CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah gave undefeated West Georgia all it could handle Saturday night, but the Thunderbirds' rally came up just short in a 27-24 Homecoming loss at Eccles Coliseum.
The Thunderbirds struck first with a field goal from Jayden Rodgers, but the Wolves quickly answered with a kick of their own from Simon Zeidan to tie things at 3-3 after the opening quarter.
The second quarter belonged to West Georgia, as Davin Wydner punched in a score before Devion Newson added another touchdown to put the Wolves up 17-3 at halftime.
Wydner struck again early in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 24-3. But Southern Utah refused to back down, and Joshua Dye broke free for a touchdown run. Quarterback Mark Bails followed with a score of his own to trim the deficit to 24-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Thunderbirds kept the momentum rolling as Dye found the end zone again to even the game at 24-24 with under five minutes to play, sending the Homecoming crowd into a frenzy.
But with just 23 seconds left on the clock, Zeidan nailed a clutch field goal to seal the win for West Georgia, keeping the Wolves perfect at 5-0 on the season. Southern Utah, meanwhile, dropped to 1-4 after the narrow defeat.
Despite the loss, Southern Utah showed resilience in storming back from 21 points down, giving the Thunderbirds something to build on as they continue conference play.
