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VANCOUVER – It came down to the wire, but the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds have advanced to the 89
th Hardy Cup Final after a 30-23 victory over the Manitoba Bisons Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium.
An incredibly athletic rushing play by veteran
Riley Michaud that resulted in a touchdown late in the third quarter put the top seed T-Birds up 23-13, but the Bisons clawed back to tie the game with five minutes remaining.
Rookie running back
Josh Martin exploded for a 53-yard touchdown run to put the 'Birds back on top but still with more than three minutes for the Bisons to work with.
Manitoba quarterback Cole Andeeuw moved the ball deep into UBC territory but with less than 10 seconds on the game clock, the Bisons pivot was intercepted by freshman defensive back
Tahliek Louis who returned the ball 54 yards to run out the clock and secure the victory – and a collective sigh of relief for the home squad.
"It was a hard fought win by our kids, we're fully deserving of the win but that game could have gone either way," said UBC head coach,
Blake Nill, who now advances to his sixth Hardy Cup with the T-Birds. Â "Semifinal week has always been the most difficult win, every place I've been at. Players and coaches both can't handle the stress that your season might be over. Then you always have the bottom seed coming in with nothing to lose. I told Coach (Stan) Pierre at the end when we were shaking hands, I wasn't surprised by the kind of game it was.
The win – UBC's first postseason victory since the 2023 Mitchell Bowl – came despite losing the turnover battle by a 4:1 margin. The 'Birds actually fumbled the ball a collective five times over the course of the afternoon, three of them resulting in a turnover.
After leading the regular season with a conference low 107.9 rushing yards against per game, the T-Birds allowed 197 Saturday. But the 'Birds defence came up big when needed, highlighted by Louis' dying seconds interception.
"Their guys, their O-line played awesome, their run game was terrific," said Nill of the Bisons' offence Saturday which put up 442 total yards to UBC's 570. "They played their front with seven O-linemen and we had to protect our secondary due to some injuries. A lot of what we did was that, but we'll look at the film. I tell you, the football gods shined on us today because it easily could have gone the other way. Easily."
After
Marvyn Larozar went down with injury late in the first quarter, it was another next man up situation for the T-Birds and the dynamic duo of Michaud and Martin didn't disappoint, each of them finishing the game with identical 81 yard, one touchdown stat lines.
A slow start offensively for both sides had Manitoba's Maya Turner and UBC's
Alexander Hillyard trade a pair of field goals each for a 6-6 score well into the second quarter.
That was until
Drew Viotto connected with
Trey Montour for a 30 yard score that saw the third-year receiver leap over a desperation tackle attempt into the end zone for UBC's first lead of the game.
Anseeuw would answer with a 16-yard TD toss to Zachary Wynne and a 13-13 deadlock heading into the halftime break.
Once again the T-Birds had the clear upper hand in the second half, outscoring the Bisons by a 17-10 margin.
Hillyard drilled a 42-yard field goal attempt into a strong headwind to go up 16-13 late in the third before Michaud's incredible touchdown effort made it 23-16. The fourth-year running back showed off some incredible strength and footwork to avoid a tackle by spinning over the Manitoba defender, staying upright and then scampering into the end zone.
But the Bisons were far from content to go quietly back to Winnipeg, tying the game with two scoring plays within 74 seconds: a 28-yard Turner field goal followed by a Mikun Odunga touchdown, both following UBC turnovers.
Martin's 53-yard game winning score saw the speedy freshman go straight up the gut for his second touchdown of the season and by far the biggest play of his young Canada West career.
It was yet another freshman in Louis whose first career interception clinched the win while simultaneously ending the Bisons' season.
"He's an incredible athlete," Nill said of Louis. "He's going to be an incredible player in a couple years, and I'm not saying he's not now, but once his physical skills catch up a bit."
Viotto finished the game with 369 yards completing 22 of his 30 pass attempts with the touchdown toss to Montour and one interception.
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Anseeuw threw for 245 yards, a pair of TD passes and the late interception in a solid all-around performance for the Bisons.
Getting through to the Hardy Cup with yet another gutsy win over the Bisons is eerily reminiscent of UBC's last trip to the Vanier Cup three years ago. The big difference in 2026, however, is their conference final opponent, notably not the Alberta Golden Bears but rather the winner of Saturday's late semifinal contest between the Saskatchewan Huskies and Regina Rams.
Kickoff for the 89
th Hardy Cup is set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday, November 14 at Thunderbird Stadium.
Tickets are available now!
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