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Show Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 StatesmanSports Page 9 P3 and get FOOTBALL Not sure about how to expand your business students' attention? The Utah Statesman We'll help you unscramble your advertising ideas Call 797-1743 or visit www.utahstatesman.com I ••••4 -..-4414V0-44X3e4... - • 1 .1.4'1 ' t"..-4 11". '744,414.45N M e4441*iNtiVI;Strfit*K*;;XV-4r4 4041113MiNli, A HOST OF UTAH STATE DEFENDERS tackle a New Mexico State ball carrier in USU's 41-7 win over the redclad Aggies on Oct. 20 in Romney Stadium. CURTIS RIPPLILNGER photo USU rolls with win over UTSA BY CURTIS LUNDSTROM sports senior writer Nine games down, three to go. It's been an unprecedented run for the Utah State football team over the past season-and-a-half, and the Aggies kept rolling Saturday with a 48-17 demolition of the University of Texas-San Antonio. "Overall, it was a great victory for us to go on the road and play well," said USU head coach Gary Andersen. "UTSA is a youthful, exciting football team. They play hard and physical, and there is no quit in them. That is a credit to the players and a credit to their coaching staff." The win made it eight straight wins in the Western Athletic Conference for USU, who will depart for the Mountain West Conference next season. Whether the Aggies win the WAC this season or not, it's hard not to argue they're certainly leaving with a bang. And while it wasn't exactly a balanced offensive attack Saturday — 128 rushing yards and 394 passing yards — the Aggies did what they had to do to move the ball and put points on the board. "It was their mindset to stop the run, so we had to look for something else," Andersen said. That something else came in the form of sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton hitting 12 different receivers while throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns in the first three quarters before giving way to the second and third team players to finish it out. Senior running back Kerwynn Williams rushed for 90 yards despite the Roadrunners focus on shutting down the run and was a major factor in opening the passing lanes. With UTSA crowding the box to slow Williams, the 5-foot-8 Las Vegas, Nev., native caught three passes for 68 yards and kept the defense honest. "To make plays, we knew we were going to have to spit the ball out sideways if they stopped our run game," Andersen said. "That was a big part of it. The offense executed that side of taking what's there and that's important. Defensively, I thought we were solid." The Aggie defense held its opponent to 20 points or less for the eighth time in nine games this season. Senior cornerback Will Davis tallied his second interception in as many weeks and nearly came away with a second in the end zone before it was ruled a simultaneous catch for one of UTSA's two touchdowns. The awards kept coming as a result of the strong outing by the Aggies. Keeton was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season for his performance against the Roadrunners and USU garnered four votes in the USA Today Coaches poll. Statistically the Aggies rank sixth in scoring defense, having held opponents to 14.22 points per game. They are 11th in rushing defense, allowing 96 yards per game and 19th in total defense, giving up 319 yards per game. On offense, the Aggies boast a 38th ranked passing attack, are 48th in rushing and 50th in scoring. To top it all off, Andersen is now the eighth winningest coach in school history in just his fourth season with 22 wins, something he cred- SOCCER: Aggies share WAC title ► From page 8 Tarver who had to only push the ball toward goal. The Aggies went into halftime with momentum and a comfortable lead. USU outshot La. Tech 9-3 in the first half, including four shots on goal. In the 51st minute, USU freshman forward Maris Hamblin put Utah State up 3-0 after she cleaned up a shot by sophomore Lexi Morgan. Morgan had the shot blocked by the upright, but Hamblin was there to put it in the back of the net. Sophomore Libby Lundquist put the game out of reach for La. Tech with her goal in the 76th minute to put USU up 4-0. "This was just outstanding for us," Tarver said. "We wanted to go into the tournament with the best record we could get, so this game was really important to us. Coming out and making the statement of four goals is just huge. It's a morale booster for the tournament." The Aggies closed out the season with six consecutive wins. USU also earned its ninth shutout of the season and didn't give up any goals at home during conference play. "It's really awesome to get that shutout first of all, and to score four goals on our senior game on a conference championship game and every single person put so much effort into it," said USU goalkeeper Ashlyn Mulford. Utah State will now turn its attention to the WAC Tournament, which will be held in Logan at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field starting Nov. 1 and ending on Nov. 4 with the championship match. "I'm really excited to play in front of our home crowd," Cairns said. "We have great fans and I hope the students come out. I hope the community comes out as much as they have been supporting us during the regular season. We are really looking forward for that being our 12th man and them giving us that push. It's going to be great to sleep in our own beds and be in our own routine." USU and Denver have automatically clinched a spot in the semi-finals because they are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively. Texas State is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will play the sixth seed Idaho on Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. On Nov. 2 the Aggies will take on the winner of the La. Tech v Seattle game at 2:30 p.m. and Denver will play the victor between Texas State and Idaho at noon. The championship match will be played Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. with the winner getting an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Tickets can be purchased at the USU ticket office as all-session passes or singlesession tickets. A single-session ticket allows admission to one day's worth of games. The allsession pass is eight dollars for students with ID cards, and single-session tickets are five dollars. – jborba@aggiemaiLusu.edu Twitter: @JBorbal5 its to the team. "I think it's all about the players," Andersen said. "That will never be any different for me. They are the ones who are making the plays, executing and putting in the practice time to get themselves where they need to be." – curtisiundstrom@aggiemail. usu.edu Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom Kent Concert Hall 8:00 pm Thursday & Friday November 1-2 Admissions $18 at the door, or buy in advance at: Al's Sporting Goods & CSA Arts Box Office, Chase Fine Arts Center or arts.usu.edu Get a FREE mid-week all season lift ticket to The Canyons- $105 value! PLUS a subscription to "Ski" Magazine for every paid attendee! STUDENT SEASON PASSES Now On Sale for $300 2012-13 Season This price valid through November 21. Logan office now open 9 a.m - 5:30 p.m. Monday Through Saturday USU students must present written proof that they are currently enrolled. Sale applies to high school and middle school students, also. Students under 18 must have signed parent's release. lc:beaver mountain ROMANC 1351 East 700 North Logan www.skithebeay.com rodketiow, Exclusively @ 4errici 930 N Main, Logan |