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