CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird football team will host the University of Northern Colorado this Saturday for their annual Cedar City Night game as SUU looks to get back on the right track at Eccles Coliseum.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds took a while to get going in their last contest against the Idaho Vandals, as they allowed 31-straight points to be scored by the home team over the first three quarters.  

The T-Bird offense really got going in the fourth quarter, as freshman Austin Ewing stepped into the quarterback role. Ewing led the Thunderbirds on back-to-back touchdown drives to get them on the board, and bring the final score to 31-12.

The contest was Southern Utah's fifth road game of the season, and moved the T-Birds to 1-6 for the year and 1-3 in the Big Sky Conference.

Austin Ewing

For the last two weeks Ewing has had a major impact on the Thunderbird offensive scheme, racking up touchdowns in the contests against Sacramento State and Idaho.

Against the Hornets Ewing caught a touchdown pass for the T-Birds on a trick play, and rushed three times for 19 yards. Against the Vandals he had an increased role, and rushed 19 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed five passes for 37 yards.

He'll enter SUU's contest with Northern Colorado with 220 yards on the ground.

The freshman from Hawaii was fourth on the depth chart at quarterback to start the season for Southern Utah and was playing with the scout team, but has turned himself into a dynamic force for the T-Birds.

Offensive Leaders

After another solid contest for the T-Birds, Jay Green Jr. continues to lead the team with 120 carries for 628 yards and five touchdowns. He now has more than double the rushing yards of any other Thunderbird this season.

Landen Measom leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards with 34 for 371. Ty Rutledge is second in both categories with 28 for 344 to go along with two touchdowns.

With updated numbers from the Idaho game, quarterback Aaron Zwahlen has completed 73 passes for 606 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Defensive Leaders

On the defensive side of the ball Chinedu Ahanonu continues to lead the squad with 59 tackles this season, including two tackles for loss and two sacks.

AJ Stanley is second on the team in tackles with 40, and leads the unit with two forced fumbles this season.

Taylor Nelson sits with 38 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries. Nelson leads the nation in fumbles recovered.

Taelin Webb is fourth in tackles with 27, and leads the team with eight pass breakups.

Cedar City Night / Hall of Fame

This Saturday will be Southern Utah's annual Cedar City Night, where Maile Wilson and the City Council will be honored at half time. The Canyon View Talons will also be performing at the break.

Southern Utah will also recognize its 2018-19 Athletics Hall of Fame Class, that includes Jesson Baumgartner, Ben Davidson and Stan Jack.

Opponent Preview: Northern Colorado (1-7, 1-4 Big Sky)

The Bears of Northern Colorado picked up their first victory of the season last weekend when they played host to Northern Arizona, knocking off the Lumberjacks 42-14. The Bears held the Lumberjacks scoreless in the second half, scoring 30 unanswered points to close out the contest.

Keaton Mott had a solid day for the Bears at quarterback, completing 15 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Milo Hall carried the ball 23 times for 119 yards. Dontay Warren caugh five of Mott's passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

The UNC defense picked off Northern Arizona three times in the contest. Luke Nelson led UNC's defense with nine tackles, a forced fumble and had one of the before mentioned interceptions.

To this point of the season Mott has completed 60 passes for 806 yards and eight touchdowns. Hall has 110 carries to his name for 462 yards and four touchdowns. Alex Wesley leads the team in catches with 45 for 909 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, Nelson leads the team with 64 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Henry Stelzner has 8.5 tackles for loss for the Bears.

Last Time vs. Northern Colorado

In 2017 the Thunderbirds went to Greeley and knocked off Northern Colorado 27-14 on the road.

Patrick Tyler had a big game for the T-Birds through the air, completing 20 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler hit Logan Parker five times for 82 yards and a touchdown. James Felila had a big day on the ground for SUU, carrying the ball 23 times for 126 yards. Green Jr. and Tyler both scored on the ground for SUU.

Taylor Nelson led the team with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the defensive side of the ball. Chance Bearnson had two sacks in the contest as well.

Recent Series History

Since joining the Big Sky Conference the T-Birds and Bears have squared off three times, with Southern Utah claiming victory in all three contests. The Thunderbirds won in 2013, 2015 and 2017 to move to 3-0 against UNC as members of the same league.

Big Sky At A Glance

UC Davis sits alone on top of the Big Sky Conference with a perfect 4-0 record in league play. Eastern Washington, Weber State and Idaho State all sit right behind the Aggies with a 3-1 record in Big Sky play. Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona and Portland State all enter this weekend of action with a 2-2 record in the conference.

The Hornets of Sacramento State are the lone team in the Big Sky that have yet to pick up a victory.

Words From Coach Warren

On his biggest takeaways from Idaho…

"The team doesn't quit, they battled their butts off," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "We've got to get better starting the game, that's the key emphasis is to find ways to start the game better. We're getting outscored 79-10 in the first quarter this year, and that one touchdown was a kick return, so we're not starting well anywhere on the football field in the first quarter and that puts us way behind in football games, and football games are hard enough to win already so we've got to do a better job with that. Defensively we did better, we're continuing to get better each and every week. After that Eastern Washington game we did a better job against Sac State and Idaho, and they're continuing to get better, but again they've got to learn how to fight for each yard. … Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot a lot. … We had 400 yards rushing, we can move the ball, we can move the ball but we've got to score and stay in the game."

On what he's seen from Northern Colorado…

"Their quarterback played extremely well, but they scored on defense, they score in a lot of different ways," he said. "They're finding ways to win, and at this point of the season that's what you've got to do. It's a war of attrition with these teams in the Big Sky, and we're just trying out how to put the best team we can on the field."

On Austin Ewing's rise...

"He was scout team player of the week three times in a row," Warren said. "He wasn't even on the radar but made huge plays for us. Anthony Arceneaux wanted to give him a shot at special teams, and he did a great job on special teams, so Justin Walterscheid wanted to try him out on offense in a game and he did a great job. He's just continuing to build, grow and learn."

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

Saturday's game will be streamed live on the Pluto TV App (Channel 236) and on www.WatchBigSky.com.

The game can be heard over the airwaves on KSUB 590 AM in Cedar City, and ESPN 97.7 FM in St. George.

Live stats will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to kickoff.

Follow Us

Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.

Tickets

Single game tickets for the 2018 season can be purchased online at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.