UBC coach Blake Nill: “We had almost 500 yards of offense. We held the ball for almost 35 minutes. Normally you win those games.”
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In their first game in nearly two years, the UBC Thunderbirds scored bigger numbers than the Alberta Golden Bears in both total yards and time of possession.
The T-Birds also racked up more penalty yards than the Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon, and that played a big role in UBC’s 44-19 decision drop in Edmonton to open the Canada West football season.
UBC received 22 penalties for 179 yards, compared to 10 violations for 95 yards for Alberta.
The T-Birds received an excellent performance from rookie quarterback Garrett Rooker, the product of League City, Texas, who went 32 of 45 for 372 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. UBC racked up 458 total yards and had the ball for 32:59. Alberta had 353 total yards and the ball for 25:01.
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Canada West skipped last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UBC had not played a game since losing 36-17 to the Calgary Dinos on October 26, 2019.
“We did some good things,” UBC coach Blake Nill said Sunday. “We had almost 500 yards of offense. We held the ball for almost 35 minutes. You usually win those games. But we looked like a team that hadn’t played a game in two years. I just hoped to avoid that.
“It was the first game (Canada West) for half of the players. I don’t want to make excuses but you also have to be realistic. I was happy with many of them. I can’t be happy with all of that. This is college football. These are drafted players. We are here to win games. You cannot receive 22 penalties ”.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Rooker starred in soccer and basketball for Clear Springs High in League City, which is a suburb of Houston. He signed with UBC in May 2020, then explained that the combination of athletics and academics intrigued him.
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“It was good,” Nill said of Rooker. “And remember that he was not surrounded by a group of veterans. He belonged to a very young group. “
Alberta had an exhibition game on September 12, losing a 34-25 decision to Regina Rams at Medicine Hat.
UBC finished at the Canada West Winery in 2019 with a 2-6 record. The teams are playing regular six-game seasons this time.
The T-Birds return to action on Friday with their first home game and will host the Saskatchewan Huskies at Thunderbird Stadium. The Huskies lost a 34-20 decision in Calgary on Saturday to open the season.
In the other Canada West game on Saturday, the Manitoba Bisons outlasted the visiting Rams 21-17.
“Saskatchewan will be a tough, physical team and they will come here feeling like their season is on the line and we will have to match that feeling,” Nill said. “They are going to be older than us. We will have to use our physical abilities to our advantage. Physically, we can compete with anyone in this league. It all depends on whether we are mature enough to go through the ups and downs. “
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UBC trailed 20-1 at halftime on Saturday. They cut that margin to 20-11 at the start of the third with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Rooker to catcher Jason Soriano and then a 25-yard field goal from Ben Kolb.
Alberta followed with two touchdowns and a safety to make it 36-11 at the end of the third. Rooker and Soriano connected again early in the quarter, this time with a 47-yard strike that ended with a nine-play, 102-yard drive.
Soriano, a first-year receiver from Vancouver College, finished with seven receptions for 144 yards, highlighted by those two touchdowns.
Reference-theprovince.com