Bears fall short to Bisons in week four, fall to 2-2 on the season

The Golden Bears football team has thrived in the latter stages of their games so far this season, earning both of their two wins through second half comebacks.

They were on the opposite side of the coin against the Manitoba Bisons on Friday, however. The visiting team orchestrated a comeback of their own, rattling off 17 unanswered points to win the game 42-32.

The Bears went into the half with a 25-16 lead, buoyed by a 37 yard rushing touchdown from running back Ed Ilnicki, and receiving touchdowns from Aundrey Webster and Tylor Henry.

It was a good first half from the Bears, but the momentum didn’t last, and the Bisons took control of the game in the second half.

Head coach Chris Morris acknowledged that there was a definite momentum shift coming out of the break.

“We just couldn’t convert, we kept going two and out,” Morris said.

After the Bisons tied the game at 25, the Bears were able to respond, as quarterback Ben Kopczynski converted on a six yard run to put the Bears in front 32-25.

After that, Bisons’ running back Jamel Lyles took over the game, first taking a Stephen Fabian punt back 73 yards for a score right as the third quarter expired. Lyles then broke out a 33-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the fourth quarter to put the Bisons up for good. Lyles ended the game with 121 rushing yards on 14 attempts to go along with his punt return touchdown.

Despite the loss, Kopczynski had a solid game offensively, completing 20 of 33 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 105 yards on 19 attempts with one touchdown. His counterpart, Theo Deezer, finished the game 19 of 30 for 324 yards, to go long with two touchdowns and one interception.

Despite the loss, Morris thought his team bounced back well after a lopsided loss to the Calgary Dinos last week.

“That’s a top ten team we played, and we gave them all they could handle. We just couldn’t pull it out in the end,” Morris said.

The Bears now hit the road for a game against the UBC Thunderbirds on Oct. 3, while the Bisons return home to host the Regina Rams on Oct. 2.

With files from Richard Catangay-Liew.