John Gaudes, Bisons Sports Information
WINNIPEG - The UBC Thunderbirds overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat the Manitoba Bisons 38-34 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
The T-Birds held the Bisons scoreless in the third and fourth quarters, while rolling off 18 straight points to force the extra session. After holding the Bisons to a long 50 yard field goal, Michael O'Connor found Ben Cummings leaking out of the backfield for the game-winning two-yard touchdown.
With the win UBC (5-3) finishes second in the Canada West standings, earning hosting duties for a Hardy Cup semifinal next Saturday against the third-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3). The Bisons (3-5) finish the regular season in fourth place meaning a trip to Calgary to face the Dinos in the other Hardy Cup semifinal.
The Thunderbirds were led by their quarterback, as Michael O'Connor had a stellar second half to finish 36-for-49 for 467 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
With Des Catellier out due to a lower body injury, Manitoba found an unlikely hero in quarterback Jamie Ybarra, who went 20-for-26 for 396 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
"Nobody expected your quarterback, who you literally brought in to run scout for you, to put up 31 points against one of the top teams in the country in a half," said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie.
Ybarra did just that to open the game. He connected with Dylan Schrot for an 11-yard score to open proceedings. The touchdown was Schrot's sixth of the season, as he finishes one shy of the school record — owned by Mike Faisthuber and Nic Demski. Schrot also led Manitoba in receiving, with a season-high 173 yards on seven receptions, with his touchdown.
While UBC would answer with an O'Connor connection to Trey Kellogg, the Bisons rolled off 21 straight points in response. First, it was Jesse Walker running it in to close the first quarter from the wildcat formation. Then, running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette scampered in a 17-yard touchdown. Finally, Ybarra made a brilliant pass to the back of the end zone to Shai Ross, who tapped the toes to make it 28-7.
Manitoba would go into halftime up 31-13.
From there, though, it was all Thunderbirds. O'Connor found his favourite target in Trivel Pinto for a 26-yard touchdown five minutes into the third frame. Then, lightning struck twice, as Pinto caught another score with 7:30 left in the fourth. A two-point convert tied the game at 31. Pinto would finish with 184 yards on 12 receptions to go with his two scores.
In the first overtime, Manitoba struck first off a 50-yard boot from Brad Mikoluff. The Thunderbirds did one better, though, as Ben Cummings caught a pass out wide from O'Connor to seal the win.
"They were more aggressive," said Dobie. "Jamie [Ybarra]… got sacked a couple of times or had to throw the ball away. They came with more pressure, more often and that was smart on their part."
Manitoba now travels to Calgary for a Canada West semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. CDT. UBC will host Saskatchewan later that day in the second semifinal at 4 p.m. CDT.