WINNIPEG – The UBC Thunderbirds laid down a defensive masterpiece Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg, taking down the No. 10 ranked Bisons 31-6 at Princess Auto Stadium.
Holding the hosts to just 130 yards passing and 226 total yards of offence, all six Manitoba (2-2) points came via conceded safetys as the T-Birds (3-1) – now winners of three in a row for the first time since 2024 – have held their opponents' offence off the board for the last six quarters.
Offensively, the blue and gold dominated the second quarter with three touchdowns while adding a pair of second half
Alexander Hillyard field goals, improving to 3-1 and a share of first place in the Canada West alongside their week five opponent, the Saskatchewan Huskies.
"I thought the defensive staff did a really good job preparing our athletes for what we would see. The offensive guys did too, but it always comes down to the kids executing the game plan," said UBC head coach,
Blake Nill, after winning three of the first four games to start a season for the first time since 2023. "Our defence is starting to understand Coach (Noah) Cantor's system. Full credit also to Coach Shomari (Williams) and Coach (Pat) Tracey is involved too – they're simplifying things for our athletes and you're seeing the results of that."
A sluggish start in the Manitoba capital saw the 'Birds leading 2-0 after 15 minutes, courtesy of the Bisons' first of two safetys in the game.
UBC's offence finally ignited early in the second quarter with
Drew Viotto engineering an impressive drive including a 26-yard toss to
Santiago Llarena to get inside the Manitoba 30. One of
Trey Montour's team-leading six receptions made it first-and-goal while the drive was capped off by none other than
Marvyn Larozar who scored his conference-leading seventh rushing touchdown for a 9-2 lead following Hillyard's convert.
Forcing the Bisons into yet another punt, UBC scored a touchdown on their second consecutive possession, needing just two plays to go 46 yards. Faking a handoff to Larozar, Viotto found
Owen Herle behind coverage along the boundary, the third-year receiver scoring his first major of the season for a 16-2 T-Birds advantage.
After the two teams traded punts, the first play of Manitoba's next drive saw Bisons starting pivot Cole Anseeuw picked off by rookie linebacker
Derek Durand – his first career interception – to put the ball back in Viotto's hands near midfield.
Five plays later, the 'Birds had themselves a 25-2 lead to head into halftime with Montour hauling in a 17-yard pass in the end zone under double coverage.
The second half saw the Bisons defence hold the 'Birds to the two Hillyard tries from 32 and 26 yards, respectively, but the home side only got the ball across midfield once – a fourth quarter drive that ended with an
Isaiah Thomas interception in the end zone, an exclamation mark on one of the most impressive Thunderbird defensive efforts in recent memory.
Despite the large halftime lead and stellar defensive performance throughout, the 'Birds' lack of offensive execution in the final 30 minutes is a bone of contention for the team's veteran head coach.
"It's a big challenge I've always faced, teaching kids how to play while you're ahead," said Nill. "It's human nature to take your foot off the gas pedal. We talked about that in the locker room but I still don't think we did a good enough job dealing with that in the second half."
Finishing the game 19-of-31 for 290 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, Viotto spread the ball around his talented receiver corps, highlighted by a breakout game for
Kai Rednour-Bruckman with a career-high 78 yards.
"That's the key, to utilize the talent we have across the board, not just relying on Marvyn or not just relying on Montour. Rednour-Bruckman can beat you, Herle can beat you.
Ben Gutek made some big plays, his potential I thought was seen today as well."
Since dropping their season opener in Calgary, the T-Birds have outscored their opponents by a combined 99-36 while allowing an average of just 17 points against on the year.
Now facing a trip to Saskatoon next weekend to face the 3-1 Huskies with first place at Thanksgiving up for grabs, the confident T-Birds will face their biggest test to date.
The first of two games in the final four weeks against the defending Hardy Cup champions kicks off at 6:00 p.m. PT Saturday, October 3 at Griffiths Stadium.
