CEDAR CITY, Utah -- After their first win of the 2018 season, the Thunderbird football team will head back out on the road this week to take on the Idaho Vandals in Moscow. The T-Birds only have two road games remaining this season including the contest with the Vandals.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds picked up their first win of the season against Sacramento State on Homecoming last Saturday 48-27.
After an early strike from the Hornets the Thunderbirds returned their first kick for a touchdown of the season as Judd Cockett returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to the house to tie the contest at 7-7. Despite the quick strike, the Hornets took a 21-7 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter was all T-Birds as the Thunderbirds scored three-straight touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air, to take a 27-21 lead. The Hornets added a field goal to cap the first half, making it 27-24 T-Birds after 30 minutes of football.
The T-Birds kept rolling in the third quarter as they added two more touchdowns on the ground courtesy of Jay Green Jr. and Austin Ewing. SUU held a 41-24 lead going into the fourth quarter at home, and after a Hornet touchdown Green Jr. struck once more to make the final score 48-27 in favor of the Thunderbirds.
Youth Movement
Southern Utah's young players had a big showing against the Hornets, as true freshmen were directly responsible for four of the team's touchdowns at home.
On the ground Karris Davis carried the ball 10 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Those two TD's were the first two of his career.
Freshman quarterback turned wide receiver Austin Ewing had a huge game for the Thunderbirds. He caught a pass for a touchdown and carried the ball for another one. Ewing's touchdown grab was the result of a throw from fellow true freshman Lance Lawson, who hit Ewing on a trick play in the endzone.
Offensive Leaders
Green Jr. continues to lead the charge on the ground for the Thunderbirds, ending the Sacramento State game with 470 yards and five touchdowns on the season. His fifth touchdown on the ground matched QB Chris Helbig's number for the Thunderbirds. James Felila is second on the team with 260 yards and one touchdown.
To date, Aaron Zwahlen has completed 65 passes for 577 yards and two touchdowns for the Thunderbirds. He is 65-for-103 this season with a long of 45 and a average of 192.3 yards.
Landen Measom leads the team in both catches and receiving yards, with 32 and 353 respectively. Both Ty Rutledge and Frank Harris III have caught two touchdowns for the T-Birds this season. Rutledge is second for SUU in previously mentioned categories with 27 and 337.
Defensive Leaders
With six starts this season, Chinedu Ahanonu continues to lead the Thunderbirds in tackles with 51 so far this year. He also leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss to go along with 1.5 sacks.
Taylor Nelson and AJ Stanley are both second for SUU with 30 tackles each. Stanley has forced two fumbles for the Thunderbirds while Nelson has recovered three this year.
Taelin Webb is fourth on the team with 26 tackles and two tackles for loss to go along with a team-leading eight pass breakups.
Opponent Preview: Idaho Vandals (2-4, 1-3 Big Sky)
After spending the last five seasons playing in the Sun Belt Conference on the FBS level, the Idaho Vandals are back in the Big Sky Conference and will enter this weekend's competition with a 2-4 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the Big Sky Conference. Before this season the Vandals had last competed in the Big Sky for football in 1995 and had switched leagues four different times in between including a year of independence in football.
Before leaving the league the Vandals had claimed nine Big Sky titles from 1965-1992.
Idaho started the season with a 79-13 loss to Fresno State, but quickly bounced back with a 56-10 win over Western New Mexico. After a loss at the hands of UC Davis, the Vandals picked up their second victory of the season with a 20-7 win over Portland State. In their last two contests Idaho has fallen to Idaho State (62-28) and Montana State (24-23).
Mason Petrino played the whole contest for the Vandals against Montana State after both him and Colton Richardson have gotten run at quarterback this season. Petrino has thrown for 938 yards and five touchdowns this season while Richardson has thrown for 407 and five touchdowns. Isaiah Saunders has been Idaho's top running back with 115 carries for 533 yards and four touchdowns. Both David Ungerer and Jeff Cotton have been critical in the Vandal air game as Ungerer has 40 catches for 432 yards and Cotton has four touchdowns to lead the team.
Ed Hall is Idaho's top tackler so far this season with 44 total and two for loss. Kaden Elliss leads the team with 4.5 sacks and six tackles for loss.
The Thunderbirds and Vandals have only played once in 1994, in a contest that Idaho won 43-10.
Big Sky At A Glance
After another weekend of action a single team sits atop the Big Sky Conference, as UC Davis is the lone team in the league with an undefeated conference record sitting at 3-0, and 5-1 overall this season. Eastern Washington and Idaho State sit directly behind the Aggies with 3-1 conference records, while Montana State, Weber State and Northern Arizona are all 2-1 heading in to this weekend's action.
Both Sacramento State and Northern Colorado are both still seeking their first Big Sky victory.
UC Davis QB Jake Maier leads the Big Sky in the majority of passing categories with 176 completions for 1,960 yards and 16 touchdowns. Idaho State's Tanner Gueller has 1,675 yards through the air for 14 touchdowns in an attempt to keep pace with Maier.
Idaho State leads the league in scoring offense, while the Weber State Wildcats led the Big Sky in total defense.
Words From Coach Warren
On his biggest takeaways from the team's victory…
"We improved a lot as the game went on," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "I think the defense really settled in and played well. I think offensively we were really creative, Justin Walterscheid did a great job of calling them up and keeping the chains moving. We were 12-of-16 on third down, 1-of-1 on fourth down and 5-of-5 on scoring touchdowns in the red zone and that's the efficiency were looking for."
On Idaho…
"Defensively they're solid," he said. "They've got guys that fly around, they've got a couple big guys in the middle that do a good job of stopping the run and they're a solid football team. They've been playing FBS for a while now and they've got a great coaching staff. Offensively they're big up front, their running back is big and they're going to try to lean on you and run the football. And their quarterback is athletic enough to get out of a lot of situations."
On preparing for a conference opponent he hasn't faced...
"I guess we've played them before, I was in high school," he said. "It doesn't matter, it's a Big Sky game, we're 1-2 and trying to get back to .500. And they're doing the same exact thing. So it's a really important game for both programs to get on a winning streak and move forward in Big Sky Conference play."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Saturday's game will be available on the PlutoTV App and on WatchBigSky.com.
The game can also be heard on KSUB 590 AM and ESPN 97.7 FM in Cedar City and St. George.
Links to live stats will be made available before the contest on www.govandals.com and www.suutbirds.com.
Follow Us
Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.
Tickets
Single game tickets for the 2018 season can be purchased online at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
