Ab SchIt definitely wasn’t the way the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team wanted to come out of their bye week.
After losing 39-21 to the UBC Thunderbirds before the break, the Bears repeated the feat this past weekend, losing 54-10.
The first quarter was decidedly light on scoring, the only points coming courtesy of a Thunderbirds field goal, as they stymied the Bears on defence, forcing two punts and an interception. The Thunderbirds left entered the second quarter leading 3-0.
The second quarter is where things really started to unravel, as the Thunderbirds scored 21 points to break the game open. Brandon Deschampes got the scoring going for the T-Birds, converting on a one-yard run early in the second.
Then, the Thunderbirds flexed their defensive muscle, as linebacker Stavros Katsantonis scooped up an Ed Ilnicki fumble and rumbled 61 yards for the touchdown, putting the Thunderbirds up 17-0.
After the Bears got on the board with a field goal, the Thunderbirds promptly responded with a five play, 75-yard drive, capped off with quarterback Michael O’Connor throwing a 35-yard touchdown pass to Alex Morrison. The score at the half was 24-3 in the Thunderbirds’ favour.
It was more of the same in the second half, with Deschampes doing the majority of the damage, busting out for 68 and 32-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter. Marcus Davis added a 20-yard run of his own before the quarter was finished, making the score 47-3 Thunderbirds heading into the fourth.
Davis piled on a punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter, while the Bears finally got on the board, when backup quarterback Brad Baker scored on a one-yard touchdown run. The final ended up being 54-10 for the Thunderbirds.
Head coach Chris Morris said his team simply didn’t measure up to the effort put forward by the Thunderbirds.
“Overall, I would say our compete level wasn’t where it needed to be to compete with a team like UBC,” Morris said.
“We need to fight very hard to compete in this conference, and when we forget that, we get beat like that.”
In their final game before the bye week, it was Michael O’Connor beating the Bears with his arm, but it was fifth-year running back Brandon Deschampes who was their downfall this week, rushing for 176 yards on 16 attempts, also racking up three touchdowns.
Morris said that the Thunderbirds didn’t do anything different than normal, but the Bears made some mistakes that helped the Thunderbirds’ rushing attack.
“It wasn’t some masterful scheme they came up with, it was just basic football that we didn’t deal with,” Morris said.
“(We made) some really base, fundamental mistakes that we shouldn’t be making at this time of year.”
O’Connor’s totals weren’t as impressive as the previous week against the Bears, but he was solid, passing for 214 yards on 14 of 22 attempts with one touchdown.
O’Connor spread the ball around on offence, with Marcus Davis being the only receiver with five catches. He totaled 63 yards receiving, but also racked up 95 punt return yards, helping him finish with 158 total yards.
On the Bears side of the ball, quarterback Ben Kopczynski completed 15 of 20 passes for 117 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions, before being replaced by backup Brad Baker in the second half, who was 10 of 15 for 65 yards, while also scoring the Bears’ only touchdown of the game.
The Bears troubles on offence didn’t just extend to quarterback, as Ed Ilnicki tallied a season low 70 yards on 14 carries, while Tylor Henry was the team’s leading receiver with a modest 53 yards on seven catches.
Overall, the Thunderbirds outgained the Bears 552 yards to 298, and Morris acknowledged that they’d have to be a lot better to get a win against the Manitoba Bisons next week.
“First and foremost, I would say that our compete level has to come up,” Morris said.
“We’ve got to be able to show up and compete and match their intensity level on the field.”
The Bisons themselves are coming off a high scoring 49-46 victory over the Regina Cougars, and currently sit at 4-2, the same mark as the Thunderbirds. The Bears will be in tough, as they go from facing the Thunderbirds’ last ranked offence to facing the Bisons’ second ranked attack, which is averaging 543 yards per game, led by quarterback Theo Deezar.
The Bears will also have to contend with rookie running back Jamel Lyles, who gave them fits last game, rushing for 121 yards while also adding a punt return touchdown.
It’s a tough matchup for the Bears, and Morris stressed the importance of a good game plan.
“As coaches, you try to put the kids in a position where they can anticipate what’s going to happen,” Morris said.
“Preparing our kids for the opponent is the starting point and the ending point for what we’ve got to do this week.”
With the win, the Thunderbirds officially clinched a spot in Canada West playoffs, while the Bears play their must win game against the Bisons on Friday, Oct. 23.
