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Show Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 Page 9 MondaySports Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com TouchBase Big Blue in mascot bowl By USU ATHLETICS USU’s dynamic duo Sophomore robert turbin, 6, continued his consecutive 100-yard rushing game streak, tallying 104 yards Saturday against SUU. patrick oden photo By ADAM NETTINA staff writer For the first quarter of Saturday’s Homecoming football game, Utah State was close to perfect. The Aggies swarmed on defense, were nearly flawless in their execution on offense and played with the confidence and swagger of a team not seen in Logan in over a decade. Then things started to unravel. The defense let up. The offense put the ball on the ground. Suddenly, whispers of “here we go again” quietly reverberated before a stunned Homecoming crowd. And while the Aggies (1-2) would ultimately prevail 53-34 over Southern Utah (1-3) to give Gary Andersen his first win as a Football Bowl Subdivision head coach, the Thunderbirds exposed Some serious flaws in Andersen’s team – at one point coming within six points of the Aggies during the third quarter. Even amid a slew of second and third quarter miscues – including seven total USU fumbles and eight penalties – Utah State fought its way past in-state foe, riding the two-headed monster of running backs Robert Turbin and Michael Smith to provide the late game spark to silence the Thunderbird comeback attempt. All told, Smith and Turbin accounted for 380 total yards, over half of the entire USU offensive output on the evening. The Aggies’ 604 total yards of offense was the ninth highest singlegame total in school history, and the most for the team since a 2001 win over Weber State. After the game, Andersen spelled out just how important the two running backs were for his team, and how vital they will be for the continued success of Utah State’s offense this season. “They are both very talented young men and people at any level – I don’t care where we’re at or who we’re playing – they are going to have a hard time catching those backs when they get into the clear,” he said. Smith and Turbin didn’t just hurt the Thunderbirds on the ground, they showed off a tremendous amount of versatility and athleticism in the receiving game as well. In addition to 104 rushing yards, Turbin had four catches for 116 yards and two scores, including a swing pass, which he took 77-yards to the endzone. Smith finished with two grabs for 60 yards, with 54 of those yards coming on a first-quarter touchdown reception from quarterback Diondre Borel. The emergence of Smith as a complementary back to Turbin has been a major factor in Utah State’s offensive success through three games this season. “The coaches think Mike and I make a great one-two punch,” Turbin said. “He’s a great back and really fast. He’s starting to learn a little more patience, and I think that’s why he was able to break some runs today. He was patient with the ball and found some creases. He did a great job today.” While it was clear to the 18,472 fans in attendance at Romney Stadium that Turbin and Smith’s athleticism bailed the Aggies out of some critical situations Saturday night, both backs credit the play-calling of offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin in setting them up for success. Baldwin’s offense, which features different formations ranging from the classic wishbone to the ubiquitous five-wide receiver look, creates inherent matchup problems for defenses, which often lose track of the speedy playmakers during pre-snap shuffles. Smith said the various looks were extremely helpful in setting up USU’s offense – as well as he and Turbin – for success against Southern Utah. “It’s very important,” Smith said. “It keeps the defense on their toes so that they don’t know what’s going on. (Robert and I) line up at receiver, we line up in the backfield ... it keeps them on their toes and keeps them guessing.” “We like to use a lot of formations and we like to shift,” Turbin said. “What we try to do is catch the defense off guard so things open up for Mike and I.” Andersen admits that his team is still a work in progress, and said the defense is still prone to playing in spurts. Yet even while the Aggies continue to try to find their way under the first year headman, one thing is certain. As long as the combination of thunder and lightning grace the Aggie backfield, the remainder of the 2009 season will continue to see the development of an offense, and a team, with a mindset focused on nothing short of weekly improvement. “We’ll take a lot of positives from this football game and we’ll learn from our negatives,” said Andersen. “Where we are in this process – and when – is something we’re going to cherish ... but it’s definitely a stepping stone.” – adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu Women’s Soccer Ags fall to No. 18 Cougars in Provo By STEVE CRASS staff writer After an impressive victory over Utah in an elite stadium, the Utah State Aggies were humbled Saturday when they lost to No. 18 BYU in Provo, 3-0. The Aggies (5-5-1) had a hard fight against the Cougars (8-2-1), keeping them scoreless for the first 10 minutes. “We came out against a very good BYU team, one of the best in the country, and we knew that the first 10 minutes were going to be the most important because BYU traditionally comes out very strong,” said USU head coach Heather Cairns. The Cougars scored back-to-back goals within two minutes of each other and then held the Aggies to a shutout for the win. The goals came in the 12th and 14th minute marks, and another goal for BYU was scored off a penalty kick in the 63rd minute. The Aggies, who had lost a serious amount of momentum very early in the game, still didn’t give up hope heading into the second half, Cairns said. After some quick changes, the overall performance improved drastically against the Cougars. This helped the team improve in a way that will better them for their upcoming confer- ence schedule. “(In) the second half we made some adjustments, changed our formation, and I thought we did a lot better. We limited their shots to only five in the period, which was a great improvement from the first half,” Cairns said. “We just came up short, but we feel like we improved on some things that can now prepare us for conference, specifically how to defend outside mids. We have confidence, and we know how to play in our system. Tonight we figured out what didn’t work in our system, which is good as well, and we just keep evolving as a team.” One definite highlight of the game was goalkeeper Molli Merril, who ended the match with eight saves. USU was out shot by the Cougars 183, challenging BYU with two shots in the second half. The Aggies now return home for their first home match since Sept. 6. The Aggies will take on Idaho State Thursday before taking on Nevada Sunday in Reno, Nev., as the Aggies open defense of their Western Athletic Conference regular-season title with their first league match. “We love playing at home,” Cairns said. “Our team does well at home. We have a lot of energy and our fans our fantastic, so we’re really looking forward to being back.” –steven.crass@aggiemail.usu.edu Shantel flanary, 7, tries to work around an Oklohoma State player during the Aggies game in Logan. patrick oden photo Utah State’s mascot, “Big Blue,” will be participating in the sixth annual Mascot Bowl on Monday, Sept. 28, presented by Lehi High School Sports Marketing and Best Buy. This event is designed to raise money for the “Firemen and Friends for Kids” charity, established to offer underprivileged children the opportunity to shop for presents at Christmas time. This event has been a huge success in the past and promises to be even better this year offering plenty of fun entertainment and activities for the entire family. “This is such a fun event, and it’s for a great cause. We’re excited and honored to be a part of this great event again. We’ve gone every year and had a blast every time,” said Linda Zimmerman, USU mascot and spirit squad head coach. “Big Blue” will be joining the mascot team featuring “Bear” of the Utah Jazz, “Grizbee” of the Utah Grizzlies, “Swoop” from the University of Utah, Brigham Young University’s “Cosmo,” “Rocky” from the Rocky Mountain Raceway, Weber State University’s “Waldo, “Leonardo” from Real Salt Lake, “Chief” of the Utah Blaze and the Salt Lake Bees’ “Bumble.” This year the Mascot team will include one NFL mascot from the Denver Broncos, “Miles,” and four mascots from the NBA: the Phoenix Suns’ “Gorilla,” “Boomer,” from the Indiana Pacers, “Blaze” from the Portland Trailblazers and “Crunch” from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lehi Little League football team will be taking on the All-Star Mascot team, coached by celebrity coaches Kyle Beckerman and Chris Wingert, Real Salt Lake Soccer Stars. Celebrity quarterbacks for the Mascots include Aaron Boone, former NFL player and wide receiver for the Utah Blaze. In addition to the game, activities will include photo and autograph opportunities with the mascots, Jazz Dancers, celebrity coaches, and quarterbacks. Entertainment will feature the Nuskin Jazz Dancers along with the Lehi High Cheer and Drill teams and The University of Utah’s’ Stunt Team. There will be food, prizes, giveaways, contests, a silent auction, fireworks, and many different games and activities for every member of the family. Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an autograph session with mascots and celebrities. Fireworks will cap off the evening’s activities. Tickets are $3 a piece, (children two and under are free,) and can be purchased in advance at the Lehi High School Financial office, Scrooge and Marley’s in Lehi, or at the gate the night of the event. Lehi High School is located at 180 N. 500 East in Lehi, just west off the freeway. |