Oct. 23, 2004

Final Statistics

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Ilaisa Tuiaki caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Casey Rehrer to give SUU a 19-15 lead over UC Davis with 5:37 to play Saturday and the defense made the advantage stand up as SUU picked up is first Great West Football Conference win over the No. 25 (I-AA) Aggies. SUU improved to 1-2 in league play and 3-4 overall while UCD dropped to 5-2 and 2-1 with its second straight loss.

UC Davis took the early lead late in the first period on a one-yard quarterback keeper by Jon Grant but Andy Hadfield used all of his 6-foot-6 frame to block the extra point, leaving the Aggies with a 6-0 advantage. Southern Utah got field goals of 41 and 24 yards from Steve Pulver to tie the game midway through the second period, then took a 13-6 lead when Rehrer hit Ben Anderson from 24 yards out with three seconds to play in the half.

Davis pulled within 13-9 on a 22-yard Emanuel Benjamin field goal with 8:46 to play in the third, then toook a 15-13 lead after Nelson Freeman scored on a 12-yard pass from Grant. On the PAT attempt Hadfield again got in the way of the kick, leaving the Aggies with a two-point edge.

Southern Utah took the lead on Rehrer's pass to Tuiaki, but UC Davis drove the length of the field, reaching the SUU 14 before the offense came up short when Grant's pass to Tony Kays came up two yards short on fourth and five.

"Any win is a nice win but this one is particularly sweet since it was finally someone else who came up just short at the end," SUU Coach Wes Meier said, alluding to the fact that his team's four losses have all been by seven points or fewer. "Our offense made the plays when we needed them and the defense stepped up when we needed it."

Rehrer didn't have one of his best nights, as he lost a fumble on a bad pitch and threw an interception, but he finished with 240 yards on 22-of-38 passing and rushed for another 53 yards. Justin Walterschied and Jerome Eason both had 67 yards in receptions for the Thunderbirds, on six and four receptoins, respectively, while Nick DiPadova had 11 tackles and Steve Smith 10, including 2 1/2 sacks, to pace the defense.

Grant completed 25-36 passes for 234 yards but the SUU defense sacked him seven times and knocked down five of his passes. Mike Overly had two sacks, while Marcus Harris had 1 1/2 and Levi Erickson had another.

Overly and Harris also teamed up on a big play that led to SUU's winning score. Overly sacked Grant, forcing a fumble on the UCD 45 yard line, then Harris scooped it up and carried it to the Davis 16, setting up the final score.