T-Birds can't hang with No. 6 Rams

Photo credit UBC Athletics

VANCOUVER - The Regina Rams proved why they are the top ranked team in so many Canada West statistical categories during their 41-6 defeat of the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday. The conference’s top rusher, Adrian Charles, was at the forefront of the Rams attack, racking up 193 yards and two touchdowns against the ‘Birds.

Charles provided the highlight of the night with a 90-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. Charles broke through the line with incredible speed and seemed to find another gear as he hit open turf. Deep in the UBC end, his stutter step caused two T-Bird tacklers to miss, and Charles picked up a block to allow him to score his second touchdown of the game.

In spite of the 35-point spread, the Blue and Gold might have challenged Regina a little more if hadn’t been for turnovers. T-Birds quarterback Billy Greene threw four interceptions and turned over another ball on a fumble.

“You can’t go minus five in the turnover game and expect to hang with them,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “We were turning out first downs for a while, but it just ended up being one of those things where you get to play four, five or, six and then we’d hurt ourselves. And you can’t do that.”

But Olson remained positive about his team’s effort in light of key injuries. Defensive leader Nathan Kanya, all-star running back Dave Boyd, and defensive line standout Josh Williams all missed the game due to injuries, while linebacker Devon Kavanagh was sidelined during the course of play with a leg injury. Fellow linebacker Mark Bailey and defensive lineman Zach Kotilla were also banged up.

"We were really young today due to some serious injuries to guys that are very key to our team. The guys who were filling in battled and I was happy with the effort, if not happy with the result. Our defence didn’t back down one bit, so I thought we did some decent stuff.”

The absence of Dave Boyd may still be the Thunderbirds biggest obstacle. UBC rushed for 70 yards compared to Regina’s 241. The absence of a running game made it difficult for the ‘Birds to establish a passing rhythm, and at game’s end, the Thunderbirds had never found their way inside the Rams’ 20-yard line.

“We’ve got to make some more plays offensively,” said Olson. “But also, our special teams were a little confused at times, and guys didn’t know where they were supposed to be. “

The most glaring evidence of the discombobulated ‘Birds came on a Rams’ fake punt. Kicker Chris Bodnar hooked up with Matt Yausie for a 73-yard pass for a touchdown. Regina also converted a fake field goal for a first down, leading to one of four field goals from Chris Bodnar.

Jason Price scored the other Rams’ touchdown – a 39 yard pass from quarterback Marc Mueller. Price led all receivers with 82 yards on his four catches.

Olson is hoping for some injured players to return for next week but the biggest change for his players will have to be the mental game.

“We’ve gotta just focus on each play,” said Olson. “We can’t look ahead and sometimes our guys are guilty of that. They care too much and want to fix it all in one play.”

The Thunderbirds will be taking it one play at a time and trying to earn a touchdown for the first time in six quarters of football when they meet the Calgary Dinos next week in Calgary.

Source:

UBC Sports Info