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Show IPAGE 16 uN1v1Rs1TY ,ouRNAL sPoRrs T HuRsoAv, sEPTEMBER 9 , 1999 Gridders, 1-0, travel to Boise Saturday BY JASEN ASAY JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR Following last week's 50-7 home blowout of Fort Lewis in the season opener, Southern Utah's football squad hits the road for the first time during the 1999 season this week as the Thunderbirds travel to Boise, Idaho, for a match-up with Boise State. It is the-first meeting between the two teams on the gridiron since 1961 , when both teams competed at the junior college level. Southern Utah takes a 1-0- record into Saturday's contest, while BSU is 0-1 after absorbing a 38-7 loss at UCLA last Saturday. Saturday's game will be the first meeting between the two teams since SUU moved to four-year status in :1963. The teams met six times as junior colleges, the last coming in 1961 when then-Boise College took a 57-0 victory over then-College of Southern Utah. The teams played six games as jucos, with Boise coming out on top each time. The Broncos are coming off their first winning season (6-5) since the program moved to I-A competition in 1996 and have 14 starters returning, including nine on the defensive side of the ball and five who have started three seasons going into 1999. According to the BSU football media guide, however, the biggest plus going for the Broncos this season is the return of the coaching staff, intact, the first time that has happened since the 1995 season. BSU was able to move the ball against UCLA, rushing for 156 yards and passing another tackle-for-loss, broke up three passes and recovered a fumble against for another 204 (360 total yards) while the Bruins. LB Bryan Johnson, the allowing UCLA 401 yards of total team's top tackler the past two seasons, offense, but the Broncos had trouble had six tackles and two TFLs against the putting points on the board. BSU was Bruins, while weak-side safety Ross down 38-0 before reserve QB Bryan Farris and OLB Harsin hit Shael Kareem Williams McDonough on a also had six stops 17-yard scoring last week. pass with two The game plan minutes to play. for SUU coming Harsin came off the into last week's bench to complete game against Fort three-of-five passes Lewis was to run for 86 yards and the ball, at least the TO, while twothat's what Fort year starter Bart Lewis thought. The Hendricks visiting Skyhawks completed 17 of 35 were wrong. at!empts for 118 In the first half, yards but was the Thunderbirds intercepted three started off five of times and was their six drives with sacked twice. WR a pass, confusing Billy Wingfield the Skyhawk caught seven defense that was . passes for 59 yards set up to stop the to lead Bronco run. This new receivers. Tailback passing offense is Davy Malaythong far from that of last carried 18 times for year's, which 103 yards to lead averaged 336 the Bronco ground rushing yards per game against the QB Matt Cannon threw for 190 yards on game. Bruins. Saturday. Defensively, The result was a freshman free safety Quintin Mikell led 50-7 blowout for the 'Birds in their the way against UCLA with 16 tackles season opener, the most points SUU has scored since 1991 . SUU's offense · (nine solo) and a sack. Mikell also had proved to be high scoring again this year by scoring four TDs in the first half on six drives. The other two drives ended with a punt, and a missed field goal. The • change from previous seasons was that most of the big plays came from the arms of quarterbacks Matt Cannon and Rob Chapman. Cannon went eight for 11 , throwing for 190 yards and two TOs, and Chapman was five for eight, getting 40 yards. The 'Birds threw all night Ion~. It worked. The open field was shown on the first play of the second half as Cannon hit Kam Brown for a 74 yard touchdown pass. "That was a broken play," said Gregory. ·tt was actually to Kam's side away from him , but he j ust kept coming and locked eyes with Cannon." Cannon hit Brown, who ran more than 50 yards before diving past the goal line for the score. "I was running and that goal line just kept getting further and further away,• said K. Brown. "The faster I ran, I just couldn't get there. That's why I dove at the end, because I felt if I didn't dive .. .l wouldn't have made it.· SUU ended up with 230 passing yards • from 13 completions and 194 rushing yards off of 49 attempts. Saturday night's game, as with all games this year, will be broadcast live by KSUB AM (590). KSUB is in its first season since the mid-1980s as SUU's flagship station. Art Challis, the •Thunderbirds' voice for 26 years, calls the play-by-play. Baseball team now prepares for spring |