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CEDAR CITY — After suffering a tight loss on the road last weekend, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds welcomed back the home crowd with a win. The 38-26 victory over the North Alabama Lions moved the Thunderbirds to a 5-5 overall record and made them 4-2 in UAC play.
The Southern Utah offense exploded for 21 points in the first half, all before North Alabama got on the scoreboard. The Lions were held to just 11 yards of total offense in the first quarter and were unable to make any big plays until they trailed by three scores. They scored once in the first half to make it 21-7 at the break and to set up a dominant third quarter.
North Alabama found their groove and posted 19 points in the third frame before going scoreless in the fourth. The Thunderbirds slowed down and only scored 17 points in the second half, but it was enough to come out on top. Southern Utah head coach DeLane Fitzgerald was happy with the win, but it was far from his favorite box score.
"An ugly win is a lot better than a pretty loss," he said. "That needs to be the moral of our story today."
With their fierce third quarter performance, the Lions finished with more yards of offense than the victors. Senior quarterback TJ Smith threw for 452 yards, 174 more than his previous career high. He connected with Takairee Kenebrew five times for 187 yards, giving the graduate student the highest single-game total of his career. The Lions picked up just 36 yards on the ground, most of which came from quarterback scrambles.
Jackson Berry was at the helm for Southern Utah, completing 67.7% of his passes and amassing 230 yards without throwing an interception.
Targhee Lambson again put on a show for the Thunderbird faithful. He scored all three of Southern Utah's first-half touchdowns and earned his third hat trick of the season. Lambson led all players with 166 rushing yards on 31 attempts.
"(Lambson is) one of my all-time favorites," Fitzgerald said of his star. "Just his approach to the football game and how blue-collar he is in his work ethic, on and off the field."
Southern Utah's first possession started on their own 16-yard line and took seven full minutes off the game clock. They got themselves in penalty trouble, but Lambson reclaimed all lost yardage and capped off the drive with an 18-yard dash to the end zone.
The Thunderbird defense held the Lions to a quick three-and-out and let the offense pick up where it left off. Lambson got right back to work, carrying the game into the second quarter and the ball into the end zone for his second score of the afternoon.
North Alabama broke into Thunderbird territory for the first time with a 30-yard pass from Smith to Tanaka Scott. They made it as far as the 21-yard line before sending kicker Scott Payne out for a field goal attempt. He missed the 38-yard try, giving Southern Utah cause for celebration along with the ball.
Lambson and the Thunderbirds showed no signs of stopping and put together another successful possession. The running back broke free for a 39-yard gain to set up first-and-goal and finished the drive on the next play.
"Shout out to my o-line and my coaches for putting me in position to score and make big plays," Lambson said.
The Lions' first touchdown came after two deep passes from Smith. In just two plays, Kobe Warden and Dakota Warfield combined for 78 receiving yards and Warfield earned his third touchdown of the season.
Though trailing 21-7, North Alabama ended the first half on a high note and came back from the intermission hungry for more.
The teams traded punts to start out, then the Southern Utah offense crept into enemy territory. The Lions' defense held strong and stopped their opponents on the 32-yard line, forcing Jayden Rogers into a 50-yard field goal try. The kick had just enough power to make it through the uprights, and the freshman kicker was credited with the furthest made field goal in Southern Utah history.
In response, North Alabama returned to what earned them their previous touchdown. Smith took to the air for a deep pass, finding Justin Luke at midfield, who outran the defense for a 70-yard score. Payne missed his second kick of the night, making the score 24-13 with Southern Utah on top.
Frustrated, the Thunderbirds insisted on some insurance points. Lambson kept his foot on the gas and rushed for three straight plays to put his team on the North Alabama 33-yard line. From there, Berry connected with Shane Carr for the team's fourth touchdown of the game and the sophomore receiver's fifth career touchdown.
It didn't take the Lions long to answer. In just one play and 15 seconds, Smith threw the longest pass of his career, a 75-yarder to Kenebrew to add to the Lions' total. A failed 2-point conversion let the scoreboard stand at 31-19.
North Alabama forced a punt and let their offensive momentum continue. Smith and Kenebrew tried to recreate the magic from the previous drive and connected twice for a total of 79 yards to put the Lions in the red zone. Junior running back Jayvian Allen finished with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Payne finally secured an extra point to bring his team within five points.
The Lions started the fourth quarter by forcing another punt from Southern Utah. Alyas Vigil finished with four punt attempts with an average of 43.3 yards while pinning the Lions inside their own 20-yard line twice. North Alabama's Adam Watford averaged 48.3 yards in three attempts, the best showing of the sophomore's young career.
With a chance to take the lead, Smith again resorted to the long ball. Walker Harris and Trent Whalen rushed the quarterback and disrupted the pass, sending it into the arms of Kameron Rocha who returned it for a 48-yard pick-six. Though 11 minutes still remained, it was the nail in North Alabama's coffin.
"The pick-six by Kam may have saved us today," Fitzgerald said. "Kam's gonna get a lot of credit for that pick-six, as he should, but the pass rush was really good on that play."
The final minutes stayed scoreless and Southern Utah completed their 12-point victory, however "ugly" Fitzgerald thought it was.
The Thunderbirds will be back on the road next week, over 1,000 miles east to take on Central Arkansas. The Bears are 6-4 overall and 3-3 in UAC play, and will be entering the matchup off two straight losses. Last year, Central Arkansas beat Southern Utah in Cedar City by just 2 points.
