The Bisons men’s football extended their winning streak on Sunday, Oct. 26, finishing 51-38 against the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. The herd concluded their regular season with an impressive 7-1 record, having only lost to the Saskatchewan Huskies on Oct. 4.
In the previous game against the Thunderbirds, the Bisons beat the team on home soil on Sept. 6 by 33-10. The recent game started with the Bisons kicking off the ball which gave the Thunderbirds the ball advantage. At exactly 13:21 minutes of the first quarter, the Thunderbirds received their first three points from a field goal when Kieran Flannery-Fleck took a 44-yard kick.
The Bisons did not delay too long before they responded with a touchdown by Breydon Stubbs that earned them six points. Soon after, a one-point safety by Maya Turner put them four points ahead of the Thunderbirds.
Following that, the Bisons made it to 10 points after earning three points from an 18-yard field goal by Turner. In less than one minute before the end of the first quarter, Aidan Wiberg of the Bisons won another six points with a touchdown. Turner added an extra point to make the score 17-3.
After a kickoff by the Bisons, the attempt by the Thunderbirds to attack was shattered. Daniel Conway of the Bisons made a fumble recovery which further led to Stubbs completing a good run to touch the ball down behind Thunderbirds’ goal line. This play gave the Bisons six points at the final second of the first quarter, to which Turner added a one point safety to make the first quarter score 24-3.
Within nine minutes of the second quarter, Stubbs extended the lead again for the Bisons by completing a good run — leading to a touchdown with six points. Subsequently, Turner made the score 31-3 from a one-point safety.
In less than two minutes after that showdown, the Thunderbirds woke up from their deep sleep when Dane Kapler completed a run to touch the ball down behind the Bisons’ goal line to win six points for his team. A one-point safety followed from Flannery-Fleck, bringing the score to 31-10.
Following an interception, the Thunderbirds earned another six points from a touchdown by Isaiah Knight. Their hope was further raised by the additional point from Flannery-Fleck, raising the score to 31-17. The Thunderbirds pushed harder before the end of the second quarter and in the final minute, Garrett Rooker completed a run for a touchdown to earn his team six points. An additional point followed by Flannery-Fleck. The half-time score was 31-24, with the Bisons leading by seven points.
A few minutes into the start of the third quarter, the Bisons came back stronger and hit the Thunderbirds hard. It started with an unobstructed run for a touchdown by Braeden Smith that earned the Bisons six points followed by the one-point safety by Turner. However, it was not long before the Thunderbirds retaliated by adding seven points by Dave Engel and Flannery-Fleck to make the score 38-31.
In response, the Bisons added another seven points in the final three minutes of the third quarter. The quarter ended with the Bisons winning a penalty.
In the fourth quarter, the score did not change until the final five minutes of the game when Turner earned her team three points from a 32-yard field goal to make it 48-31. The Thunderbirds reacted with a seven point gain by Owen Herle and Flannery-Fleck in the last three minutes, bringing the team only ten points away from the Bisons.
The tension of the game calmed when Turner got another three points from a 34-yard field goal in the final two minutes, bringing the last regular season game to 51-38.
The Bisons will play their next game — their first playoff game of the season — on Nov. 2.
“[This team] represent[s] everybody. All the players I coached for 50 years, they just represent them,” said Brian Dobie, head coach for the Bisons football team.
“I will tell you this, this is my last ride, it could not be better, it has been unbelievable to come here every day and be able to work with these kids […] Their work ethic, enthusiasm and commitment is infectious.”
He continued, “ending a season with a win, especially when it’s a win to secure first place, is huge, it just boosts confidence. But I also think you know, it was the two best teams in the conference playing today, […] UBC is going to go back home and they are going to do their work and they’ve got a playoff game next week in Vancouver and they are not going to blank.”
Despite the many victories during the regular season, Dobie made it clear that there is still work to do.
“[The Thunderbirds] are probably going to be angry about this and come out harder, but we need to react the same way on a different level. We need to not be, you know, flexing our muscles and strutting. We need to go ‘look, we just created an opportunity for ourselves, an opportunity to host all the way through the playoffs.’ It’s an advantage and we need to take advantage of that opportunity to continue the advantage we have with home field playoffs.”
The Bisons football team will face the Regina Rams in a semifinal game at the Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2.
