WINNIPEG — Bisons head coach Brian Dobie has been there before — now in his 26th year coaching Manitoba's football team— so it carries some weight when he says Saturday's win over the No. 4 Calgary Dinos is one of the best comebacks in program history.
The numbers back it up too. Trailing 20-5 after three quarters, Manitoba put up 23 unanswered points in the final frame, winning 28-0 and improving to 3-0 for the first time since their Vanier Cup season in 2007.
"In the second quarter, we self-destructed, Calgary took advantage and it's what we deserved — that's a great team, they're Vanier Cup champs," said Dobie.
"To overcome that tremendous momentum, to come back like that, that is literally one of the best comebacks in the history of this program."
After their rally started with two passing touchdowns from first-year pivot Jackson Tachinski to Kai Madsen, then Macho Bockru, Manitoba went ahead on a Cole Sabourin field goal with 3:01 left in the fourth. They would build on that 21-20 lead with another touchdown with 44 seconds left — a Breydon Stubbs scamper to the outside post — to go up 28-20.
Stubbs came in as the third running back on the depth chart, but his impact was all over the Herd's fourth quarter, as the first-year ended the game with a team-leading 50 yards on seven rushes and a 22-yard reception through the air.
"I finally got an opportunity to show myself, show who I really am," said Stubbs after the win. "I was grateful that the coaches believed in our run game and trusted me, and it was great getting this first opportunity and my first touchdown."
While Stubbs led the way, Manitoba's running success — almost entirely in the second half — came by committee. Michael Ritchott had 44 yards, Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette had 37, and Tachinski had 49 yards from the quarterback position. The Vincent Massey product also threw for 139 yards on 13-for-29 passing, with two touchdowns and an interception, as he improves to 2-0 as the Bisons' starter.
"We have the right guys in the building and the right mindset," commented Tachinski. "It just depends on whether we want to put it into action. If we work hard, come to practice every day wanting to learn and get better, I think we can go as far as we want."
While the game ended in the win column for Manitoba, it didn't look like things would go that way for the first half. Coming in after a loss to Regina, the No. 4 ranked Dinos were clearly motivated to succeed — rushing the ball relentlessly on No. 6 ranked Manitoba to the tune of 138 yards, while the Bisons had just 95 yards of total offence. Fourth-year Alessandro Molnar was the biggest weapon, tallying 131 yards on 15 rushes in the game, while third-year Dino Ben Abrook had 77 yards on ten carries.
Calgary scored the game's first touchdown two minutes in on a 36-yard pass from Josiah Joseph to Tyson Philpot. They followed that up with another major early in the second, as Joseph connected with Nathanael Durkan for a 23-yard score. The Bisons' secondary dialed in after that, though, keeping the Dinos' deadly aerial attack out of the end zone for the rest of the game.
While their offense still lagged behind, the Bisons got a shot in the arm when SAM linebacker Stefan Conway intercepted Joseph deep in the Dinos' own territory. After returning the ball down to the six, the Bisons paid off the defensive effort with a six-yard pass from Tachinski to Madsen to make it a one-score game.
"It was a great play," said Dobie. "That position has evolved so much and he's such a good player. Both Conway brothers [along with DB Nick], those guys are so mentally tough."
Conway was awarded Player of the Game honours, as he had a game-high six solo tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss to go with his pick.
Next up for Manitoba is a trip out west to Vancouver, as they take on the UBC Thunderbirds at 3 p.m. CDT on Saturday, October 23. Fans can watch the game on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
