seeding.
As it stands heading into the conference-wide bye week, the 'Birds and Bisons are both at 3-2, UBC holding the tie-breaker for second after last week's win in Manitoba.
The 'Birds return to Canada West action on Friday, October 16 when they play host to the 2-3 Dinos, another opportunity for payback after UBC fell in week one in Calgary.
