The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here! Thunderbird football is excited to begin the 2022 season at home for the first time since 2018. Southern Utah will welcome in the Tommies from the University of St. Thomas on Thursday the 1st of September.
Game Information
Southern Utah vs. St. Thomas
Date: September 1st, 2022
Kickoff Time: 6:00 PM MT
Venue: Eccles Coliseum
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats:
Preview
The Thunderbirds are coming into the season with a new Head Coach and a slew of new players. Coach Fitzgerald brought on Coach Blair Peterson to jump start the T-Bird Offense while Coach John Kelling will take the reins of the defense as Southern Utah football gets underway this fall.
The Southern Utah offense can count on returning quarterback Justin Miller who is in his Redshirt Junior season with the T-Birds. Miller has the full confidence of new Head Coach Delane Fitzgerald who said of Miller "He is a little bit like Tom Brady in how he works and studies the game". One of Miller's favorite targets from a year ago, Ethan Bolingbrook will be back on the field as well. Bolingbrook caught 54 passes last season for 523 yards and a couple of touchdowns and will look to improve on those numbers this season.
The Thunderbirds offense is also going to count on returning sophomore offensive lineman Lyle Santos who has stepped up as a leader this year. He will be joined by Leonidas Jacobsen who played in 6 games for the T-Birds last year. Together with a few newcomers, the big guys upfront will try to improve on the 20 sacks allowed last season and open up holes for the T-Birds running game.
On the defensive side of the ball Coach John Kelling will be able to rely on the leadership of the two defensive ends who are both veteran players. Francis Bemiy, a Preseason All-WAC player, will be joined by a powerful 5th year transfer Zach Strand who follows Coach Fitzgerald from Frostburg State. In four seasons with the Thunderbirds, Bemiy has appeared in 38 games, amassing 137 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. In his time at Frostburg State, Strand appeared in 40 games recording 150 tackles and 56 tackles for a loss.
The two bookends for the Thunderbirds will also be joined by returning linebacker Aubrey Nellems who played in 10 games last year and totaled 48 tackles including a few tackles for a loss. Coach Kelling has high hopes for the defense this week saying, "We will work hard to control the run game and keep the passing game in front of us"
The University of St. Thomas Tommies are making their first ever trip to Utah to start off their second season as a Division I program. The Tommies are led by Head Coach Glenn Caruso who has been at the helm since 2008. Caruso's record as the leader of the Tommies is 133-24 (.847).
Last season St. Thomas finished with a 7-3 record which was good enough for a third place finish in the Pioneer Football League. The successful season for the Tommies was their 14th straight season with 7 or more victories. This team from St. Thomas is picked to finish in the top three of their conference once again in 2022.
The Tommies return a veteran team with a lot of experience as 20 starters from last year's team are coming back to compete once again. Five St. Thomas players have been named to the Pre-Season All-Pioneer Team including SR. OL Matt Weimann, SO. RB Hope Adebayo, SO. LB Luke Herzog, SR. DB Luke Glenna, JR. P Kolby Gartner. Hope Adebayo returns for the Toms as their leading rusher and will look to anchor a balanced offensive attack alongside returning starting quarterback Cade Sexauer.
Corralling Adebayo will be a major part of this game as he rushed for 658 yards last season and had 12 touchdowns. This ranked him as the 12th best freshman in the country for rushing yards and made him one of only 6 freshmen to have double digit rushing scores.
The defense for the Purple has had success ranking 13th among all FCS teams allowing just 17.8 points per game. They also ranked 1st of all Division I programs in takeaways per game at 2.7.
Coach Fitzgerald has said of the matchup, "they are a well coached program top to bottom… we have to stand up to their strength and their physicality and then we have to execute our own offense, defense and special teams." We can all look forward to an exciting matchup between the Thunderbirds and the Tommies this Thursday as football season gets underway in Cedar City.
History
This Thursday will be the first ever meeting between the Tommies and Thunderbirds.
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