VANCOUVER – The bulldozer also known as Brandon Deschamps rumbled his way to two touchdowns and 230 yards rushing on Saturday to lead the UBC Thunderbirds to a 37-27 win against the Rams in Regina.
Deschamps was an absolute workhorse for the T-Birds, carrying the ball 35 times for 6.6 yards per attempt as he wore down the Rams’ defensive front and kept their high-powered passing attack off the field as much as possible. He scored two different go-ahead touchdowns for the ‘Birds in the fourth quarter, the latter of which held up as the game-winning score to help UBC improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Rams fall to 1-3.
Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter finished 34-for-57 for 459 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rams’ one-dimensional offence couldn’t get the job done consistently enough against a fierce UBC pass rush. They ran the ball just five times compared to those 57 pass attempts. Shutter was sacked just twice but was hit hard many times and was under pressure all night long.
Carson Williams was 14-for-23 for 167 yards and a major under centre for the ‘Birds. Greg Bowcott was 1-for-2 in the passing game, adding a 29-yard run on his only attempt of the night.
It was a great night for UBC special teams too, as Quinn Van Gylswyk hit all five of his field goal attempts and averaged 42 yards per punt. The ‘Birds also had a punt block in the first half, allowing them to steal three points just before the break, and Alex Morrison had a big kick return in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning score.
UBC controlled the first half with defence and special teams. Kareem Ba sacked Shutter on each of the Rams` first two drives, and the second sack also forced a fumble, which was recovered by Martin Park at the Regina 30-yard line. That led to a 25-yard back-shoulder touchdown pass from Carson Williams to Micha Theil to open the scoring.
Van Gylswyk had field goals of 44 and 43 yards, alternating with Rams kicker Taylor Wandler who also had two field goals before the break. That should have made the score 13-6 UBC heading into halftime, but Yianni Cabylis came flying in to block a Regina punt with two seconds left in the half, setting up Van Gylswyk for his third field goal and a 16-6 halftime score.
That mistake seemed to light a fire under the Rams though, and Shutter in particular. He came out of the locker room firing, throwing a 31-yard strike to Landon Buch for a touchdown on their first drive of the half. He followed that up with an impressive display of agility in the pocket on their next drive, eluding the pass rush before stepping up to hit Buch down field for a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown to put Regina up 20-16.
It looked like the wheels were really about to fall off for UBC on their next drive, when Bowcott was sacked and fumbled the ball, turning it over to Regina on the UBC 43-yard line. But the T-Bird defence held firm and didn’t allow the Rams to cash in on that field position, forcing a punt.
Deschamps picked up 45 yards on five carries on UBC’s next drive to set up yet another Van Gylswyck field goal, making it a 20-19 game at the start of the fourth quarter.
After a Regina punt, Deschamps went back to work, battering his way through defenders on a game-high 29-yard run before finishing the drive off with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Williams hit Joey Gabrick for the two-point conversion to make it a 27-20 UBC lead.
Shutter brought the Rams right back, going 7-for-10 on his next drive, which he capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to Jared Janotta to tie things up at 27 with five minutes left and get the home crowd fired up. But Morrison stole the momentum back for UBC immediately by returning the ensuing kickoff 57 yards into Regina territory. Williams completed a key 16-yard pass on second down to Patrick Bull to keep the drive alive, and the rest was up to Deschamps, who carried three times for 20 yards and another touchdown on the drive to give the ‘Birds another seven-point lead.
That left Shutter with plenty of time to get his quick-strike offence into scoring position again, but this time the UBC defence was up to the task, forcing a two-and-out and a punt. The ‘Birds couldn’t do anything with the ball and gave it back to Shutter for one last chance with under a minute remaining, but the defence held firm again and forced a turnover on downs, allowing Van Gylswyk to ice the game with his fifth field goal of the night.
Next week the T-Birds are back home to take on the 3-1 Saskatchewan Huskies at Thunderbird Stadium. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
Photo credit: Ron Frid
Source: Lee Dorner, UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information
REGINA – In a display of contrasting offences, the University of British Columbia’s football team took a 37-27 win over the Regina Rams on Saturday night in a Canada West game at Mosaic Stadium.
The Rams (1-3) took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter after a pair of Landon Buch touchdown receptions, but UBC (2-2) outscored Regina by a 21-7 margin in the final period and clinched the victory after putting a halt to a late Rams drive with the home team needing a touchdown to tie.
It was the ground game that powered UBC’s offence in the win, as running back Brandon Deschamps rushed 35 times for 230 yards and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Quarterback Carson Williams completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 167 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown strike to Micha Theil early in the contest. Theil ended up as UBC’s leading receiver with five catches for 68 yards.
Playing in his hometown, Yianni Cabylis had a fine game for the Thunderbirds and ended up with 8½ tackles, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt. Kareem Ba had a sack early in the contest which caused a Cayman Shutter fumble that was recovered by the Thunderbirds, and also teamed up with Donovan Dale for a sack later in the contest.
While UBC’s offence concentrated on the rushing attack led by Deschamps, it was almost exclusively an aerial assault for the Rams. They called just five rushing plays, all of which came in the first half. The rest was all through the air, as Shutter ended completing 34 of his 57 pass attempts for 459 yards and three touchdowns. Addison Richards led all players with nine receptions, while Jared Janotta caught seven passes for a game-high 121 yards including a five-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Logan Brooks and Calvin Smith both had sacks for the Rams, while Michael Stefanovic had three solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, and a fumble recovery.
UBC struck first after taking over the ball following Martin Park’s recovery off the Ba sack and forced fumble, as Williams found Theil from 25 yards out to put the Thunderbirds on the board. The teams traded field goals for the remainder of the first half, as Regina’s Taylor Wandler hit a pair and UBC’s Quinn Van Gylswk hit three, including one with no time left on the clock after the Thunderbirds took over following Cabylis’s blocked punt.
The Rams took their first lead of the game in the third quarter after scoring touchdowns on back-to-back possessions. On their first possession of the second half, Shutter marched the Rams 87 yards downfield on just seven plays and finished it off with a 31-yard strike to Buch. After forcing a punt on the ensuing Thunderbirds possession, the Rams took over on their own 24 and it took just two plays to get back in UBC’s end zone. First was a 27-yard pass to Jared Janotta, then Shutter connected with Buch from 59 yards out to give the Rams a 20-16 lead.
But another Van Gylswyk field goal – his fourth of five on the night – on the first play of the fourth quarter would set the tone for UBC in the final period. On their next possession, a game-long 29-yard rumble by Deschamps got UBC into Rams territory and a 17-yard Deschamps run on third down brought the visitors all the way down to the Rams’ one-yard line. Deschamps finished off the drive with a plunge into the end zone, and Williams found Joey Gabrick for a successful two-point conversion to put UBC up by seven.
The Rams responded with a fine 12-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard Shutter pass to Janotta which tied the game at 27-27, but that score would turn out to be the last one of the game for the U of R.
On the kickoff following the Janotta major, UBC’s Alex Morrison busted out a 57-yard return to give the Thunderbirds great starting position. A pass to Patrick Bull got UBC a first down, and back-to-back rushes by Deschamps gave UBC a 34-27 lead with just over three minutes left. After a pair of two-and-outs, the Rams took over on their own 20-yard line with 1:33 left needing a touchdown to tie, but a Shutter pass attempt on third down fell incomplete as Addison Richards was just unable to corral the ball by the left sideline. Van Gylswyk’s field goal from 35 yards out with 15 seconds left sealed the win for UBC.
UBC will host Saskatchewan (3-1) next Saturday afternoon in Vancouver, while the Rams will hit the road for a game against Manitoba (2-2) at the new Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
NOTES: Mark McConkey had seven catches tonight for 65 yards … McConkey now has 169 career receptions and needs just five to surpass former teammate Chad Goldie as Canada West’s all-time receptions leader … Brooks is now second in U of R history with 12 career sacks and is one short of tying Stan Van Sichem for the school’s all-time lead … Shutter is now the CIS leader with an average of 416.5 passing yards per game … Deschamps also leads the CIS with 171.2 rushing yards per game.
Source: Braden Konschuh, Regina Rams Sports Information
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