Thompson carries Bisons to “ugly” win
Bisons improve to 3-1 with Homecoming victory
Sheri Lamb
Photo by David Lipnowski.
Darwin Thompson shone as the rest of the Bisons fizzled in an ugly 35-30 victory over the winless Simon Fraser University Clan on Sept. 23, in the first homecoming game in four years.
“I’m really happy to escape with a win,” said a frustrated Bison head coach Brian Dobie after the game at University Stadium. “I’m really disappointed in the way we played. We took a step back.”
The Bisons improved to 3-1 on the season with their third win in a row against the Clan (0-3). The win moves the University of Manitoba’s all-time record to 4-1 versus the Clan, with their only loss occurring back in 2003.
Dobie heaped the praise on fourth-year running back Thompson for his fantastic game, especially in the second half, but had little else to say about the rest of his team’s performance.
With the Bisons up 28-23 late in the fourth quarter, Thompson scampered for 64 yards on two consecutive plays to put the home side up 35-23 with 1:15 left. Thompson rushed for 187 yards in the game on 22 attempts, including (unofficially) 154 in the second half.
Photo by David Lipnowski.
Before the Homecoming game, Thompson sat in 12th position among Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rushing leaders this season, with 236 yards and two touchdowns.
It’s a good thing for the Bisons that Thompson was able to run through the Clan’s defence like he did in the second half, or the last place team from British Columbia would have likely left Winnipeg with their first win of the season.
“It was a sloppy game by both teams, actually, but I have to give Simon Fraser a lot of credit,” said Dobie. “They came in here as an underdog, into the home field of a team that was an absolute favourite, and they almost stole a win from us.”
In the first quarter, the Clan came up with three turnovers (an interception and two fumbles) on three of the Bisons’ first four possessions. The Clan led 2-0 after the first quarter when Bisons’ kicker Peter Scouras conceded a safety rather than punting from his own end zone.
“(SFU) deserves all the credit in the world,” said Dobie.
The Bisons’ poor play on offense resulted in two interceptions and three fumbles, despite decent field position throughout most of the afternoon. Kick returnee Brad Black racked up 215 yards returning punts, including a 108-yard missed field goal, which he ran out of the end zone and down inside the 10-yard line before stepping out of bounds.
Bisons third-year quarterback Ryan Zahara was finally able to get on track late in the first half. He hit receivers Ricky Clarke and Terry Firr for touchdowns, giving the Bisons a 14-8 lead at the half. Zahara was 18-for-32 with two interceptions on the day. He managed to throw for 223 yards, including four touchdown passes — two of which were to second-year target Firr.
Third-year receiver Blair Atkinson had the Bisons’ other touchdown catch.
Dobie said the defensive effort by his team was the worst he’s seen all season. Bisons linebacker Kenton Onofrychuk, who was a recent Bison athlete of the week, concurred with his coach.
“It was a dirty win, said a dissatisfied Onofrychuk. “Our defence, we kind of let ourselves down, we could have made a few more plays and stopped the run a little bit better.”
Clan third-year quarterback Jason Marshall was 14-for-24 with 198 yards and three touchdowns, including one to second-year running back Joshua Havey, a graduate of Kelvin High School.
The Clan was able to find numerous holes in the Bisons’ defence, especially in the first half, as fifth-year running back Marty Kipps added 138 yards on 22 carries to the 182 he had racked up over the Clan’s first two games this season.
