VANCOUVER – In front of over 8000 Homecoming fans, the UBC Thunderbirds put up a dominant second half performance Friday evening, coming back from a 10-point half time deficit to defeat the No. 4 ranked Regina Rams, 25-20.
A statement win that saw the 'Birds (2-1) shutout the previously undefeated Rams (2-1) in the second half,
Marvyn Larozar once again produced a memorable night with 208 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns as the rookie sensation continues to dazzle even the most veteran of football fans' eyes.
After a first half in which Larozar accounted for 168 of UBC's 184 total yards of offence, the T-Birds completely turned the tables coming out of the halftime break.
Completing just three passes for 22 yards and an interception in the opening 30 minutes, UBC quarterback
Drew Viotto finished the night 12-of-23 for 189 yards and a 23-yard touchdown pass to
Santiago Llarena.
The T-Birds' second half shutout marks the third straight such accomplishment to start the season, limiting the Rams to 135 yards of offence in the final two frames.
"We made some plays on offence and continued to play very solid defence, but that's as frustrating a win as I've had in my career," said UBC head coach,
Blake Nill, who lamented UBC's numerous missed opportunities along with a combined 105 yards in penalties. "I told our young men congratulations, because they did it, and I always tell them it's the scoreboard that matters most – but, we just got to be better."
Regina staked out a 7-0 first quarter lead on a six-minute game-opening drive capped off by Christian Katende's third rushing touchdown of the season, but UBC answered by scoring on back-to-back drives to take the lead.
Alexander Hillyard punched through a 37-yard field goal, followed by Larozar breaking through the middle for 70 yards to pay dirt, the longest of his now six rushing majors of his young Canada West career.
From a T-Birds perspective, the second quarter was one to forget as the Rams re-took the lead on a pair of Ty Gorniak field goals, followed by a Caleb Senz touchdown grab, capitalizing on Carson Sombach's interception which he ran back to the UBC six-yard line.
A stagnant third quarter which began with four consecutive punts finally got the packed Homecoming crowd on its feet when Viotto connected with Llarena for the rookie tight end's first career touchdown, a 23-yard grab to pull the 'Birds back within a field goal.
A sneaky handoff to Larozar resulted in a 22-yard dash to the end zone for a 24-20 UBC lead, Larozar's Canada West leading seventh overall major of the young season.
Regina made things interesting in the final minute, marching down the field, well inside UBC territory. But a myriad of penalties backed Regina up to the 42 with no time on the clock and Noah Pelletier's desperation pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
"This is a talented young team, they're big and strong," Nill described his squad, post-game. "We're bigger, faster and stronger than most of our opponents but what we have to get better at is believing we can play the game with the best guys."
Taking down the No. 4 Rams, despite their shortcomings throughout the game, gives plenty of reason for optimism about this UBC program.
"Regina's a very good team, but I'm just saying if we capitalized on our opportunities, the game looks a lot different."
Pelletier completed the night a respectable 20-of-38 for 253 yards and the touchdown pass to Senz. Katende led Regina's ground game with 66 yards while Blake Laidlaw had a team-high 60 yards receiving.
Holding the conference's top rushing team to just 103 yards on the ground Friday night is also a big statement for UBC's defence which saw Ches Rednour-Bruckman set the pace with six solo and eight total tackles.
While Larozar will get most of the headlines, Viotto did manage to distribute the ball fairly evenly through the air in the second half with Llarena,
Zach Patfield,
Kai Rednour-Bruckman and
Trey Montour all surpassing 30 yards receiving.
"Everyone's going to start game planning for Marvyn. That takes a team effort to overcome that…if we can just balance our attack, we're going to be fine."
Now with consecutive wins for the first time since 2024, the T-Birds face back-to-back road trips starting next Friday against the Manitoba Bisons.
