CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Thunderbirds returned to the friendly confines of Eccles Coliseum to take on the No. 18 Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona on Saturday. The Thunderbirds battled hard but ultimately fell 52-49. The loss drops SUU to 1-2 on the season while NAU improves to 2-1. 

The Thunderbirds' offense was firing on all cylinders, picking up 447 total yards in the game. The passing game contributed 269 yards while the running game tallied 178 yards. Freshman Ran Sawyer scored the T-Birds' first kickoff return touchdown since 2018, scoring on an impressive 95-yard burst. Southern Utah's defense picked up its first fumble takeaway this season.  

Coach DeLane Fitzgerald Said

1st Quarter:

The Liumberjacks were able to strike first on the opening drive to take the early lead. Southern Utah would answer back on its opening drive, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run by Joshua Dye. The two teams traded punts to finish the quarter in a 7-7 tie. 

2nd Quarter: 

The Thunderbirds had the ball to begin the second quarter and drove 77 yards in just over eight minutes to take the 14-7 lead on a one-yard rush by Braedon Wissler. The lumberjacks quickly knotted the score at 14-14 on a one-yard rush of their own with just over four minutes left in the half. The Thunderbirds would drive down the field but were forced to try a long field goal, which sailed wide right and ended the half in a 14-14 tie. 

3rd Quarter: 

Northern Arizona took advantage of an impressive onside kick to start the second half, and after recovering the ball on its own 47, drove down the field to take a 21-14 lead. The Lumberjacks extended the lead to 28-14 on their next possession. Southern Utah would grab momentum after a big return by Ran Sawyer and take its next drive to the endzone on a one-yard run by Dye. On the first play of the next drive, the Lumberjacks completed an 88-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 35-21. Sawyer continued to have a day, returning the ensuing kick 95 yards for a touchdown and bringing the score to 35-28. NAU continued to move the ball well, scoring on a short rush up the middle. 

4th Quarter: 

The Thunderbirds had the ball to begin the final quarter and scored on a 59-yard rush up the middle by Dye for his third touchdown of the game. The Thunderbirds tied the game up at 42-42 on a 42-yard pass from Bronson Barron to Shane Carr. The T-Birds defense came up with a massive turnover on a forced fumble by Baron Taylor. Southern Utah used a significant amount of clock, taking it down under five minutes and scoring on a short rush by Dye, once again giving the Thunderbirds a 49-42 lead. Northern Arizona struck the final blow with a touchdown and two-point conversion with just 28 seconds left on the clock, taking a 50-49 lead. On the next possession, the Thunderbirds committed a holding penalty in their own endzone, giving NAU a safety and two extra points to make the final score 52-49. 

Offensive Leaders

Quarterback Bronson Barron led the Thunderbird offense with an efficient performance through the air, completing 22 of 33 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown. His top targets included Gabe Nunez, who caught six passes for 83 yards, and Shane Carr, who made one of the highlight plays of the night with three receptions for 89 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown. On the ground, Joshua Dye delivered a career performance, rushing 25 times for 171 yards and four touchdowns, breaking loose for a 59-yard run that energized the offense. With Barron's steady command in the pocket and Dye's dominance on the ground, the Thunderbirds put together another strong offensive outing.

Defensive Leaders

The Thunderbird defense was anchored by another strong performance from Sebastian Adamski, who led the team with 12 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Lando Brown was a disruptive force up front, racking up six tackles and dominating in the backfield with three sacks for a loss of 22 yards, while also recording a quarterback hurry. Raymon Crump and Barron Taylor each added seven tackles, with Taylor forcing a fumble to give SUU a key momentum swing. Blake Stillwell made his presence felt in coverage with two pass breakups, and Josh Dunn added four total tackles and forced a fumble to add to the defensive effort.

Next Up

Southern Utah will hit the road next week to California, where they will take on UC Davis on Saturday, September 20, at 8:00 p.m. MT. The game can be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on suutbirds.com.  

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