VANCOUVER – For the second straight week the UBC Thunderbirds showed promise on offence but allowed more than 40 points against as the Saskatchewan Huskies bounced back from a week one loss for a 43-15 win Friday night at Thunderbird Stadium, spoiling the T-Birds' 2021 home opener.
The Huskies (1-1) racked up 626 total yards of offence as veteran quarterback Mason Nyhus threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Colton Klassen. Fellow Huskie receivers Sam Baker and Daniel Perry each amassed more than 100 yards while running back Josh Ewanchyna put up 114 yards on the ground with a major score.
"It was good, I think we weren't really us last week and I think the whole mode of the week was just be us, get back to what we do well," said Huskies Head Coach Scott Flory. "Controlling the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage, running the football, an efficient passing game and being physical on defence and just not giving up big plays and making them work for it."
UBC (0-2) had another strong performance at quarterback from Garrett Rooker who went 25-for-34 for 283 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Trey Kellogg led all T-Bird receivers with 70 yards in his return to the lineup.
But despite some promising number on offence and once again holding the edge in possession (33:56), the T-Birds struggled on the defensive side of the ball along with special teams cover issues.
"We have young mistakes on the offensive line still and young mistakes at receiver that hurt us too, but bottom line is we're 0-2 and we have to find a way to win a couple games, this Saskatchewan team is a good football program," said UBC Head Coach Blake Nill. "But, the key is I think what you're seeing is maturing of a bunch of kids and it's baptism by fire. There's no easy team in this conference. We're going to be in a battle every week."
The Huskies wasted no time getting on the score board as Nyhus marched his offence down the field on the visitors' opening drive. After the T-Birds' defensive line stuffed a rush attempt on 1st and goal, Nyhus found Baker for the six-yard score to take the early lead.
After UBC was forced into a two-and-out on their first drive of the game, the Huskies once again made quick work with the ball, capped off by a 43-yard tackle-busting run by Adam Machart and by the mid point of the opening quarter Saskatchewan had themselves a 14-0 lead.
UBC finally got some offensive traction late in the opening quarter with a long drive that eventually led them into the red zone for the first time thanks to the elusive legs of Garrett Rooker who scrambled out of the pocket a number of times.
After getting inside the 10-yard line early in the second frame, Rooker called his own number with a perfectly executed fake handoff as the freshman pivot scampered into the end zone for his first career rushing touchdown, cutting the Huskies' lead to 14-7, capping off a 107-yard drive.
Saskatchewan quickly restored their two possession lead when Ewanchyna scored his first touchdown of the season with a 17-yard score.
On their next possession, the Huskies quickly got themselves back into the red zone with a 60-yard run from Ewanchyna who proved unstoppable by the T-Birds in the opening half. UBC was able to halt the drive, however, holding the visitors to a 20-yard David Solie field goal. Saskatchewan headed into the half with a 27-7 lead.
Starting the second half with the ball, the T-Birds gambled on a third down near midfield as Rooker kept the drive alive with a 30 yard catch and run to Kellogg, followed by a Dane Kapler rush to get inside the Huskies' 10-yard line. Facing third and goal, the T-Birds gambled again rather than go for the short field goal attempt, but Saskatchewan's defence stepped up to keep UBC out of the end zone.
Not to be outdone by Rooker's ability to extend UBC drives, the Huskies executed a terrific fake punt from their own side of centre as Solie tucked and ran all the way down to UBC's 8-yard line, leading to a Klassen touchdown grab in the end zone, Nyhus' second passing score of the game.
Refusing to go out quietly, Rooker engineered an impressive drive late in the third and into the final quarter, spreading the ball around and getting back inside the 20. Once again, the rookie pivot rushed the ball himself 15 yards to pay dirt for his second rushing major of the game. A successful two-point convert cut the Huskies' lead to 34-15.
But the T-Birds wouldn't cut into the Huskies' lead any further as Saskatchewan added a late touchdown with less than a minute remaining as Nyhus connected with Klassen for a second time.
Both teams head into a Canada West bye week before returning to action on Saturday, October 16th when the Huskies host the Alberta Golden Bears while the T-Birds are back on the road in Regina to face the Rams.
