Bisons trample golden bears 29-14
Offensive flurry in second half maintains the Bisons’ perfect record
NEIL OWENS VOLUNTEER STAFF
The U of M Bisons football team continued their domination over the competition by defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 29-14 Saturday, Sept. 23 at University Stadium. Despite a hard-fought first half where the Golden Bears seemed to have all the momentum, the Bisons responded by controlling the second half and showed why their record now stands at 4-0.
After an Alberta safety, the Bisons took an early 9-0 lead on a touchdown by Karim Lowen. Spinning and dodging around players along the way, Lowen scored on a great 16-yard run into the end zone.
In the second quarter, the Bisons’ offence stalled. Several dropped passes, as well as the defensive play of Alberta’s Dan Bass, set up a comeback by the Golden Bears.
Starting from their own threeyard line, Alberta put together an impressive 10-play drive leading to their first points of the game. Runs by Tendayi Jozzy propelled Alberta towards Manitoba’s end zone, culminating in a 23-yard pass to Damon Fraietta from QB Cameron Linke for a 9-7 score. At half time, the momentum seemed to have shifted to Alberta.
The Bisons came back in the second half with some of their best play of the season. A spectacular 37-yard punt return by Brad Black gave the Bisons great field position, something Bisons special teams has provided all year. Bisons QB John Makie then fired a pass to Neil Fulgueras, who made one defender miss, then ran over another for a huge 23-yard gain. It was then Karim Lowen’s turn to make Alberta’s defence look porous as he made four defenders miss, before running into the end zone untouched for a 15-7 Manitoba lead.
An interception by Bisons defensive back Mike Howard set up yet another touchdown run by Karim Lowen for a 22-7 Manitoba lead.
Alberta refused to concede, however, and responded with a good drive, including runs by Matthew Jarvis and passes to Damon Fraietta, ending with a one-yard touchdown run by Linke to make the game 22- 14. With five minutes left in the game, victory was still not assured for the Bisons.
Alberta’s final drive moved the ball to midfield, but a third-down pass was knocked down by Simon Patrick. The Bisons finished the game on a high note with a 37-yard pass thrown by John Makie to Terry Firr, giving the Bisons the 29-14 victory.
Alberta defensive back Dan Bass, who stymied the Bisons offence in the first half, reflected on the game, and the play of the Bisons.
“Manitoba did a better job, and we’ve just got to come out a little harder next time. We knew they were going to be a force,” Bass said. Bisons defensive back Erik Gustafson said Alberta was a tough opponent.
“It was a dogfight, we went in only up by two at halftime, so we couldn’t let up. They’re one of the top-ranked teams in the conference, a perennial powerhouse, and we had to get it done.”
Running back Karim Lowen finished the game with 18 carries for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and credited much of his success to the play of the offensive line.
“The key for us in everything is our o-line. If our o-line goes then our offence goes. [Previously], we were doing a great job pass-blocking, but we weren’t doing a great job runblocking. Today was just good all around.”
Wide receiver Steve Gronick finished the game with two receptions for 25 yards, and provided a spark early in the second half on a great run after the catch. Gronick explained why the Bison receivers made the Alberta defence miss on so many tackles: “We saw on film that they over-pursue pretty hard, that they’re really aggressive, — so you make one move and they go to that one, and then you run right around.”
The team’s focus now shifts to their next game. Gronick commented on the Bison’s next opponent, “We’ve got our biggest test in two weeks against Saskatchewan. We had a big grudge against [Alberta] ’cause they beat us last year in the playoffs, and Saskatchewan’s the same thing. They don’t know what’s coming for them,” Gronick said.
The Bisons now have a bye-week before facing the number two-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies (4-0) in Saskatoon on Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m.. Alberta falls to 2-2, and next faces Simon Frasier (0-3).
