Bisons back in business

Stan Pierre found the right buttons to push at the half.

With the Manitoba Bisons trailing 17-0 at home against the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday, the first-year head coach delivered a message that got his troops to wake up.

“Coach P really lit a fire under us. He mentioned he hadn’t seen any Bisons team get that out-physicaled in years,” said fourth-year receiver Nathan Udoh.

“Credit to Sask for that, but we’re a competitive group. There was no way we were gonna stand for that.”

The Herd shot out of a cannon in the third quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives led by the arm of fifth-year quarterback Jackson Tachinski. In the fourth, Tachinski put Manitoba in front with a 12-yard strike to receiver Vaughan Lloyd to go up 21-17.

The Huskies, who came into the game a perfect 2-0 and ranked fifth in the nation, booted a field goal with five minutes on the clock. Then with 17 seconds remaining, they trotted out kicker Lukas Scott for a 43-yard attempt to win the game, but it sailed wide left.

“I just got down a knee and I was watching the kick. I’m a religious guy, so I said a little prayer to the Lord just about coming out with the win,” said Udoh, a Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate product.

“To see him take the kick and then push it wide, I was really just then paying attention to our two returners getting the ball out of the end zone and once they did that, it was just pure joy. It was a great win for us and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

The 21-20 thriller improved the Bisons to 1-2 on the year. Their season began on the road with a 21-9 loss to UBC followed by a 15-14 heartbreaker in Calgary.

“Those first two games, we didn’t perform to the expectation that we had, especially on offence. We started pretty slow,” said Tachinski. “The good news is we won last week and we’re starting to get our feet underneath ourselves. With a new coaching staff, things take a minute to gel.”

Pierre was showered with Gatorade to celebrate his first career win as the new face of the program. The head coach took over for Brian Dobie who retired last season after 29 years at the helm. Pierre had been the defensive co-ordinator at the U of M since 1999 before he got the promotion.

“I’ve been in lots of games in the Canada West. They don’t mean any more to me now that I’m the head coach,” said Pierre.

“I was really happy for our kids, they’ve been working hard and I really wanted them to get some reward for their hard work. They were happy for me, which was great, and I appreciated that. But beyond that, it’s just another game in the Canada West. We’re 1-2 and still have lots of work to do.”

Tachinski completed 24-of-32 attempts for 258 yards, three scores and two interceptions. Udoh was on the receiving end of half of those completions to end up with 158 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Breydon Stubbs also stood out with 14 carries for 107 yards. Defensive lineman Jerome Fouillard took care of business on the other side of the ball with two sacks and seven total tackles.

“For people in this building, I don’t think (Udoh’s performance) comes as a surprise,” said Tachinski.

“He’s great guy, puts in all the work, does all the right things. And for him, it was just a matter of time. That game was a really good building block for him.”

Udoh’s 12 catches puts him in a tie with Chris Noonan (1994) and Chris Larsen (1998) for the school’s single-game record.

Udoh had several injury setbacks at the start of his U Sports career but he’s officially arrived now.

“This is the first year where I feel like I’m one of (Tachinski’s) No. 1 targets. Having his trust, and the trust of the offensive staff to be one of our guys where they go, ‘Hey, we need to get this guy the ball,’ it means a lot,” said Udoh.

“There’s been a lot of great receivers that have come through this program like Nic Demski, Shai Ross, AK Gassama and Macho Bockru. To put my name into the history books is a pretty surreal feeling.”

The Bisons have a chance to reach .500 on Saturday (2 p.m. CT) when they welcome the Alberta Golden Bears (0-3) for the annual homecoming game.

“It’s going to be another very difficult football game. They’re a very talented team with a lot of big, proven playmakers in the Canada West,” said Pierre.

“Their record is not indicative of what type of football team they are. I anticipate it’s gonna be another bitter battle to the end.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca