Looking to end the regular season with a three-game winning streak, the Southern Utah University football team took on in-state rival Utah Tech University on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Cedar City, Utah. This game featured back-and-forth play as well as two overtime periods, but the Thunderbirds came out on top in a heart pounding win 37-34.
First quarter
The Trailblazers got the ball first and made a statement drive that went for 13 plays. Quarterback Reggie Graff found receiver Eni Falayi for a 2-yard touchdown pass to take the first score of the game to 7-0.
Utah Tech’s defense carried that momentum and forced a 3 and out for the Thunderbirds to give their offense another shot. The Trailblazers wasted no time, scoring in three plays when Graff found Falayi again for an 81-yard touchdown pass to put Utah Tech up 14-0.
Southern Utah refused to back down and earned their first score of the game with a 78-yard drive. The run ended with a rushing touchdown by Targhee Lambson, set up by a 40-yard pass from Jackson Berry to Shane Carr.
Second quarter
Southern Utah dominated the second quarter by getting four consecutive stops. The defense made great adjustments and gave the offense great opportunities to score.
The first score came off a tough 92-yard drive. Yards were hard to come by until Berry found Carr for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Jayden Rogers missed the PAT due to strong winds, leaving them down 13-14.
Lambson did all of the work on their next drive and put himself into the history books. He broke the SUU single-season rushing record with 2:50 to go in the half. On the next play he ran into the endzone for his 23rd score of the year to tie the SUU single-season touchdown record. Carr then ran in the 2-point conversion to put the Thunderbirds up 21-14.
Southern Utah went into the break with a 21-14 lead.
Third quarter
The Thunderbirds were set to receive the second-half kickoff but the ball was fumbled and the Trailblazers recovered, giving them the ball on SUU’s 18-yard line. This was a short-lived momentum swing for Utah Tech as they fumbled on the first play of the drive and gave it right back to SUU.
On the fifth play of the next drive, Berry snapped the ball and ran for a 50-yard gain. This set up the 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chase Merrell, giving Southern Utah a 28-14 advantage.
After forcing a Utah Tech punt, SUU moved it down the field but had to settle for a field goal to go up 31-14.
After allowing 31 unanswered points, Utah Tech drove into the redzone for the first time since the first quarter. It took eight plays, but Graff was able to run it in himself to cut the deficit to 10 points.
Fourth quarter
The Trailblazers forced a punt and got the ball back early in the fourth. They pushed forward for 15 plays and with the help of a couple costly penalties by SUU, the deficit was cut to ten when Graff quickly connected with Falayi for his third receiving touchdown of the game. The extra point put the score at 31-28 in favor of the Thunderbirds.
After a few punts by both sides, Utah Tech got the ball with two minutes to play. They could not get into the endzone but got three points off a 54-yard field-goal to tie the game at 31.
With one minute to go, Southern Utah had a chance to drive down and win the game, but could not score points and the game went into overtime.
Overtime
Southern Utah got the ball first and scored three points on a 36-yard field goal from Rogers to go up 34-31. The Trailblazers got a chance to respond and kicked a field goal to tie the game at 34 and force double overtime.
Utah Tech moved the ball well on the first few plays of their drive, but Southern Utah stopped them on fourth-down at the 2-yard line. This gave the Thunderbirds a chance to win with a field goal, and Rogers answered the call by nailing the 36-yarder, giving them the 37-34 win.
Key players
— Lambson rushed for 164 yards and two scores. He broke the SUU single-season rushing record with 1,922 rushing yards.
— Graff threw 31/57 for a career-high 386 yards and three touchdowns.
— Rogers kicked the two overtime field goals to win it for the Thunderbirds.
What’s next?
That ends the regular season for Southern Utah. They ended up 7-5 on the year and 7-2 in the United Athletic Conference.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Jack Paul
