Blake Nill is stomping loudly on his old grounds.
This weekend in Antigonish, N.S., the first-year head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds football team will have the chance to do what he did last week at McMahon Stadium in Calgary: visit a team he used to coach and knock them off on their own turf.
On Nov. 14, the Thunderbirds eliminated the country鈥檚 top-ranked and undefeated Calgary Dinos in a 34-26 win, widely considered one of the biggest upsets in Canadian college history largely because of Nill鈥檚 previous nine-year tenure with the losing side.
When the coach says the win was emotional, there鈥檚 no doubt. Nill brought life back to the Dinos program, recruited far and wide for its talent, and won a record six straight Canada West championships and reached three Vanier Cups (without success, alas).聽
He鈥檚 already surpassed expectation at UBC . The Hardy Cup returns for the first time since 1997, the last year the T-Birds also won the Vanier Cup. (And, alas, went through the Atlantic to get it.)
Against the 8-0 Dinos, UBC鈥檚 first-year quarterback and Penn State transfer Mike O鈥機onnor threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns. UBC鈥檚 defence was tremendous, forcing two fumbles to disrupt Calgary鈥檚 fourth quarter drives.
After the game, the coach was speechless. The victory joined the ranks of the five most memorable games in his coaching career that now sits at 139 wins and 49 losses.
Also on his list, the 1996 Atlantic Bowl and the ensuing bus ride back to Antigonish with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. It was yet another of the greatest upsets in Canadian collegiate football. Nill seems to stockpile great games, which he鈥檚 won and lost.
鈥淚 still get emotional talking about it. It was a cold Saturday and I can remember when this team came on to the field, it was like a giant coming toward us and we were in for a beat down,鈥� he told the Courier on Monday.
After his X-Men dispatched the Ottawa Gee-Gees 5-13 at Huskies Stadium in Halifax, hundreds of fans lined the road back home, turning it into a parade route.
鈥淲hen we were out of Antigonish, at about the 10-mile point, there were cars in the ditch the whole way,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a school that has 3,000 kids in the middle of nowhere and we beat the University of Ottawa, which was an amazing program at that time.鈥淭hat is what I鈥檓 trying to tell the guys right now 鈥� you better not downplay the motivation that this group of athletes is going to play with. We need to prepare as fully as we did for Calgary.鈥�
UBC, 9-2 so far this season, left Tuesday night for Nova Scotia. They will stay in Halifax until travelling to Antigonish to play the unranked 7-3 X-Men in the CIS semi-final on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Kick-off is 1 p.m. 麻豆传媒映画time. Sportsnet is broadcasting the game.
The winner plays for the 2015 Vanier Cup, set for Nov. 28 in Quebec City.
Along with the Dinos, in this upset-heavy post-season the Nos. 2 and 3 teams were sent packing. Laval lost and so did Western. The door is open against St. FX, but Nill won鈥檛 take that opportunity for granted.
鈥淵ou can look at it from an objective viewpoint, you can say yes it does [mean opportunity], but football is a game of emotion and accountability and we need to prepare for this St. FX team with every ounce of respect that we can give them and every ounce of energy that we can muster. That is what you have to learn in the game. You have to respect your opponent fully.
鈥淭he moment you lose respect, the moment you become complacent, over-confident or unassuming, you鈥檙e done,鈥� said Nill. 鈥淥ne of my best players at Calgary was interviewed [before the Hardy Cup] and he was saying, 鈥楥oach Nill, he鈥檚 a great coach but it鈥檚 going to be a great feeling to beat him.鈥� He would never had said that in my time there. Even if it鈥檚 just a crack in the door, you set yourself up for the opposition to knock you off. And that鈥檚 what happened.鈥�
Early this season, the Dinos crushed the T-Birds 49-16.
With him from Calgary, Nill brought coaching staff that includes offensive coordinator Steve Burrato, receivers coach Greg DeLaval, and athletic therapist Courtney Kapustianyk, as well as several academic advisors.
Remarkably introspective for a leader who was condemned as a 鈥渟creamer鈥� by the Dinos in a sour comparative story about Calgary鈥檚 new coach, Nill runs a U.S.-style football program built on the tenets of discipline, accountability and hard work. He does not exclude himself from these expectations.
In his inaugural year, the T-Birds carried a roster of roughly 60 players, smaller than many programs by 30 personnel. The weeds of complacency outed themselves, an objective that pleased the coach.
鈥淔or whatever reason, they determine that this system is not what they want and that is fine. I鈥檝e never once questioned a young man for making a decision that football wasn鈥檛 in his vision anymore,鈥� said Nill. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 play football without passion. It is just too much work. It takes a toll, both emotional and physical, and if you don鈥檛 have passion for this sport that you must live and die for, it鈥檚 tough to play the game and that is why you always have some young men at some point in their lives who say, 鈥楥oach it鈥檚 just not worth it anymore.鈥� You have to respect those decisions and carry on.鈥� 聽
