HILLSBORO, Ore. - Jayden Rogers drilled a 33-yard field goal with 13 seconds left, capping an 11-play, 53-yard drive, as Southern Utah held on to a 23-21 win over Portland State Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium. The Thunderbirds led 20-7 in the third quarter before the Vikings scored twice, including Delon Thompson's 1-yard run with 1:51 left, to take a 21-20 lead. The win moves Southern Utah to 5-6 overall, and 4-4 in Big Sky play.
Rogers went 3-for-3 on field goals (48, 25 and 33 yards) and 2-for-2 on extra points. The game-winner was his 14th field goal of the season, alone in fourth on the program's single-season list, and his 34th career make, which moved him past Steve Pulver (33, 2003-07) into sole possession of third in program history. His 11 points lifted him to 211 for his career, passing Dave Pretzer (205) for seventh. Floyd Chalk's 61 rushing yards pushed him to 1,350 for the season, past Matt Cannon (1,310 in 1999) for seventh on the single-season list, and his 16 carries brought him to 234, tied with Brook Madsen (1996 and 1997) for sixth. Will Burns ran for 69 yards to go over 1,000 for the season (1,017), and his 235 yards of total offense lifted him to 3,026, ninth in program history. With Chalk and Burns both past 1,000, the Thunderbirds have two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time since 1999 and the third time in program history.Â
Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald and Kicker Jayden Rogers answered some questions following the 23-21 victory over the Vikings.
Game Breakdown:
1st Quarter:
Southern Utah wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, needing just three plays after forcing a Portland State three-and-out. Floyd Chalk opened the drive with runs of three and eight yards before Will Burns connected with David Spjut on a short pass that Spjut turned into a 49-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead just 2:38 into the game.
Portland State answered with a quick scoring drive of its own, covering 75 yards in eight plays. Delon Thompson accounted for 49 yards on four carries before John-Keawe Sagapolutele found Terence Loville for a nine-yard touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
The Vikings picked off Burns on Southern Utah's next possession, but the Thunderbird defense responded with a stop, forcing a punt and taking over at its own 8-yard line late in the quarter.
2nd Quarter:
The Thunderbirds put together a 12-play, 61-yard drive to regain the lead. Joshua Acord moved the chains with a 17-yard run on third-and-one, while Burns connected with Jack Fairchild and Mark Bails for key first downs. Jayden Rogers capped the possession with a 48-yard field goal, putting Southern Utah ahead 10-7 with 13:06 remaining in the half.
Portland State threatened to respond, using a 30-yard Thompson run to reach the SUU 23. The Vikings moved inside the 20, but Lincoln Tuioti-Mariner got a hand on Sagapolutele's third-down pass, and Tim Malo came down with the interception at the 5. Malo returned it 58 yards to the Portland State 37, setting up another Thunderbird scoring opportunity. Chalk picked up 11 yards on the first play, and Burns scrambled to the 8 before Rogers connected on a 25-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-7.
The Vikings had one more chance before halftime, advancing to the SUU 10 after a pass interference penalty. However, Tim Christian came up with a clutch interception in the end zone with 24 seconds remaining, preserving the six-point Thunderbird advantage at the break.
3rd Quarter:
Southern Utah opened the second half with its longest scoring drive of the night, marching 75 yards in 11 plays. Burns converted a third-and-six with a seven-yard completion to Acord before finding Fairchild for 14 more. Chalk broke free for a 34-yard run, though a holding penalty brought the play back, and Burns added a 10-yard scramble to move the Thunderbirds to the 19. On the next snap, Burns connected with Hayden George for a touchdown, capping the 5:35 drive and pushing the lead to 20-7 with 9:25 remaining in the quarter.
Portland State answered with a lengthy possession of its own, putting together a 15-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 8:39. The Vikings appeared poised to settle for a 29-yard field goal on fourth-and-nine, but a leverage penalty against Southern Utah gave them a fresh set of downs at the SUU 6. Cru Newman scored on the following play, cutting the Thunderbird lead to 20-14 with 46 seconds left in the quarter.
4th Quarter:
Three consecutive punts opened the fourth quarter before Portland State took over at its own 19 with just over eight minutes remaining. The Vikings put together an 81-yard drive, converting a critical fourth-and-eight after a pass interference penalty moved them to the SUU 42. Sagapolutele then connected with Thompson for 23 yards to the 5, and Thompson punched it in from a yard out with 1:51 remaining to give Portland State its first lead of the night at 21-20.
Southern Utah had an answer.
Sawyer returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the SUU 31, and Burns took over from there. He found Spjut for 11 yards, added a six-yard scramble, then ran for 13 yards to move the Thunderbirds into Viking territory. After connecting with Spjut for nine yards on third-and-eight, Burns scrambled another 10 yards to the Portland State 18.
With the game on the line, Burns and the Thunderbirds set up Rogers for one final opportunity. After a timeout, two incompletions and a two-yard scramble, Rogers drilled a 33-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining to put Southern Utah back in front, 23-21.
Portland State's final attempt featured a completion followed by eight laterals, but the Thunderbird defense kept the play in front of it, and the Vikings were brought down at their own 10 as time expired.
Offensive Leaders
Will Burns completed 14 of 23 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and led Southern Utah with 69 rushing yards on 12 carries, including 31 on the game-winning drive. Floyd Chalk carried 16 times for 61 yards. David Spjut caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and added 10 yards on two punt returns. Joshua Acord had three catches for 22 yards and ran twice for 26, Jack Fairchild caught two passes for 24 yards, and Hayden George's only catch went for a 19-yard touchdown. Jayden Rogers was perfect, making all three field-goal attempts and both extra points. Ran Sawyer returned two kickoffs for 30 yards. Southern Utah finished with 330 total yards, while Portland State had 340.
Defensive Leaders
Parker Vance led the Thunderbirds with 11 tackles, and Mason Stromstad added eight. Tim Christian had seven tackles, the end-zone interception, and a pass breakup, and Tim Malo had six tackles, a pass breakup, and the interception he returned 58 yards. Lincoln Tuioti-Mariner posted five tackles, two for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry, Jayden Wells had three tackles, a pass breakup and a hurry, and Myles Amey added a tackle for loss. Delon Thompson ran for 169 yards on 26 carries for Portland State, but the Thunderbirds held Sagapolutele to 132 passing yards on 22-of-33 passing with two interceptions.
Next Up
The Thunderbirds return home to host Chicago State for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City. The game kicks off at noon MT and streams on ESPN+, with live stats available on suutbirds.com.
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