Coming off of the biggest win in team history, the UBC football team defeated the Manitoba Bisons 53-50 in an intense game that ended after four overtimes.
“I’ve never been in a game like this before. I’ve probably been in overtime once or twice, but … this is crazy,” said UBC receiver Trivel Pinto.
Five minutes into the game, the ’Birds were first to put points on the board on a team safety. As the ’Birds went back on offence, they extended their lead to 3-0 with a 26-yard touchback field goal by Greg Hutchins.
The remainder of the first frame went into a stalemate as stingy defences from both sides kept the teams in check. This stalemate included a forced fumble by Manitoba and an interception by T-Bird defensive back Stavros Katsantonis.
#UBC's magical night capped with Trivel Pinto's thrilling OT touchdown: https://t.co/uxuN0YUS7N 📷: @BobFridImages #YVR #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/QtBA9tTRak
— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 1, 2016
Two minutes into the second quarter, the Bisons evened things up with a 36-yard field goal before scoring the first touchdown of the game to take a 10-3 lead.
UBC then led a strong drive on the next possession, but ran into a third-and-goal situation just 12 yards shy of the touchdown zone. Still, Hutchins picked up the field goal for to narrow Manitoba’s lead to 10-6.
“There were a lot of mistakes, but a lot of big plays and on this night, we just made more big plays than [the Bisons] did,” said Blake Nill, the UBC head coach.
In the final five minutes before halftime, Pinto caught UBC’s first touchdown of the game to retake the lead for the ’Birds, but that lead quickly vanished as the Bisons scored another touchdown with two minutes remaining. UBC also conceded a safety, which gave Manitoba a 19-13 lead by halftime.
The Bakersfield Bandit is thieving again! #UBC Football leads @umbisons 20-19 in 3rd quarter. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/KOKbRwkpQp
— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 1, 2016
With UBC trailing by six points going into the second half, running back Ben Cummins had his moment to shine when he racked up 89 rushing yards on four successive plays to score the ’Bird’s second touchdown, pulling UBC ahead 20-19. Cummins would rush an impressive 246 yards by the end of the game.
“Ben [Cummins] played a great game today. I’m actually really proud of him,” said Pinto.
In the final two minutes of the third frame, another Bison field goal put Manitoba back in the lead before Hutchins answered with one of his own to start the fourth. Additional touchdowns by Manitoba’s Ethan Diakow and UBC’s Cummins tied the game at 30-30 by the end of regulation time.
The four overtime periods was again a tight contest between the ’Birds and Bisons, where both teams took the lead at different times. In the end, it was UBC that came out on the winning side after two field goals from Hutchins and touchdowns by Pinto and Will Watson.
WATCH: The 35 yard Trivel Pinto TD that sealed the 53-50 #UBC Football win over @umbisons. #Epic #BarnBurner #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/inSLlgHNlG
— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 1, 2016
Quarterback Michael O’Connor finished the night with a total of 465 passing yards, 245 of which were caught by Pinto.
“We need [the offensive line] to stay on the field and there were times today when they didn’t help us, but in the end they scored enough points to get it done,” said Nill.
UBC now has a 3-2 record and will travel on the road to play the Saskatchewan Huskies in their next game on Friday October 14.
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