SAN MARCOS, Texas, Sept. 27 ? Deckar Alexander rushed for 114 yards and a  touchdown to spark Southern Utah to its first road win since 2004 as the Thunderbirds notched a 34-20 win at Texas State on Saturday night. It was the first win on enemy territory since  a 56-14 victory at McNeese State back in 2004.

    The Thunderbirds ran for a season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns as a team while Cody Stone completed 16-of-36 passes for another 170 yards and two scores.

    SUU jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and pushed it to 34-7 in the third quarter before TSU scored a pair of late touchdowns.

    Southern Utah was opportunistic in jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, as Karrington Bush muffed the opening kickoff and Akeem Anofowoshe recovered it. The recovery set the Thunderbrids up on the TSU 18 yard line and it took just three plays before Deckar Alexander ran eight yards for his first touchdown of the season and a 7-0 SUU advantage.

    “Fortune smiled on us that first play of the game,” SUU Head Coach Ed Lamb said. “We didn't do anything to deserve it but we still had to punch it in. After last week it was gratifying for us to punch it in.”

    The Thunderbirds tacked on a 38-yard Steve Pulver field goal after the defense held on fourth and one at mid-field, then went up 17-0 when Kennie Apilli ran 25 yards around the right end for another score with 2:03 to play in the first quarter.

    TSU got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter after Courtney Smith intercepted a Stone pass at the SUU 17 yard line. The big play was a 52-yard Karrington run on a misdirection play that left no defenders on the TSU side of the field. With Karrington's speed he was able to cruise into the end zone to pull the Bobcats within 17-7.

    SUU answered with a 51-yard field goal with 6:22 to play, however, to take a 20-7 lead. The 51-yarder was Pulver's longest this season, just one yard shy of his career-long and tied for the fifth-longest field goal in SUU history.

    SUU was able to add a pair of passing scores in the third period, a 30-yard pass from Stone to Nick Miller and an 18-yard Stone-to-Tysson Poots hookup.

    “We had great field position and I think that was a key to the game,” SUU offensive coordinator Steve Clark said. “We were able to get the ball in advantageous position and were able to take advantage of it.

    “Getting those early scores were very important,” Clark went on to say. “The first score is the hardest to get, be it a touchdown or a field goal, and after we got them we got  into rhythm and felt like we could keep up rolling and we did.”

    “Texas State is a big, athletic, good football team, this is a good win,” Lamb said. “The guys work hard every day and have worked hard since August, it's good to see them over there with smiles on their faces tonight, that's what this is all about.”
    
-- SUU --