Box Score In the battle of winless programs, the UBC Thunderbirds managed to run away with their first victory of the season as they defeated the University of Alberta Golden Bears 29-10 Saturday afternoon at Foote Field in Edmonton. The Golden Bears drop to 0-5, while the T-Birds improve their record to 1-4. UBC churned out 293 net rushing yards, and 472 yards of total offence against Alberta, while the Bears managed 141 rush yards and 369 yards of offence, but the real difference was in the first quarter when the Thunderbirds were able to quickly capitalize on Alberta mistakes. The Bears’ first two possessions, although they did move the move the ball, resulted in a fumble at midfield and an interception in the UBC end zone, and in both cases, the Point Grey squad was able to swing those turnovers into touchdowns. Alberta, in fact, was twice inside the UBC 12-yard line, but came away with nothing to show for it, except that INT and a turnover on downs, and in the third quarter, they missed a 41-yard field attempt, while UBC, meanwhile, took every opportunity that came their way and made the most of it. Third-year receiver Ryley Richardson was the lone bright spot for Alberta, as the speedster caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a TD. Running back Tyler Lewis carried 12 times for 66 yards, but had to miss several offensive possessions with an injury. Starting QB Curtis Dell completed 13 of 26 passes for 183 yards and an interception, but was sacked four times, while back-up QB Ryan Schwartz completed eight of 11 passes for 83 yards and the TD strike to Richardson. UBC’s Billy Greene, the Hec Creighton Trophy winner last season, literally earned the win with his legs, rushing 12 times for 148 yards, 116 of which came in the first half, and one touchdown. Running back Brandon Deschamps carried 15 times for 94 yards and two first-half touchdowns. Alberta took the game-opening kick-off and drove to midfield, but turned the ball over when Dell had to recover a high snap and attempt a hand-off seconds later than designed. The miscue resulted in the ball fumbling to the turf, and in the possession of UBC. From there, UBC QB Billy Greene orchestrated a four-play, 55-yard drive that ended with running back Brandon Deschamps sprinting into the Alberta end zone from 15 yards out. Upon receiving the ensuing kick, the Golden Bears once again put together a nice looking drive, this time getting down to the UBC one-yard line, but were twice stuffed, and then intercepted deep in the corner of the end zone on third down. Taking the ball at their own 20-yard line, the Thunderbirds then rushed for two consecutive first downs, which took them to their own 48-yard line, where Greene called his own number on the QB draw and scampered 62 yards for the major and  a 14-0 score early in the first quarter. Deschamps picked up his second TD of the game early in the second quarter when he capped a five-play, 39-yard drive with a two-yard rush. Kicker Thomas Moult missed a22-yard field goal attempt to the left, but picked up the rouge to give UBC a 22-0 lead at half. Both teams had plenty of possession in the third quarter, but neither team could do much with it as the ball crossed the midfield stripe more often via a punt than an offensive play. The Bears defence forced UBC to concede a safety early in the fourth, but two possessions later, the Birds found the end zone again, this time through the air to make it a 29-2 lead. Schwartz, a former SFU pivot, came in to close out the game for Alberta and quickly found a favourite target in Richardson, completing four passes to the wide-out including a 13-yard TD pass with 43 seconds left in the game. Kicker Stephen Fabian added an 81-yard kick-off single after the TD to close out the scoring, and make it a 29-10 final. Both UBC and Alberta, along with the remaining Canada West teams, are on the ‘bye’ next weekend, but the Bears will return to action on October 12 when they host the No.2 ranked Calgary Dinos at 7:00 pm and live on Shaw TV. The Thunderbirds will next play on October 13 when they host the 4-1 Regina Rams. Share this story Top stories from UAlberta