VANCOUVER – Trailing 29-21 with under 30 seconds to play against UBC in the CanWest semis, Jackson Tachinski stepped back to pass. Facing pressure, he calmy escaped the pocket, keeping his eyes 35 yards downfield for an open target near the UBC 20. 
 
Running deep was 6'4" receiver De Shawn Le Jour. He was in double coverage, but Tachinski trusted his man. 
 
The former All-Canadian with the Edmonton Huskies was known for making head-top catches. Confidence hasn't been an issue for him this year (career highs in receiving yards, 305, and touchdowns, three), and on the play, he boxed-out the UBC coverage for a contested catch. 
 
Tachinski delivered the ball with enough height and precision to allow De Lejour time to adjust. Just like that, it looked like the Herd were in great position. 


 
"I think there were 24 seconds left, and in double coverage, [Le Jour] went up and got the ball. Now, at least we have a shot. From where he was, we could have thrown in the end zone," reflected head coach Brian Dobie.
 
"Or we could have thrown down field for 12 yards, and now we're really in the end zone the last two plays. That was realistic. We had a shot. We had a shot right until the end."
 
Tell me where you've heard that one before. 
 
Manitoba secured the final playoff spot last week on the final play of the game on a forced fumble by safety Stephen Adamopoulos. It was recovered by Nick Conway for a touchdown. That was followed by a successful two-point convert to Le Jour. 
 
"It wasn't by luck," expressed Dobie. "Stephen Adamopoulos made an extraordinary football play. That should never be overlooked. He created the miracle, he played the play."


 
Today's game presented a similar scenario. Score, and get a shot to tie with a two point. It's what players like Tachinski and Adamopoulos live for. 
 
'We've got a team that won't quit'
"Believe in each other." 
 
It's the statement Adamopulos made after his season-saving play last weekend. On Saturday, Manitoba had belief, and once again they had a shot – because they didn't quit on each other. 
 
The T-Birds had controlled possession in the final ten minutes, led by 280 yards of total offence and two majors, including the game-winning rushing touchdown, from Garrett Rooker. They were in the red zone once again in the final two minutes, looking to ice the game. 
 
Already up 26-21, they dialed up a play call that should have been automatic. 
 
Shemar McBean – one of many speed demons on the T-Birds' roster who had 72 receiving yards on Saturday  – took a jet sweep and looked to use his afterburners for a first. 
 
Bisons linebacker Nic Pereira had other ideas, racing back from behind the play to make a game-saving tackle. The hosts were forced to kick a field goal, keeping the game in reach.

Pereira's effort play -- much like Adamopoulos' the week before -- epitomized the team's no-quit attitude in '23. 
 
It gave Tachinski and company one more shot to tie. And with the game on the line, the offence was rolling once again following the 35-yard completion to Le Jour. 
 
But it just wasn't meant to be. 
 
Back where Tachinski originally threw the ball, a flag lingered. Procedure, Manitoba. Completion negated. 
 
On the play, the Bisons had two wide receivers on the same side, and no receiver on the other. 
 
The penalty sucked all momentum Manitoba just had, and it wasn't long after that UBC took over on downs, ending the Bisons' season in the conference semi-finals. 
 
"We shot ourselves in the foot with the alignment," Dobie admitted. "We took a penalty that we deserved by our own mistake."
 
And while it's not the outcome Manitoba wanted, the 2023 season was full of important lessons, a lot of growth and a bond between teammates that can never be broken. 
 
Critics had counted the Herd out after an 0-3 start and the status of their starting quarterback up in the air. 
 
But Tachinski came back, because he had belief. 
 
And when Maya Turner made history, becoming the first female to score points in a U SPORTS football game, the team had belief in her. So did Dobie did when he first brought her in for a tryout a few years ago.


 
And they believed again when she scored the game-winning field goal in double OT to spark a run of wins for the Bisons, keeping them in playoff contention.  
 
In Calgary in week eight, Adamopoulos had belief, and in BC on Saturday, the Herd believed. 
 
They held a halftime lead, didn't trail until the fourth and had a shot at the end of the game to tie. They never stopped fighting until the clock ran out. 
 
"I think what this team takes from [2023] is the entire finish to our season. There were two moments in our season where, if we can't climb out, we're done," said Dobie. 
 
"That was after going 0-3. We had to win our fourth game just to give ourselves a hope. We win in double overtime and now we have life. We climb out of the cellar, and with 12 seconds left in the regular season, the Manitoba Miracle happens. The lesson we learned from that is that the next rep counts. It might be your play, always assume it is. Every game does not end at 59 minutes, it ends at 60."
 
There's a lot to be excited about as a Bisons fan in 2024. 
 
Tachinski will lead again, and a significant chunk of the roster is back.


 
That includes captain Vaughan Lloyd, who popped off for a 41-yard rushing touchdown that helped give Manitoba a 17-10 halftime lead. He led all players with 81 yards on just seven carries. 
 
Fellow backs Breydon Stubbs and Noah Anderson are also back, exciting news for a team that had one of their best rushing games of the season, with 231 yards. 
 
Along with Tachinski, fellow Vincent Massey teammates and starters Victor Olaniran and Matt Stokman are back on the right side of the line. On the left, rookie Sean Rowe and sophomore Giordano Vaccaro formed one of the best tandems in the conference, and are nowhere near their ceilings. 
 
A total of nine different players in Manitoba's secondary also started a game in 2023. Long story short, a veteran team returns in 2024, ready to pick up where they left off.
 
"The biggest thing we take into next year is our resiliency, our no-quit, like in our room, [the quote] no retreat, no surrender," said Dobie.
 
"That's been a big theme for us in the last couple weeks. If you've got a team that won't quit, and you've got a quarterback that's a stone cold killer, then you have a chance every time out. That's what this team will take into the offseason, that's what we'll enter next year with."