By Howard Tsumura
Varsity Letters
You can think you’re ready for the toughest test in Canada West football, but as the UBC Thunderbirds found out Saturday night in Saskatoon, exorcising the gridiron demons which reside in Saskatoon require an almost maniacal focus on stretch-drive moments.
No. 5-ranked Saskatchewan (4-1) rallied back from deficits in the late stages of both the first and second halves of play to defeat No. 7 UBC (3-2) count of 34-24 in a showdown for sole possession of first place in the conference standings, keeping the ‘Birds winless at Griffiths Stadium in their last nine trips, a drought which began in 2018.
“It’s a game of momentum and we had momentum a large part of the game but we couldn’t play 60 minutes, and consequently we ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard” lamented UBC head coach Blake Nill, whose team had its three-game win streak snapped by the opposition’s stunningly clutch show of special teams play as the league now heads into its annual bye week with three more games remaining in the regular season.
Nothing is as yet off the table for the locals, yet the loss means the blue-and-gold’s aim of trying to earn the No. 1 seed into the Hardy Cup playoffs suddenly gets a whole lot tougher.
UBC started about as well as you could expect to start on the road against the conference’s flagship program, leaning on its offensive line to provide the kind of push and scheme it needed to send running back Marvyn Larozar out of the chutes like a rocket.
Yet in a tale of great gains contrasted by heartbreaking losses, UBC twice confounded their own excellence, surrendering leads by allowing Saskatchewan to score the final two touchdowns of both the first and second halves.
THE SECOND HALF
For while, early in the fourth quarter, it looked like linebacker Jack Pasloski was the puppet master pulling all the strings that UBC would need to orchestrate a second-half comeback of their own.
First, on a Huskies’ second-and-eight, the fourth-year backer from Calgary made a huge sideline tackle on a catch by running back Aulain Penner to limit the damage and force third down.
And then when Saskatchewan decided to gamble, quarterback Anton Amundrud was sacked by the speed-rushing Pasloski for a 17-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
UBC took over, and mounted a seven-play, 54-yard drive capped by quarterback Drew Viotto’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Trey Montour to lead 24-20 with just over seven minutes remaining.
“I told the kids on the sideline ‘We’re up with five to go and there haven’t been too many UBC teams that have been in that situation in the last five years,” said Nill. “And that is what we’re talking about… about finishing.
“The other thing is (Saskatchewan) are a very good football team and they are going to make their share of plays, too,” Nill continued. “It is frustrating when you realize we gave up a lead came back to take the lead again and then gave it up one last time.”
For the Huskies, it almost seemed they right were they wanted to be… playing from behind and feeling their own feet being put to the fire at Griffiths Stadium.
And so they went to work.
First, Saskatchewan quarterback Amundrud hit Keaton Belsher on a 48-yard pass-and-run down inside the red zone.
Then, running back Penner pin-balled himself into the end zone on an 11-yard TD rush to make it 27-24 Huskies with four minutes left.
UBC did its utmost to try and stay within shouting distance and looked like they had time enough for a rally of their own when they held Saskatchewan to what looked like a chip-shot 26-yard field goal attempt by kicker James Keane, one which at worst would have tied the score with plenty of time remaining for a response.
The Huskies’ special teams, however, got UBC to jump offside, and the resulting penalty wound up being a first-down dagger as Saskatchewan offence came back on the field, and Penner carried in for another touchdown, this one from 14 yards with 1:32 left to make the 34-24 final complete.
Trailing by 10 with 87 seconds remaining, UBC had to cut things loose and thus Viotto’s second interception of the night took erased any chance of a dramatic finish from the final page of the script.
THE FIRST HALF
The opening 30 minutes were kind of like the nightmare before the nightmare.
After UBC had built a 14-3 lead, Saskatchewan came back and scored two touchdowns over the final 1:39 of the second quarter to lead 17-14 at intermission.
First, Amundrud connected with receiver Rhett Vavra on a 64-yard completion. The Huskies then lined up for a 48-yard field goal attempt on third down.
That’s when the trickeration began.
The formation quickly shifted before the snap. Kicker Keane took a direct snap and drop kicked a short punt which somehow bounced off a UBC player and was recovered by the home team.
A few snaps later, short yardage specialist Javin Boynton scored on a three-yard run to make it 14-10 with 1:39 left in the half.
On UBC’s ensuing possession, Saskatchewan’s pass rush caused havoc, and Viotto’s pass under duress was intercepted by Nathan Casimir, setting the Huskies up at the UBC 45-yard line.
Amundrud then proceeded to hit Kayden Miller with a nine-yard TD strike with one second left on the clock, sending Saskatchewan into the second half with a 17-14 lead.
Afterwards, when asked about the onside punt and hard count at the goal line, clearly the game’s two most critical plays, Nill dodged nothing.
In fact no one on the UBC side was surprised when Saskatchewan kicker Keane, in field goal formation, was suddenly lining up to take a direct snap for the onside punt.
“Coach Tracey went over that exact onside punt twice last week,” said Nill of ‘Birds special teams coordinator Pat Tracey. “They did that to us in 2018 and so we practiced for it. I haven’t seen the film so I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was addressed.
“The hard count, we’ve just got to show more football instinct. It was at the 15 (yard line)… who cares if they go offside or take a time out, and that was mentioned. Those two plays, to me, exemplify more than any of the others, how frustrating a night it was… to get fooled when you’re not really fooled.”
GROWING PAINS
To give credit where it is due, UBC made a lot of great plays on Saturday, but as Nill reminded Saskatchewan made more of them than his team.
Despite the loss, Pasloski was excellent, as were many other ‘Birds.
Said Nill when asked for a comment about Pasloski: “Here is what I am most proud of with Jack. He had a very impressive spring season. He wasn’t in the starting mix until after a few injuries, but he had to move into a starting role and to his full credit he has been very consistent and very solid.”
UBC’s two first-half touchdowns came from rookies.
First it was tight end Ben Gutek catching a 36-yard touchdown pass from Viotto, then running back Marvyn Larozar scoring on a three-yard off-tackle run.
Larozar carried 26 times for 137 yards.
So many ‘Birds stood out over UBC’s quick opening start.
Halfback Darrien Brown and middle linebacker Isaiah Cooper, the latter with an interception, were among the more noticeable along the defence.
And as the UBC offensive line shows continued growth it was hard not to notice rookie left guard Tristan Montgomery looking every bit at home alongside his more experienced counterparts, as responsible as anyone for the team’s hot start along the ground.
When asked in the postgame whether the bar is now truly set for his younger players after the loss against the Huskies, Nill added: “…what tonight shows is we can play with these guys. We just have to be able to compete fully for 60 minuets. I am not saying (Saskatchewan) are not going to make their plays but, we have to compete to our fullest.”
UBC returns to action at home Oct, 16 against Calgary. They play the following week at Regina, then close out the regular season Oct. 30 at home to Saskatchewan.
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