After a statement win against No. 24 Central Arkansas University, the Southern Utah University football team will close their season against Utah Tech University on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m. This game is available for streaming on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds enter this game having won four of their last five games, sitting at 6-5 this season. SUU is tied for second in the United Athletic Conference with a record of 5-2. SUU has dominated this rivalry, boasting a 4-1 record all-time against the Trailblazers.
The beginning of the season was difficult for Southern Utah due to not being able to find a starting quarterback. However, the last six games have shown that junior Jackson Berry is a promising pick. In the upset win against the Bears, he threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Berry will be looking to end the season on a high note against a struggling Utah Tech defense.
Berry’s top targets have been Gabe Nunez and Shane Carr, who combine for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. Another great receiver is redshirt freshman Devin Downing, who has 254 and two touchdowns on 16 catches.
Targhee Lambson continues to be the centerpiece of the Thunderbird offense. He has led the Football Championship Subdivision almost all season with 1,758 yards rushing and an impressive 21 rushing touchdowns. Lambson is just 70 yards away from breaking the SUU football all-time rushing yards in a single season.
Defensive end Lando Brown has been a beast in the pass-rush with four sacks and ten tackles for loss on the year. He is accompanied by Kohner Cullimore who has 33 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss.
George Ramirez, Jayden Robertson and Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson have held down the secondary all season. They have combined for 131 tackles, nine pass deflections and nine interceptions.
Utah Tech
The Trailblazers have struggled all season long. They sit at 1-10 on the year and 1-6 in the UAC with their one win coming against Central Arkansas. They have struggled to get production anywhere on the field as they score a low 17.9 points per game and allow 37.5.
Quarterback Reggie Graff has had a difficult season only throwing for 1,086 yards and seven touchdowns on 57% pass completion paired with five interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 407 yards and three rushing touchdowns. This is because running backs have struggled to find production on the Trailblazers. Chris Street leads them with only 225 yards on the year on 3.4 yards per carry.
Freshman Bryce Parker has been the most productive receiver this season with 381 yards and four touchdowns. He is followed by tight end Eni Falayi who has 275 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Leading the pass rush is Fisher Jackson, who has four sacks this season. Rick Mua’e and John Sniffen are other notable players with 3.5 and 2.5 sacks respectively.
Some players to watch in the secondary are Quincy Lejay, who has five pass deflections, and Brady Sorenson who leads the team in interceptions with two.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Jack Paul
