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Show !THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2000 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL SPORTS 'Birds hit the road at ISU Southern Utah plays on the road again this week when rushing and 151 receiving. Idaho State finished with 565 the Thunderbirds travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on yards of offense, 553 of it coming through the air as Kevin Idaho State. McCarthy completed 37 of 68 passes for all 553 yards The Thunderbirds (2-4) will be looking for their first road and five touchdowns. win of the season and to reverse their fortunes after "This could be a re~I shoot-out. Both teams scored a dropping a 56-20 decision at UC Davis last week. bucket of points last year in Cedar City and they're better Idaho State (4-2) is also coming off a big road loss, 59than they were last year,· Gregory said. 21 at Portland State last Saturday. The Bengals had won Like the Thunderbirds, the Behgals boast one of the three straight going into that game, including two on the most prolific offenses in the country, but while SUU's road. 1 · success comes mostly on the ground, ISU likes to pass "My question now is how we'll bounce back after the the football. Senior QB Shane Griggs ranks 35th in the Davis loss," said SUU head coach C. Ray Gregory. I-AA passer efficiency ratings at 129.9 and 13th in total This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams in offense with an average of 263 yards per game. the series. Idaho State holds a 5-2-1 edge in the series, Griggs' favorite target has been WR DeRonn Finley, which began in 1989 with a 37-34 ISU win in Pocatello. who has 32 receptions for 473 yards and six touchdowns. This will be the seventh game in.Pocatello and the Finley ranks 27th in the NCAA in receptions per game Bengals hold a 5-1 edge at Holt Arena, including three (5.3) and 31st in receiving yards per game (78.8). straight, a 50-33 win in 1998, a 46-31 win in 1997 and a "They throw the ball a lot, even more than Davis did. 48-14 win in 1995. SUU did win the last game, however, We didn't do much to stop Davis, which probably makes last year in Cedar City when the Thunderbirds out-lasted ' Idaho State feel pretty good," Gregory said. "We have two the Bengals in a wild one, 63-47. In that game Matt options: blitz and leave our corners one-on-one against Cannon rushed tor 147 yards and four touchdowns and their receivers or rush four guys and play zone in the Terry Rose ran for a career-high 145 yards. Southern secondary.· · . Utah set school records for total yards (734) and rushing Defensively, the Bengals have been led by MLB Junior yard~ (546) and the two teams combined for the most loane, who has 57 tackles (21 solo), three tackles for points in a game for either team with 110, with all the loss, and interception and a team-high seven pass scoring except two points coming after the first period. deflections. Cannon added 188 yards and another score through the The game kicks off at 2:05 p.m. and will be broadcast air while Clay [)enton scored three TDs, two rushing and live on KSUB 590 AM or on the internet at one receiving, and finished with 248 all-purpose yards, 97 www.cedarcity.com. TenJ1is set to play only fall tourney BY JASON ERICKSON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR last year's team MVP. She will return for another season after posting an impressive 9-1 conference record and 14-6 overall record last year. Southern Utah Univ~rsity's women's tennis team heads Two other Thunderbirds will be fighting for top spots on into the 2000-2001 season with five returning players and this year's roster: Melinda Wilkins and Kelly Patterson. three incoming freshmen who should bring back another Wilkins, a senior from Lindon, Utah, spent a lot of time at year of exciting collegiate tennis. the fifth position last year, where she recorded a 7-4 Coming into the season without Carolina Fernandez, record. Patterson, a senior from South Lake Tahoe, the only Mid-Continent all Calif.• is expected to see conference player on last some action this year , year's team, is something after seeing limited that SUU coach Lenny Lee action last year. knows will hurt his team; The 'Birds have however, he remains brought in three optimistic. freshmen who should "It's sad to see provide depth to this Fernandez leave, but our year's team. Jennifer players are working very Case from Bermuda hard,• Lee said. ·1feel Dunes, Calif., Katie fortunate this year to have Payne of St. George, players who want to work and Shannon Silver of hard." ~ Farmington, Utah, will Ashlee Berge of Orem, ~ showcase their talent Utah, returns for her junior this year. year. She played most of ~ "With our three new her time at the sixth 1 recruits, this is the position last year, posting ;'.: deepest team I have an overall record of 11-9. ever had," Lee said. She will bring some much Ashlee Berge gets set to retum a serve during practice. The Thunderbirds will needed depth for this open their schedule at year's team. the Cal State Fullerton "I'm excited. I think we have a great team this year," Fall Intercollegiate Tournament in Fullerton, Calif., Berge said. · 1 have set some high goals for myself and Saturday andSunday. expect a lot out of our team this year." -r-he team will begin its 2001 spring schedule March 8 at Sophomore Kendra Gleeson from Boise, Idaho, was Dominican College. .a i Golfers finish 18th at ·Northridge SUU's golf team finished 18th of 19 teams at the Cal State Northridge-sponsored Countrywide Home Loans Invitational Tuesday after shooting a three-round total of 968 over the par-72 6,796 yard Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, Calif. UC Irvine took the team title at 886. . Sophomore Robb Evans led the Thunderbirds with a score of 239 (plus-23), to finish in a tie for 68th place, 24 shots off the pace set by Jeff Coburn of UC Irvine and Cal State Stanislaus' Ian Lillibridge. Coburn beat Lillibridge in a playoff for medalist honors. Other T-Bird finishes included Jake Tur1ey at 241 (tie, 75th place). John Busby at 242 (tie, 79th place), Grier Hollifield at 249 (92nd place) and Shea Field at 251 (tie, 94th place). "This was a very difficult course, but that's no excuse, we simply didn't play well,• SUU coach Richard Church said. "We shot [a combined) 42 over par in the first round and although we played better in the next two rounds we just didn't ever get anything going.· PA<.E 13 Former So.· UtaJ, harrier no\N HS x-country coach BY NOAH BORTON JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER As the Southern Utah University cross co1:1ntry team prepares for the Mid-Continent ConfereQce championships on Oct. 28 and hopes for another conference championship, there's the nagging feeling that something is missing from a year ago. That missing piece is what cross country coach Eric Houle called "the all-time best long-distance . ·runner at this school." Houle spoke of three-time conference champion Jodi Benson, who has moved on to become the cross country coach at Snow Canyon High School in Santa Cla~. Utah. To hear him tell it, the 25-year-old Benson appears to have found a new home with the Warriors. "I love it; it's been great," he said. "I like working with the kids. f'ffi__more excited watching them run than when I run myself.· Since leaving SUU in May, Benson student-taught at Snow Canyon in addition to his coaching duties. However, he ended up with more responsibilities than he anticipated. Originally, Benson planned to help out as an assistant coach. Then, over the summer, the head coach left for Las Vegas. Houle put in a good word, and Benson was hired as the new head coach. "Basically, I just spoke the truth," Houle said. "He's a leader. I think he can become one of the·top distance-running.., i coaches in the state; I see all 5 the signs.· i Benson isn't ~ wasting much ~ time trying to ~ prove his former !!l ....................._......... coach right. Jody Benson says he misses "It's gone better being part of a team. than I expected," he said. "There have been a few bumps and bruises along the way, but overall, it has gone well." From his experiences running for Jed Gibson at UVSC and Houle at SUU, Benson has blended their philosophies into a good foundation to start his own coaching career. The first test for Coach Benson came on Oct. 11 at the Region 9 Championships, and the meet didn't go as well as Benson had hoped. Snow Canyon's boys' and gir1s' teams finished fifth out of six teams in the region in what Benson considers a rebuilding year for the program. Although he no longer competes on the college level, Benson hasn't given up running. On Oct. 8, he finished sixth overall and first in the 25-29 age division of the St. George Marathon. "It has been a goal to do one (a marathon) myself,• he said. "I wanted to take it to another level." Benson said some of the competitive fire that led SUU to nationals last season still burns. "I miss the feamship, the traveling, and the competition." he said. · 1wish I could be up there with them, but it was time to move on." i ·~ ,. |