CEDAR CITY — Football is finally back and the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds came to play.
Despite allowing a couple of big plays to start the game, the SUU defense held the St. Thomas Tommies to just 13 points in Thursday night’s season opener in Cedar City.
This, coupled with consistent scoring by the T-Bird offense, led to a 44-13 victory to kick off the 2022 campaign and new head coach DeLane Fitzgerald’s tenure at SUU.
After a booming kick from redshirt senior Jake Garardi to start the game, the Tommies needed only two plays to reach the end zone. The drive consisted of a 60-yard rush by the sophomore running back Hope Adebayo followed by a 15-yard dash to the end zone by Shawn Shipman.
This opening drive would account for just over 40% of the Tommies’ total rushing yards for the game, as the T-Bird defense would quickly tighten up the running lanes.
Fitzgerald said of the early score by the Tommies: “Our players had to make an adjustment to the speed of the game. You have to make an adjustment to game speed quickly and that’s what our guys did.”
SUU’s offense went three-and-out on their first drive, but a well-placed punt started the St. Thomas offense deep in their own territory. The Tommies once again marched the ball out to midfield but a clutch tackle by Mitch Price led to a turnover on downs and gave the Thunderbirds a short field to work with, and after nine plays SUU settled for a Jake Gerardi field goal.
After a seven-play, 27-yard drive, the Tommies were forced to give the ball back to the T-Birds who promptly marched down the field. Aided by a 42-yard completion from quarterback Justin Miller to Isaiah Wooden, SUU finished the drive when running back Bobby Cole punched it in to make the score 10-7.
The Thunderbirds never relinquished that lead, scoring on their first drive of the second quarter on a 64-yard pass to Wooden. The four-play, 80-yard drive established a feeling of command for the SUU offense.
During their subsequent drive, the Tommies turned the ball over on a fumble by quarterback Cade Sexauer, giving the T-Birds great field position.
SUU kicker Micah Petit added another three points to the scoreboard for the Thunderbirds as he made a 31-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-7 before halftime.
“The story of the game is four turnovers to zero turnovers. That is the difference in that football game,” Fitzgerald said.
The win marked the first time SUU had started a football season with a victory since 2013.
St. Thomas, which is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, finished with 180 yards rushing with 282 yards passing in the contest. Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds finished with 117 yards on the ground and 372 through the air. Miller completed 23 of 35 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns. Wooden hauled in five catches for 142 yards and two TDs. Josh Dunn and Roderick Ward led the SUU defense with six tackles each.
The SUU Thunderbirds next travel to Salt Lake City on Sept. 10 to take on the University of Utah. The Utes are ranked No. 7 in the country prior to their game this Saturday at Florida.
Written by Regan Hunsaker, SUU’s assistant athletic director for sports information and communications.
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