After salvaging a tough campaign with a playoff berth the week prior, the UBC Thunderbirds ended another season on a loss to the University of Saskatchewan last Saturday, falling 26–7 in Saskatoon in the Hardy Cup semifinal.
It’s a familiar story for Thunderbirds, who can’t seem to get past the Huskies. In their two regular season meetings this year, Saskatchewan dominated 51–14 for UBC’s largest loss since 2021, then bested the ‘Birds 24–10 on an emotional UBC senior night. Including last Saturday, the T-Birds have lost seven consecutive matchups in Saskatoon, while five of their past six playoff appearances have culminated in defeat to the Huskies. Perhaps their most heartbreaking loss came last year, when Saskatchewan stole the conference semifinal with a last-minute comeback, ending the careers of several key Thunderbirds.
Even ignoring their historical success against UBC, the Huskies have been a formidable opponent on both sides of the ball. After topping Canada West with a 7–1 record, eight Huskies were named to the Canada West All-Star roster, including four defenders, wideout Daniel Wiebe and running back Ryker Frank. Over the regular season, they averaged a conference-high 31.6 points-per-game and 434.4 yards-per-game while allowing the fewest points-per-game (17.9). UBC would have to face this team without several starters, including defensive back Jason Soriano, defensive lineman Clark Leonard and centre Gavin Coakes.
Still, a UBC win wasn’t impossible. Despite their 3–5 record, the ‘Birds have occasionally been able to hang with the best in the conference. The Thunderbirds closed the regular season with an upset, a thrilling comeback win over Regina — a team that had previously been tied with the Huskies atop Canada West. UBC QB Drew Viotto had been impressive against Regina’s stellar defence, throwing for 423 yards and 3 touchdowns. In their prior match-up with Saskatchewan, UBC’s defence had fought well while the offence struggled — but if the offence played like they had against Regina, the ‘Birds would have a chance against the Huskies.
Of course, that’s not what happened. Facing the defence that led the conference in sacks, UBC’s offence struggled to find their rhythm, earning negative yardage on their opening drive. In the first half, the ‘Birds would only enter Saskatchewan territory once — on their second possession, with the help of a short punt. That drive would end with a missed field goal by rookie Alexander Hillyard, which was returned for 51 yards.
UBC’s defence kept it close, shutting down the Saskatchewan offence in the first quarter. The only points UBC gave up early on were on offence, with the ‘Birds volunteering two safeties to give the Huskies a 4–0 lead. With the worst kickoff and the second-worst punt average in Canada West, the Thunderbirds have frequently been forced to give up safeties for the sake of field position. They’re also the only team in the conference that hasn’t scored a single safety — indicative of how often they lose the battle of field position.
After a slow start for both offences, the Huskies began gaining steam to close out the first quarter. Huskies QB Jake Farrell opened the second with an impressive 27-yard touchdown pass to Wiebe, extending their lead to 11–0.
With Huskies in his face, Viotto couldn’t do much on the ensuing possession, and the ‘Birds went two-and-out. Saskatchewan responded with another drive into UBC territory, relying heavily on Frank, who had five rushing attempts and one reception to put the Huskies in field goal range. Their 42-yard field goal attempt was unsuccessful, giving the ‘Birds a break.
They couldn’t do much with it. The UBC offence continued to struggle against the Huskies, giving up two sacks and ending multiple possessions with negative yardage. With pressure coming fast, Viotto committed intentional grounding in his own end zone, giving another safety to the Huskies.
The Huskies’ coverage and aggressive pass rush were especially effective at taking away Viotto’s deep ball — a weapon that has often been a lifeline for the offence when they fail to advance consistently. Viotto’s longest pass of the half was only 15 yards.
UBC’s defence held strong after the missed field goal, coming up with their sixth sack of the year to end one drive, while forcing a two-and-out on another. They couldn’t hold forever, though. In the final minutes of the half, Frank was again able to put the Huskies in field goal range. This time, the Huskies were successful, going up 16–0.
Getting the ball back with 28 seconds until halftime, the ‘Birds looked to chip away at Saskatchewan’s lead. Unfortunately, the drive ended with an injury to running back Riley Michaud, who had become UBC’s leading rusher in recent weeks. Michaud would not have another rushing attempt on the day — a huge blow to UBC’s struggling run game, which had lacked a lead back before Michaud’s emergence. The Thunderbirds would only gain 49 rushing yards in total, making it easy for the Huskies to focus on defending the pass.
The ‘Birds opened the second half with their longest drive thus far — a mere 31 yards. Viotto at least seemed to find some momentum, nearly finding Shemar McBean for a deep pass to the red zone. However, as with many of Viotto’s long attempts on the day, tight coverage prevented the completion.
Saskatchewan continued to advance on the ground, taking a trip into UBC territory with rushes by Frank and Farrell. Gaining traction, the Huskies looked poised to score at least a field goal when a botched handoff between Farrell and Wiebe led to a fumble. UBC’s Aaron Parker fell on the ball, stopping Saskatchewan’s progress.
On the ensuing drive, Viotto took a big hit while aiming deep, the ball falling incomplete after a Saskatchewan defensive back tipped it. Viotto, who did not get up after the hit, left the field with an apparent injury. While he would come back in the game in the next drive, backup QB Derek Engel came in and threw an incomplete pass, concluding a two-and-out.
Starting from the UBC 42 after a short punt and a penalty against the ‘Birds, the Huskies quickly moved into the red zone with sizeable rushes by Frank. Dropping back to pass for the first time in the third, Farrell went down the middle for Wiebe, throwing a bit too high. When the ball rebounded off Wiebe’s hand, UBC’s Maka Bangura reacted quickly to grab the pick, stealing another chance from Saskatchewan. The teams would continue to trade turnovers throughout the third quarter as each defence worked to erase their offence’s mistakes.
Viotto attempted to go long for Trey Montour on the following possession, but was promptly intercepted by Saskatchewan’s Ethan Laing. The UBC defence, however, continued to keep the ‘Birds in the game — Parker hit Farrell as he scrambled out of the pocket, forcing a fumble that was recovered by UBC.
The Thunderbirds seemed to finally escape the turnover cycle, advancing to the Saskatchewan 32, running the ball for the first time since Michaud’s injury. Then, a high pass intended for Montour bounced off the receiver’s hand, allowing Laing to make another interception, ending UBC’s deepest drive since their second possession.
Starting from their own 17, the Saskatchewan offence began building momentum at the end of the third quarter. At the beginning of the fourth, Farrell escaped pressure to hit Wiebe, who added some yards-after-catch for a 55-yard pass to the UBC 11. Still fighting, the UBC defence forced the Huskies to settle for a field goal, going up 19–0.
Now, definitively a three-possession game with one quarter remaining, the ‘Birds needed to score. Instead, they went a quick two-and-out.
The Huskies quickly put themselves back in scoring position with a series of rushes, including one for 24 yards by Frank. Farrell capped off the drive with a touchdown pass, extending their lead to 26–0.
The ‘Birds managed to score with less than two minutes remaining to play, capping off their best drive of the night — 13 plays, 107 yards — with a touchdown pass from Viotto to McBean.
Seemingly accepting the loss, being down three scores, the Thunderbirds did not attempt an onside kick — they had achieved one in the previous week against Regina to pull off their comeback. After a quick two-and-out from Saskatchewan, the ‘Birds got another shot. Fittingly, Viotto was intercepted in the end zone, putting an end to the semifinal.
In the end, the Huskies outgained UBC 450 yards to 258, sacking Viotto 5 times. The UBC defence had kept the ‘Birds in it, creating opportunities against the highest-scoring team in Canada West, but the offence’s failure to score was lethal.
While the results were somewhat bleak this season, the future’s looking bright for the ‘Birds. Several of UBC’s key starters are in their first or second year of eligibility, including Viotto, Montour, defensive lineman Deacon Sterna and defensive back Jehovany Batalonga.
This past season saw the ‘Birds grappling with the loss of multiple essential players, including all-star quarterback Garrett Rooker, all-star running back Isaiah Knight and leading receiver Sam Davenport, all of whom graduated. While things started off shaky, young players stepped up on both sides of the ball — these players will ideally look more comfortable as they continue to grow into their positions, especially given the experience they’ve gained this year.
Viotto in particular seems to have settled into the starting role, after a bit of back-and-forth between him and Engel in the first half of the season. Despite playing only a handful of snaps in several games, Viotto placed second in the conference in passing touchdowns (12) and passing yards-per-game (248.0). In the last three games of the regular season, he averaged over 400 passing yards per game, with an overall 63.8% completion percentage and 7 touchdowns. That’s a promising start for a player with four years of eligibility remaining.
Yet, with the season over, the ‘Birds will have to say goodbye to several veteran players, including McBean, the team’s leading receiver, and Kinsale Philip, who finished second in the conference in total tackles (55.5).
However, the team will enter the offseason looking forward, with the goal of developing their bright, new players. If they can do that, the UBC Thunderbirds will again be a formidable team for years to come.
