Brandon Deschamps had his best CIS football game of his career Saturday, but his UBC Thunderbirds went able to ride on their running back's coattails, dropping a 41-31 decision to the defending Canada West champion Calgary Dinos.
The third-year T-bird rushed for a career-high 175 years and had two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help the T-birds get back into the game. The six-foot, 210-pound tailback found a hole in the Dinos' defence and scampered for a 59-yard touchdown early in the final quarter to bring UBC within three points of Calgary at 24-21. A field goal tied the game at 24-24, but the Dinos struck back with seven points of their own to retake a 31-24 lead.
With less than five minutes to play Deschamps hauled in a 19-yard reception and took it to the end zone to tie the game at 31-31. The graduate of Kelly Road secondary school had two receptions for 25 yards on the day.
The Dinos retook the lead 34-31 about 90 seconds later on a Johnny Mark field goal after marching down the field 30 yards on six plays. Calgary sealed their victory with 48 seconds left on a two-yard run by Mercer Timmis.
The Dinos started the season as the number three ranked team in Canada.
The T-birds next game is Saturday (4 p.m. Pacific) at Foote Field in Edmonton against the University of Alberta Golden Bears (0-1).
