CEDAR CITY, Sept, 17 - Brad Sorensen completed 20-of-28
passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns as Southern Utah rolled to a 45-22
win over UT-San Antonio Saturday night.
The Roadrunners struck first, going 76 yards in 12 plays to
take a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard pass from Eric Soza to David Morgan on the opening
possession of the game, but the Thunderbirds answered with 38 straight points
and never looked back.
The Thunderbirds took their opening possession 80 yards in
11-plays to tie it on a 26-yard pass from Sorensen to Deckar Alexander. Alexander
set the tempo for SUU, taking a handoff on the team's first play from scrimmage
50 yards to the USTA 30 yard line.
"The offensive line did a great job blocking tonight and
they set the tone on that first play," Alexander pointed out. "I was able to
get outside and had some room."
"I think it's always important that we answer, when the
other team does something well ... and I thought that was a good answer to San
Antonio's opening touchdown," SUU Coach Ed Lamb said.
The Thunderbirds took their first lead, 14-7, with 1:08 to
play in the first quarter when Austin Minefee ran 14 yards two plays after Brady Measom gave the
Thunderbirds the ball on the UTSA 18 with a 62-yard punt return.
Southern Utah had an opportunity to strike quickly again, as
Rickey Clark forced a Brandon Armstrong fumble on the ensuing kickoff return,
but Alexander fumbled it back to the Roadrunners on the Thunderbirds' second
play after the USTA fumble.
The Thunderbirds went on to score two touchdowns in the
second period, however - on a 1-yard Minefee run with 6:38 to go and on a
3-yard Sorensen-to-Jared Ursua pass with 16 seconds to play in the half
- to take a 28-7 lead at the halftime break.
SUU added 10 third-quarter points on a touchdown on a
33-yard Dion Turner interception return and a 36-yard Colton Cook field goal to
lead 38-7, prompting SUU Coach Ed Lamb to pull many starters, including
Sorensen.
UTSA, rallied, however, scoring on an 8-yard David Glasco II
run and a 9-yard Tevin Williams run. After a 2-point conversion after Williams'
TD the Roadrunners were within
38-22 with 9:46 to play and Lamb re-inserted his first unit.
SUU first unit then drove 82 yards on nine plays, using 4:45
of clock time to go up 45-22 with 4:55 to play.
"I thought our ones came out and dictated the tempo really
well after Texas-San Antonio did a nice job on the first drive," Lamb said.
"Our one-defense knuckled down, our one offense moved the ball really well, and
I our special teams I thought really led the way early, the coverage units, the
return units really did a great job. We've got to do a better job with our
twos, they need to play with more confidence, more concentration."
Southern Utah finished with 423 yards of offense, its
highest total of the year, including 118 on the ground. Alexander rushed for 68
yards and caught four passes for 45 yards, while Minefee had 45 rushing yards
and 18 receiving. Ursua caught a team-high six passes for 67 yards and two
scores, while Easton Pedersen caught four passes for a team-high 76 yards.
UTSA finished with 294 yards, its lowest total of the
season. Chad Hansen led SUU with
seven tackles, while Turner had six to lead the SUU defense.
SUU improved to 2-1 with the win while UTSA dipped to 1-2.
-- SUU --
