The 2021 Bisons football season was unlike any other in the 26-year tenure of head coach Brian Dobie. Right off the hop, the Herd, like every other team in Canada, had to find their identity after a cancelled season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions arose about who would and wouldn't be back for 2021, including a number of game-changers who were just a two-point convert away from knocking off eventual Vanier Cup champion Calgary in the 2019 conference semi-finals. 

When push came to shove and training camp began, the Herd's familiar faces came back to finish what they'd started. Identity-wise, the squad – which featured a roster that was 74 percent local, the most Manitobans in Dobie's time as bench boss – adopted the mantra of One Heart, One Herd. As quarterback Jackson Tachinski said best, "everything we do, we do as a team. If one of us is playing poor, the whole team is playing poor. It just really means a lot to have that family in the locker room believing in you, because we all have confidence in each other and we're all ride or die."

With an unwavering belief in each other, the Bisons stormed out of the gate, going 3-0 for the first time since 2007. They finished the regular season at 4-2, hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2013 and advanced to the Hardy Cup for the first time since 2014. It was a remarkable season, one that was even more impressive considering the adversity that the team had to overcome.

Ritchott, VSP keep on churning 
Take veteran running backs Mike Ritchott and Victor St-Pierre Laviolette as examples. The former had every reason to hang up the cleats during the pandemic. After all, he was passed up in the CFL Draft that year and with his five-year-old son Andre growing more each day, he had a valid reason to shift to the next stage of his life. But if you thought Ritchott was going to let his career end that way, you simply do not know the man. 

The 5'10" 190-pound back has been doubted his entire career and has always let his play do the talking, while finding a way to change games in the process. That didn't change in 2021 for the former All-Canadian, who provided a veteran presence amongst a running backs group with tons of potential for years to come. 

St-Pierre Laviolette also endured an uphill battle during the pandemic. Late in November 2019, around the time that the Vanier Cup was being played, the fourth-year ball-carrier was left reeling due to the death of his mother — a single parent who'd raised him and his four other siblings. Understandably, he needed to take some time for himself. 

The man they call VSP came back to school in the summer, fully intent on re-upping the six-credit hour course required to remain eligible. As he was doing this, his life flipped upside down yet again as his brother committed suicide. He was forced to quit school and had to figure out how to move forward with his life despite two huge pieces missing. 

The speedy back spent many nights alone during this time. He considered quitting the sport entirely, but when his mind started shifting to negative thoughts, he was brought back to grade eight – when his football journey in the wheat city started. The game offered a sense of normalcy within occasional chaos and was an opportunity to grow and mature as a person. 

"The one constant I had was football," he reflected prior to the start of the 2021 season.  

"I would not be where I am today if I didn't play ball. it just took sitting there one night realizing that I left Brandon, I left my family to come chase my dreams. If I didn't pursue this, then I missed all that time with them for nothing. I just don't think I could sleep right at night knowing that I wasted all of that time that I had left with them doing something that didn't even end up mattering."

The duo, along with former Canada Cup standouts Breydon Stubbs and Noah Anderson combined to form one of the most versatile units in the nation. Manitoba rushed for over 200 yards four different times, including a character-building 28-20 win in week three at home against the Dinos, as well as a 22-3 win in the final week of the regular season against Regina, which secured the Herd their first home playoff game in eight years. The pair of fearless veterans set the tone, and the young stars also rose to the challenge in what was a character-building season for the group. 

"Our team has bit the bullets, handled that adversity and we strike back," noted Ritchott shortly after his squad amassed more than 200 yards on the ground once more against Alberta in the conference semi-finals. "I don't think we crawl down for anybody. I think that's one of the strongest things about this team. I've played football for a very long time and I haven't seen people handle adversity quite like this."

Rising to the challenge 
Ritchott's comments were a microcosm of the group's attitude all year. When faced with obstacles, they didn't fold. Instead, they rose to the challenge and countless players stepped up, doing so as one unit all the way. 

Let's start with week one. Late in the third quarter, Manitoba lost starting quarterback Des Catellier to a season-ending lower body injury. It's tough for any team to lose their top signal-caller in the season opener, but it hit especially hard for a player who'd done nothing but work his tail off for the prior five years, and who'd rightfully turned into a locker room leader and bona-fide QB1 for the better part of the prior three seasons. 

Despite the loss, Manitoba rallied together. The defence pitched a second half shutout, outscoring the Regina Rams 13-0 to open the season with a 21-17 win. Critical to the team's victory was fifth-year defensive end Brock Gowanlock, a CFL Draft pick of Montreal who had seven-and-a-half tackles, one-and-a-half sacks and the game-winning touchdown on a 31-yard fumble recovery. 

As a veteran on the team and close friend of Catelliers since both entered the program in 2016, the captain took it upon himself to change the momentum of the game, just like leaders do. It was a fitting performance for the eventual All-Canadian, who chose to come back for his final season with Manitoba. He'd had a successful stint at training camp with the Alouettes, but knew he wanted to finish what he'd started with his brothers.

Gowanlock – whose 177 total tackles rank fourth all-time in program history and are the most of any defensive lineman – set the tone all year on defence for the Herd. They finished in the top ten nationally in almost every key statistical category, playing for each other every step of the way. 

"I've been here since 2016, and our leadership group has dealt with adversity all of the time," noted Gowanlock shortly after the Hardy Cup final against Saskatchewan. "I just feel like on this team, we're resilient, we're tough and we follow the direction that our leadership group goes with. No matter what goes on, we focus forward and grind it out."

There are countless examples of the team's grit and determination on D, such as defensive tackle Tristan Bredin, another veteran who fought through depression and a severe car accident to make his way back onto the travelling roster despite two years away from the game. Or there's fifth-year defensive lineman Samson Abbott, one of the smartest players on the roster, who despite tearing his elbow to shreds while in training camp with Ottawa, came back for his last ride with the boys and was the squad's emotional and vocal leader on a top-rank special teams unit. 

Another example can be seen in defensive back Marcel Arruda-Welch, who earned All-Canadian status despite playing in just three regular season games due to a lower body injury. The boundary corner locked down one side of the field all year and showed his determination in getting back to UM after being away from the program in 2019. Even when Arruda-Welch went down, the next man stepped up, including true freshman Jake Nitychoruk, who confidently took his place amongst a Bisons roster that allowed just 200 passing yards per game, good for eighth in the nation. 



Those are just a few examples of the character within Manitoba's locker room on the defensive side of the ball. It was a true 'we' and not 'me' attitude that speaks volumes about the group's love for each other. The same can be said offensively, where an unfathomable tragedy brought the group even closer together. 

Playing for Scott 
In week two, Manitoba played through pain following the unfortunate passing of beloved coach, friend, mentor and brother Scott Naujoks to cancer. It was, without a doubt, the most difficult week that many on the roster have ever endured. 

"[Naujoks] told us about his treatment and he said he was going to be fine, and I believed him. Just hearing the news about Scott, I didn't believe it at first," recalled first-year receiver Nathan Udoh, whose recruitment to UM was due in large part to Naujoks.

"We get in the meeting room and I see coach Dobie's eyes, and I'm like okay, what is going on? He told us that he passed. I didn't know what to do. I just broke down. A couple of the guys were crying, I was crying. I just couldn't believe he was gone. Sometimes, I'm here sitting in my locker at practice and I feel like he's going to walk through with his big calves and tell me to finish the play, like he would do. I just feel pretty sad sometimes, knowing that the guy who took a chance on me isn't going to be here."

In such a dark time, the group leaned on each other to get through, and when they faced Alberta on the road, they had Naujoks on their mind.  
Tachinski, making his first career U SPORTS start, was efficient all night long, combining for over 250 all-purpose yards and three majors in the team's 31-17 win. Two of those scores came in the first quarter, and the recipient was fourth-year receiver Gavin Cobb, a 2020 transfer out of Simon Fraser University in the NCAA and another key leader for a composed Bisons group.

Cobb's efforts were successful, not only as a pass-catcher but also on special teams, where he earned conference all-star status. In the second quarter, the former NCAA Division 2 All-Star who had 1,041 kick return yards as a sophomore, took a punt back 91 yards to the house. Cobb had over 200 all-purpose yards in the contest, and was sure to throw one up to the sky following his first touchdown grab of the game. 

"It was a very emotional week. I've never been a part of anything like that before. Prayers out to Scott's family and our family here. It was a really tough week, and to be able to get in the end zone, I know that coach Scott was watching us and watching me score that touchdown," he said. 

"I dedicated that whole thing to him, just because he put in so much time and effort and he was a great coach and a great guy. I started to get to know him pretty well here over the short time that I knew him. It was very sad, but he's still here with us watching over us."

Losing your starting pivot in week one is more than enough adversity for the average team to face. Combining that with the passing of Naujoks makes what Manitoba accomplished in 2021 even more impressive. But that's not the end of the story. 

Next man up at QB 
The Bisons had to dig even deeper two weeks later, as Tachinski went down with a lower body injury. With Catellier already on the shelf and former Winnipeg Rifles pivot Riley Naujoks also out for the year, the Herd went with true freshman Sawyer Thiessen as their lead man in a pivotal week five bout against the eventual Hardy Cup champion Huskies.

The game would decide who finished as the top seed in the conference, and despite losing the contest, Thiessen flashed some serious potential. He threw for 179 yards and his first-career U SPORTS touchdown, showcasing the depth that Manitoba will have under centre for years to come. 

He, along with Tachinski and fellow true freshman Jordan Hanslip – who also saw action against the U of S – combined for a ridiculous 27 wins at the high school level and will only get better as the years progress. And while Catellier's season was cut short, he continued to support the group of signal-callers, offering a reassuring presence in the locker room and at practice every single day. His selflessness and courage, along with the rest of the roster, wasn't lost on Dobie. 

"I've really thought about this over the last few weeks. I've been a head coach for 47 years. In my whole career, there wouldn't have been a team I've ever coached that would've gone through what this team has gone through. I'm so proud of them. They're just fighters. They just believed that they would find a way to win and they did it almost all of the time," he noted after the Hardy Cup. 

"Whatever the reason was, everybody showed up and everybody played a role. This was such a true team season. The culture of this team is as good as I've ever seen with a Bison team. It really is. It's a true culture of family and caring. It's a true culture of buying in. They just bought in all the way. They bought in emotionally, they bought in systematically, they bought in physically. They've set a really high bar for us to move forward with in our program. It's awesome, because that should be our standard."

Looking ahead 
And while the team would've liked to have brought back some hardware, there's still plenty of optimism for 2022. For one thing, the quarterback room is absolutely loaded, with Catellier having the opportunity to return if he chooses, due to a medical redshirt season. The receiving corps also remains intact for the most part, as does the offensive line and running backs group, which includes Anderson and Stubbs. 

Defensively, the secondary will return most of its starters, while the linebacking corps might be the deepest in Canada next year. All-Canadian Nick Thomas took a massive step in his development at the weak side linebacker position, while his close friend, first-year Isaac Dokken, showed what he's capable in the conference semi-finals with eight tackles and a plethora of bone-jarring hits that could be felt all the way in Alberta. Brody Williams -- whose mom made cookies for road trips -- also had a career year, leading the team in tackles, while Noah Paulic and Dolan Hills were impactful special teams players who'll only get better in the offseason, along with players like Samuel Hezekiah. 

Additionally, the team recently signed 6'0", 210-pound St. Paul's product Nic Pereira, a former ANAVETS Bowl champ who played down south this past year. His top-level athleticism and closing speed will be an immediate asset as well. 

"Honestly, I kind of can't wait for next year," smiled Dobie. "Now that this is now done, and seeing who these guys are and what they are, I really can't wait for next year. This team is going to be really, really, really good. They already are."