CEDAR CITY, Utah – After a slow opening quarter, the Thunderbirds exploded for a 21-point second quarter to elevate over the UC Davis Aggies for a 24-3 victory. The win extends Southern Utah's home winning streak to eight.

“We got momentum in the second quarter, and we did what we needed to do,” head coach Demario Warren said. “We kept our guys healthy, and that is a huge win for us. I'm really proud of the effort. That's another Big Sky win.”

The Thunderbirds were a defensive powerhouse in the victory, concluding the game with 62 tackles, 14 of which were tackles for a loss of 61 yards.

“We handled our business today. It felt really, really great,” Josh Thornton said. “We have a lot more ball to play. This means a lot to us that we were able to get back in the right direction, but we still have a lot of football left to play. We're going to go one day at a time.”

Following a scoreless opening quarter with plenty of 3 and outs, Malik Brown rushed in an 11-yard touchdown to give the Thunderbirds the first points of the game. Southern Utah quickly followed up with a second touchdown just two minutes later after UC Davis punter bobbled the snap before being tackled at its own four-yard line. Patrick Tyler rushed in a quarterback sneak to give the Thunderbirds a 14-0 lead over the Aggies.

UC Davis knocked in a 26-yard field goal a few minutes later to put some points on the board before Raysean Pringle rushed for a 40-yard touchdown to top off SUU's 21-point second quarter.

Southern Utah's defense kept UC Davis quiet throughout the second half, as the Aggies finished both the third and fourth quarters scoreless.

Keita Calhoun nailed a 28 yard field goal to open the third quarter and chalk up the only points of the second half.

Brown and Pringle led the Thunderbirds in rushing as Brown rushed 14 times for 62 yards and Pringle rushed five times for 55 yards. Both Brown and Pringle posted touchdowns in the victory.

Sharp received nine times for a gain of 45 yards. Tyler threw 20-28-0.

Southern Utah is back on the road next weekend as the Thunderbirds travel to Grand Forks, N.D. to take on North Dakota on Oct. 15 at noon.